28. Natural Resources – Trout Management
29. Natural Resources – Wild Crane Study
30. Tourism – Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Law Enforcement Services
31. University of Wisconsin-Extension – Grazing Education Grants
32. Workforce Development – Trade Masters Pilot Program
A.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HIGHER EDUCATIONAL AIDS BOARD
1.
Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant Program
Section 1382r
This section amends 39.44 (1) (b) by expanding the eligibility requirement for the Minority Undergraduate Retention Grants program to include freshmen.
I am vetoing this section because the original intent of this program is to retain students who are making satisfactory progress at postsecondary institutions. Expanding the program to freshmen significantly alters this intent and is likely to reduce grants to those students who are meeting the original intent of the program. Furthermore, freshmen students are eligible to receive grants from the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant and Tuition Grant programs, as well as the federal Pell Grant program.
2.
Study on State Payment of Two Years of Postsecondary Education
Section 9101 (21g)
This section would require the Department of Administration to study the development and implementation of a tuition grant program that would pay the cost of two years of postsecondary education.
I am vetoing this provision because the Legislature does not need to create a statutory mandate to study this issue. The Legislature has the authority to direct the Joint Legislative Council, Legislative Fiscal Bureau or the Legislative Audit Bureau to undertake such a study.
3.
Academic Excellence Scholarships for International Baccalaureate Degree Students
Section 1381m
S293
This provision would permit local school boards and the governing board of each private high school to award an Academic Excellence Scholarship to the senior with the highest grade point average in the International Baccalaureate Degree program.
I am vetoing this provision because it could potentially deny Academic Excellence Scholarships to students who have higher grade point averages in demanding curricula other than the International Baccalaureate Degree program. The intent of the scholarships is to reward students with the highest grade point average in their respective schools. Although I support participation in the International Baccalaureate Degree program and recognize its challenging curriculum, I do not believe it is fair to single out one program in state statute for favored treatment.
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
4.
Domestic Abuse Training Requirements
Section 1379t
This provision requires the Medical College of Wisconsin to increase the amount of domestic abuse training it provides to medical students.
I am vetoing this provision because the Medical College of Wisconsin already provides domestic abuse training to medical students. The provision also does not define increased training or demonstrate that current training by the Medical College is inadequate. This provision could have an unintended impact on curriculum development that could raise accreditation concerns.
In addition, the provision was apparently added to the budget bill without the involvement of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation or the Department of Health and Family Services. These organizations are currently involved in a two-and-one-half year project to review domestic violence standards and protocols. It is appropriate to wait until the project is completed before considering changes to existing training efforts.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
5.
Delay of $115,000,000 of School Aids to July 2003
These sections delay $115,000,000 of school aids that should be paid in fiscal year 2002-03 until fiscal year 2003-04. In addition, $700,000 GPR is appropriated for interest due on the delayed aid payment.
I am vetoing these provisions because the Legislature cannot increase the amount of delayed payments without placing the state's financial future at considerable risk. Previous budgets have delayed over $940,000,000 in payments to local governments to allow for more spending. Further increasing the amount of delayed payments weakens our standing in the eyes of financial markets, increasing the potential for higher interest costs to state and local governments due to downgrading of the creditworthiness of the state's general obligation bonds.
The payment delay reflects an inability to prioritize spending. It conceals an unwillingness to fund two-thirds of local school costs within the state's fiscal year in order to allow more spending in other areas. As difficult as the choices in this budget have been, future budget choices will be much tougher if the delay is accepted.
We should not worsen our financial fundamentals by accepting this payment shift. According to generally accepted accounting principles, Wisconsin already has the worst budget imbalance in the country. The general fund must now regularly borrow hundreds of millions of dollars for operations just to pay bills on time. We have reached the point where further payment shifts place the state's finances at extreme risk.
Jeopardizing our financial future does a disservice to Wisconsin's local governments and its citizens. Delaying decisions on the tough choices only makes those choices more difficult. This puts those dependent on state government at even greater risk in the future. All are better served by truth-in-budgeting and ensuring the state can pay its bills on time.
