The problem of proliferating motorized vehicles preempting the use of public lands and waters isn't going to go away just because we close our eyes and refuse to deal with it.
It is our responsibility to this and future generations to preserve the beauty and integrity of our resource base and permit only those activities that do not compromise its intrinsic value and the enjoyment of it by everyone. That means setting high standards and enforcing them. Doing so won't be easy or simple. Some forty years ago when we began the Wisconsin lake classification program, it was clear that pressure on our lakes from motor boats, shoreline destruction, non-point pollution from the watershed and point pollution from surrounding cottages was degrading thousands of lakes.
At the time the classification studies began (under the direction of Bill Thrienen of the DNR), I suggested as a rough rule of thumb that motor boats should not be allowed on any lake that one could row across in twenty minutes. By 1960 it was already obvious that unless reasonable standards were established for motor size and speed, the enjoyment of many lakes would simply be destroyed.
With some 15,000 lakes and 40,000 miles of streams, uniform state standards and uniform enforcement are a necessity.
I understand that the budget for the Stewardship Fund is pending and may be acted upon momentarily. With your indulgence, I would like to comment on the proposed funding level. In just about 18 months, it will be 40 years since the legislature approved ORAP (Outdoor Recreation Acquisition Program), the predecessor of the Stewardship Fund. To his credit, Governor Knowles, a committed environmentalist, extended the concept of ORAP and provided funding. I was happy to accept Governor Knowles invitation to participate in the campaign to extend the ORAP program. The Fund has been further extended since.
Forty years ago, the ORAP authorization approved by the legislature amounted to 1/2 of one percent of the total budget. That percentage of the budget today would not be $40 million or $60 million annually, but rather slightly over $120 million.
Land prices have escalated even more rapidly than the inflation index. The remarkable Whitefish Bay Dunes Park in Door County was named as one of the original ORAP goals. It took from 1965 to 1980 to acquire the 840 acres for the park that included 14,000 feet of shorefront. The cost to the state was just under $1,000,000. Based on a number of recent transactions of property just outside the boundaries of the park, it would cost over $45,000,000 to acquire today.
As one who has closely followed this program for almost 40 years, I think it is beyond debate that the 1961 legislation blazed a new trail for others to follow and made an investment that will pay quality of life dividends for generations to come.
These kinds of quality of life opportunities show up frequently on the horizon and then fade away into history unless quickly seized and put to worthwhile use. There is, of course, an abundance of things to be done that support nature's efforts to maintain a livable world, all of them worthwhile. While it is not possible to do everything that would be useful, we ought to maintain the Fund at a level adequate to do those things we all concede are at a high level of importance.
My own biased view, thoughtfully biased I hasten to add, is that at a minimum, the Fund should be maintained at the same percentage of total budget as the original ORAP proposal - i.e. 1/2 of one percent of the total budget or $120 million. To put the numbers in some historical perspective, it should be noted that in 1960 the average cost of land per acre was $26. The price of comparable land in 1999 is $1600 per acre.
I realize it is late in the budget process and $120 million may be an unrealistic goal at this time - but it should be a realistic goal for the next budget. Thus, I hope a $60 million annual budget will be approved at this time. This is all by way of saying, please don't further enfeeble the Stewardship Fund by allowing inflation to debase its value even more rapidly.
Council For A Sustainable Wisconsin
I think the most important current environmental need is to establish some orderly procedure for evaluating the serious environmental threats and then initiating a public dialogue over the best approach to a resolution. Presently, we simply do not have an effective, well-designed mechanism for putting important issues on the public agenda and keeping them there until some resolution is achieved.
To address this void I recommend that the legislature establish a Council For A Sustainable Wisconsin. The Council would make an annual Wisconsin Environmental Health Report to the governor, the legislature and the public.
Today, we are overwhelmed with knowledge, statistics, and information. Few have the time to synthesize and analyze this overwhelming plethora of spoken and written word. The quest for environmental quality is no exception. The annual Council report would identify a number of the most critical issues the state faces. This will place these problems on the political agenda, subject to debate and discussion. The Governor would appoint members to the Council from lists of candidates submitted by the chancellors of major campuses in the UW system with environmental teaching and research responsibilities. Ideally, the Governor would deliver an annual message to the Legislature with his environmental recommendations.
