I would like to introduce a man they call Mr. Elk – Bernie Lemon of Wauwatosa who was instrumental in starting the Wisconsin Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Club and bringing the elk home to Wisconsin.
The elk expansion is just one of the new programs made possible through the historic new compact agreements with Wisconsin's Indian Tribes. The new five-year compacts netted the state $23 million a year, far more than the $350,000 we currently receive. And the benefactors will be sportsmen, tribal members, taxpayers, our environment and our communities.
Teddy Roosevelt told us, "In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen."
Wisconsin sportsmen have certainly lived up to that philosophy with their commitment to our environment. This budget is our commitment to them.
For the first time, the state will direct non-license fee revenues to the Fish and Wildlife Fund. Our hunters and fishermen have invested millions to enhance our natural resources, and today we seek to complement their commitment with $4 million in state money to stabilize the fund and keep license fees down.
Compact revenue also will be used to protect, preserve and promote our environment and communities in the following ways:
•
$2.5 million for low-interest WHEDA loan guarantees to help level the playing field for businesses in counties where casinos operate.
•
$8 million for the Department of Tourism to market the beauty and spectacle of our natural resources and communities.
•
$1.5 million for safety enforcement on our snowmobile trails
•
And $2 million in grants for tribes to supplement existing law enforcement programs or develop new ones to combat crime and drug abuse on reservations.
The people of this state can certainly be proud of the environmental legacy we have inherited. But we can be even more proud of the legacy we will leave behind. The frontiers of possibility will be clean and pristine.
Close
In closing, the bridge this budget builds between two centuries provides us a golden opportunity to renew our legacy of good government.
S69
Two years ago, I began my budget speech by offering you our state's very own Rippin Good cookies. And I concluded last year's state of the state address with a cake smothered in rich, creamy icing. But I'm getting the sense you do not have a sweet tooth
.
Neither party gained from the budget stalemate of two years ago. And the growing bitterness of political campaigns is not helping matters either.
So today, I offer you nothing more than the feelings of our citizens, who are making it increasingly clear that they are fed up with partisan politics.
Make no mistake about it: Right now, there's one thing the people of Wisconsin want more than tax cuts, more than good schools, more than quality health care. They want us to work together. They're tired of the needless fighting. Because the people know if those they send to Madison don't work together, none of the above goals will be accomplished.
If we are to create a government that truly trusts the people – we must first restore their trust in government. For that to occur we must learn to trust each other.
Let us begin the budget process by remembering that civility between leaders does not infer weakness. Instead it breeds cooperation, which is what the people of Wisconsin demand from their elected leaders.
For in the end – and in this new beginning – it will be the people that will determine our fate and that of Wisconsin.
Today, let us commit to them our unwavering trust. And deliver through our actions a shining light of cooperation to guide our state into the next millennium.
The Frontiers of Possibility await. Let us explore them together.
Thank you and God Bless Wisconsin.
__________________
The joint committee on Finance reports and recommends:
Senate Bill 45
Relating to: state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 1999 legislature.
Introduction.
Ayes, 16 - Senators
Burke, Decker, Jauch, Moore, Shibilski, Plache, Cowles and Panzer. Representatives Gard, Porter, Kaufert, Albers, Duff, Ward, Huber and Riley.
Noes, 0 - None.
Read first time and referred to joint committee on Finance.
Brian Burke
Senate Chairperson
Pursuant to Senate Rule
36(2)(c) and section 13.52(6), Wisconsin Statutes, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions shall prepare and submit a report in writing setting forth an opinion on the desirability of
Senate Bill 45, relating to state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 1999 legislature, as a matter of public policy.
Pursuant to Senate Rule
36(2)(c) and section 13.50(6), Wisconsin Statutes, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems shall prepare and submit a report in writing setting forth an opinion on the desirability of
Senate Bill 45, relating to state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 1999 legislature, as a matter of public policy.
Adjourned.
4:30 P.M.