While I cannot use my veto authority to increase school aid, I am still committed to meeting two-thirds of local school costs. Under current law, the Joint Committee on Finance is required to set the school aid funding level for fiscal year 2002-03 by June 30, 2002. I remain convinced that the state's economy will show increased vigor in the months ahead. However, in the event that revenues do not change from current estimates, the significant savings generated by my vetoes provides sufficient revenues for the Joint Committee on Finance to buy back the school aid payment delay.
6.
Revenue Limit Flexibility
This provision allows any school board, on a two-thirds vote, to increase its allowable revenue per student above the amount that would be permitted under current law. The provision also includes an adjustment linking the maximum size of the allowable increase, measured on a percentage basis, to a district's equalized property value per pupil; the lower the property value, the larger the increase. On a statewide basis, the average increase would equal 0.78 percent of the allowable revenue per student.
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I am vetoing this provision because it is likely to be inadequately funded, and it will have a negative effect on the state's overall fiscal condition. The Legislature included $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2001-02 and $30,000,000 in fiscal year 2002-03 to support this provision. The increase is based on the assumption that 37.5 percent of the available revenue limit flexibility will be used in 2001-02 and 75 percent in 2002-03. However, if the school boards representing the seventeen districts receiving the largest allowable increases make full use of their flexibility, the $15,000,000 provided in 2001-02 to cover the state's two-thirds share will be exceeded. Any shortfall could increase local property taxes. If all districts make full use of the available flexibility in both years, the state would fall $33,000,000 short of its commitment to fund two-thirds of the added spending. In addition, districts already have the authority to exceed limits through the referendum process.
This budget will include a $53,450,000 increase in funding for the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program, which will greatly expand the state's efforts to reduce class size in grades kindergarten through three. This will bring total funding of the SAGE program to $95,029,600 in the 2002-03 school year. In addition, my veto of the provision that would have reduced funding for four-year-old kindergarten programs (see Department of Public Instruction, Item #7) will put more state resources into this important early learning program. Furthermore, the per student inflationary increases allowed under current law will add almost $600,000,000 in state and local school spending over the biennium. School districts will also be receiving an estimated $84,000,000 in credits under a premium holiday related to unfunded accrued liabilities within the Wisconsin Retirement System, authorized in
1999 Wisconsin Act 11. In addition, I have approved funding to allow small districts serving large geographic areas to exceed the allowable school revenue limits.
The most recent national survey of school spending by
Education Week magazine ranks Wisconsin sixth in spending per student. Clearly, this budget increases the state's already strong commitment to elementary and secondary education. Funding additional revenue limit flexibility, beyond these commitments, would severely strain the state's resources and increase local property taxes. By lining out the Department of Public Instruction's s.
20.255 (2) (ac) appropriation for general equalization aids and writing in a smaller amount that deletes $15,000,000 GPR in fiscal year 2001-02 and $16,000,000 in fiscal year 2002-03, I am partially vetoing the part of the bill which funds this provision. This partial veto retains $14,000,000 in fiscal year 2002-03 to fund the cost of my veto of changes to the four-year-old kindergarten membership count (see Department of Public Instruction, Item #7). I am also requesting the Department of Administration secretary not to allot these funds.
7.
Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Membership
Sections 2749m, 2761d, 2761g, 2764m, 2779 [as it relates to the amount of any revenue limit increase], 2788m, 2798L, 9140 (10f) and 9340 (8h)
This provision reduces state funding for four-year-old kindergarten programs, beginning in the 2002-03 school year, by reducing the maximum full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment count that is eligible for state aid from 0.5 FTE to 0.3 FTE per enrolled pupil in a regular program and from 0.6 FTE to 0.4 FTE in an expanded program. The provision also includes a revenue limit exemption that would authorize school boards to increase local property taxes to offset the loss in state support.