This would provide an orderly procedure to assure that environmental matters are given serious consideration."
__________________
Representative Bock asked unanimous consent for a leave of absence for part of today's session for Representative Coggs. Granted.
Assembly Joint Resolution 62
Relating to: honoring the life and service of Gaylord Nelson.
The question was: Shall Assembly Joint Resolution
62 be adopted?
Motion carried.
Representative Berceau asked unanimous consent that all members of the Assembly be made coauthors of Assembly Joint Resolution 62. Granted.
Representative Ladwig asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Joint Resolution 62 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
__________________
Representative Vrakas asked unanimous consent that the Assembly stand recessed. Granted.
The Assembly stood recessed.
11:23 A.M.
__________________
3:25 P.M.
The Assembly reconvened.
Speaker Pro Tempore Freese in the chair.
Assembly Resolution 11
Relating to: designating August 16 of each year as National Airborne Day.
The question was: Shall Assembly Resolution 11 be adopted?
Motion carried.
Assembly Resolution 12
Relating to: supporting an initiative seeking a just and peaceful resolution of the situation in Cyprus.
The question was: Shall Assembly Resolution 12 be adopted?
Motion carried.
Senate Joint Resolution 15
Relating to: the life and public service of Laurie Carlson.
The question was: Shall Senate Joint Resolution 15 be concurred in?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Senate Joint Resolution 15 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
Senate Bill 114
Relating to: the property tax lottery credit and making an appropriation.
The question was: Shall Senate amendment 1 to Assembly amendment 1 to Senate Bill 114 be concurred in?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Senate Bill
114 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
Assembly Bill 2
Relating to: the use of high-beam headlamps on motor vehicles.
The question was: Shall Assembly Bill 2 be ordered engrossed and read a third time?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
2 be given a third reading. Granted.
The question was: Assembly Bill 2 having been read three times, shall the bill be passed?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
2 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
Assembly Bill 227
Relating to: changing the boundaries of Jackson County and Monroe County.
The question was: Shall Assembly Bill 227 be ordered engrossed and read a third time?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
227 be given a third reading. Granted.
The question was: Assembly Bill 227 having been read three times, shall the bill be passed?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
227 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
Assembly Bill 355
Relating to: sexual assault of a person confined in an adult or juvenile detention or correctional facility and providing a penalty.
The question was: Shall Assembly amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 355 be adopted?
Motion carried.
The question was: Shall Assembly Bill 355 be ordered engrossed and read a third time?
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
355 be given a third reading. Granted.
The question was: Assembly Bill 355 having been read three times, shall the bill be passed?
Motion carried.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that the rules be suspended and that Assembly Bill
355 be immediately messaged to the Senate. Granted.
Assembly Bill 389
Relating to: control and ownership of transmission facilities by a transmission company and a Midwest independent system operator, ownership of nonutility assets by a public utility holding company, investments in transmission facilities, offers of employment to certain public utility and nonutility affiliates employes, fees and approvals for certain high-voltage transmission lines, construction of certain electric transmission facilities, environmental reviews by the public service commission, reports on reliability status of electric utilities, state participation in a regional transmission need and siting compact, incentives for development of certain generating facilities, study of market power and retail electric competition, market-based compensation, rates and contracts for electric customers, regulation of certain nitrogen oxide emissions, establishing programs for low-income energy assistance, improving energy conservation and efficiency markets and encouraging the development and use of renewable resources, creating a council on utility public benefits, establishing a utility public benefits fund, requiring electric utilities and retail electric cooperatives to charge public benefits fees to customers and members, imposing requirements on the use of renewable resources by electric utilities and cooperatives, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, making appropriations and providing a penalty.
Representative Foti asked unanimous consent that Assembly Bill 389 be placed at the foot of today's calendar. Granted.
Representative Duff in the chair.
Senate Bill 179
Relating to: authorizing the completion of the capitol restoration project, historically significant furnishings, granting bonding authority and making appropriations.
Assembly amendment 1 to Senate Bill 179 offered by Representative Nass.
Representative Freese moved rejection of Assembly amendment 1 to Senate Bill 179.
__________________