I am vetoing this provision to restore the current level of state support for four-year-old kindergarten. Research has shown that early education is an important factor in academic achievement as students progress through the educational system. This is especially true for pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. As we expect our children to learn more, we need to give them more opportunities to learn. Four-year-old kindergarten programs can serve as a valuable companion to the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program, which reduces class size in grades kindergarten through three. Working together these programs can provide children with a solid foundation for continued achievement.
Under a separate veto of the revenue limit flexibility provision (see Department of Public Instruction, Item #6), I have also reversed the $14,000,000 reduction in general equalization aids related to this provision. By deleting only $16,000,000 of the $30,000,000 included by the Legislature to fund the revenue limit flexibility provision in fiscal year 2002-03, $14,000,000 is available to maintain the current level of support for four-year-old kindergarten programs.
While this lower reduction restores the funding to reflect the costs of these programs, it is not possible through a veto to properly split the funding between the appropriations affecting public schools and the Milwaukee Parental Choice program for four-year-old kindergarten programs. Based on current estimates of fiscal year 2002-03 costs, $700,000 of the $14,000,000 restored through this veto should be added to the appropriation for the Milwaukee Parental Choice program. The proper distribution of these funds can be addressed when the Joint Committee on Finance meets in June 2002 to determine the general equalization amount for fiscal year 2002-03.
8.
High School Graduation Test
Sections 2703m, 2707m and 2718m
This provision delays implementation of the high school graduation test from the 2002-03 school year to the 2004-05 school year.
I am vetoing this provision to restore the implementation date to the 2002-03 school year. The Department of Public Instruction has been developing the high school graduation test for the past several years and is nearing completion of a version that it planned to pilot in the 2001-02 school year. School districts and pupils have also been preparing for implementation. To delay the test at this late date is unfair to those who are expecting implementation in 2002-03. It also damages the state's credibility with the educational community, which has made a considerable investment in getting ready for the test.
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In addition, a two-year delay would require the department to repeat much of the work that has already been done at an additional cost to state taxpayers. Finally, it is critically important that greater accountability at a statewide level be expected from a system educating over 850,000 pupils at a cost that will exceed $8 billion by the 2002-03 school year. The high school graduation test is an important part of that accountability.
It is not possible, through a veto, to restore the $9,300,000 included in my original budget request for continued development and implementation of the test. However, the federal government is currently considering funding to support the federal testing initiative in grades three through eight. Should that funding become available, the department should be able to reallocate existing state support for testing in the elementary grades to the high school graduation test. If additional federal funding is not forthcoming, I will propose separate legislation to address the implementation of the high school graduation test.
9.
Calculator Use on Statewide Fourth-Grade Examination
Sections 2709m and 9340 (16c)
This provision prohibits pupils, beginning in the 2002-03 school year, from using calculators while taking the statewide fourth-grade examination.
I am vetoing this provision because one of Wisconsin's model academic standards, which were developed under a process approved by the Legislature, requires fourth-grade pupils to "select and efficiently use appropriate computational procedures such as . . . using a calculator." The current fourth-grade examination already includes a mathematical section where calculator use is prohibited. While I fully support the development of strong mathematical skills that do not rely on the use of a calculator, I also recognize that being able to use a calculator properly is both necessary in today's society and allows pupils to solve more complicated and interesting problems.
10.
Study on School Financing
Section 9140 (10k)
This provision requests the Joint Legislative Council to conduct a study of school financing.
I am vetoing this provision because the Legislature already has the authority to request a study without a nonstatutory provision.
11.
Special Education Study
Section 9140 (10fm)
This provision requests the Joint Legislative Council to conduct a study of the criteria used to determine a pupil's need for special education services.
I am vetoing this provision because the Legislature already has the authority to request a study without a nonstatutory provision.
12.
University of Wisconsin Special Education Study
Sections 1351zb and 2638m
This provision requires the board of regents to direct the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education and Department of Neurology to study methods of identifying and remediating special education pupils with dyslexia and irlen syndrome and to distribute the completed report to each school district.
I am vetoing these provisions because the Legislature and the university have the authority to conduct a study without a budget provision. Furthermore, while I believe this research could be of significant value, the University of Wisconsin does not require statutory language to conduct studies. In light of the potential value of research on dyslexia and irlen syndrome, I strongly encourage the board of regents to direct that such a study be done.
13.
Minority Group Pupil Scholarships
This provision increases funding for minority group pupil scholarships by $450,000 GPR in fiscal years 2001-02 and 2002-03.
I am partially vetoing this provision because I object to providing a 29.5 percent increase to this program at a time when the state faces significant fiscal constraints. By lining out the Department of Public Instruction's s.
20.255 (3) (fz) appropriation for minority group pupil scholarships and writing in smaller amounts that delete $450,000 GPR in fiscal year 2001-02 and $297,500 GPR in fiscal year 2002-03, I am vetoing the part of the bill which funds this provision. This will still provide the Minority Group Pupil Scholarship program with a ten percent increase in fiscal year 2002-03. The program also received a 45 percent increase in the 1999-2001 biennial budget.
14.
Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program Study
This section provides $50,000 GPR in fiscal year 2002-03 to the Department of Public Instruction to study the effectiveness of the programs that comprise the Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program.
I am vetoing this provision because the department can conduct this study without being required to do so by statute.
Although there is no language in the budget bill that authorizes this increase, the purpose of this funding was included in the Conference Committee amendment to the bill. By lining out the department's s.
20.255 (1) (a) appropriation and writing in a smaller amount that deletes the $50,000 GPR provided for this purpose in fiscal year 2002-03, I am vetoing that part of the bill which funds the Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Program study. The appropriation under s.
20.255 (1) (a) is also reduced by my veto of the department's exclusion from base budget reductions (see Department of Public Instruction, Item #18). Furthermore, I am requesting the Department of Administration secretary not to allot these funds.
S296
15.
Aid to Public Library Systems
This provision increases funding for public library systems by $250,000 GPR in fiscal year 2002-03.
I am vetoing this provision because it increases expenditure authority for this appropriation at a time when the state is experiencing significant financial constraints. In addition, aid to public library systems received an 11.3 percent increase in the 1999-2001 biennial budget.
Although there is no language in the budget bill that authorizes this increase, the purpose of this funding was included in the Conference Committee amendment to the bill. By lining out the Department of Public Instruction's s.
20.255 (3) (e) appropriation and writing in a smaller amount that deletes the $250,000 GPR provided for this purpose in fiscal year 2002-03, I am vetoing that part of the bill which funds the increase to public library system aids. Furthermore, I am requesting the Department of Administration secretary not to allot these funds.
16.
Library Service Contracts
This provision increases funding for library service contracts by $97,300 GPR in fiscal year 2001-02 and $125,300 GPR in fiscal year 2002-03.
I am vetoing this provision because it increases expenditure authority for this appropriation at a time when the state is experiencing significant financial constraints. In addition, payments for library service contracts received a 7.6 percent increase in the 1999-2001 biennial budget.
Although there is no language in the budget bill that authorizes this increase, the purpose of this funding was included in the Conference Committee amendment to the bill. By lining out the Department of Public Instruction's s.
20.255 (3) (ea) appropriation and writing in smaller amounts that delete the $97,300 GPR in fiscal year 2001-02 and the $125,300 GPR in fiscal year 2002-03, I am vetoing that part of the bill which funds the increase to library service contracts. Furthermore, I am requesting the Department of Administration secretary not to allot these funds.
17.
Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Sections 181m, 371b, 395 [as it relates to s.
20.255 (1) (b), s.
20.255 (1) (c), s.
20.255 (1) (gb), s.
20.255 (1) (gh), s.
20.255 (1) (gL), s.
20.255 (1) (gs) and s.
20.255 (1) (gt)], 541r, 542, 545d, 545f, 545h, 545j, 545L, 1381g, 1381p, 1381r, 1416 [as it relates to the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing], 1489m, 1789b, 1789c, 1789d, 2639m, 2660m, 2660r, 2660t, 2661m, 2661p, 2661r, 2661t, 2662g, 2764c, 2779s, 3938s and 9140 (3q)
