This bill creates a qualified transportation fringe benefit plan for state
employees, administered by DETF. This plan is authorized under the federal
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and permits employees to set aside pre-tax income to
pay eligible transportation expenses before taxes are computed. Three types of
eligible transportation expenses are covered: parking expenses incurred at or near
an employer's premises; expenses incurred to pay for an employee's use of mass
transportation; and expenses incurred by an employee in paying his or her share of
the cost of using a van pool.
Under current law, the group insurance board may not enter into an agreement
to modify or expand group insurance coverage in a manner that materially affects
the level of insurance premiums required to be paid by the state or its employees or
the level of benefits. This bill authorizes the group insurance board to enter into such
an agreement if the modification or expansion would reduce the cost incurred by the
state in providing group health insurance to state employees.
This bill authorizes the secretary of employee trust funds (secretary) to settle
any dispute in an appeal of a determination made by DETF that is subject to review
by the employee trust funds board, the group insurance board, the teachers
retirement board, the Wisconsin retirement board, and the deferred compensation
board. In deciding whether to resolve such a dispute, the secretary must consider
the cost of litigation, the likelihood of success on the merits, the cost of delay in
resolving the dispute, the actuarial impact on the public employee trust fund, and
any other relevant factor the secretary considers appropriate.
In addition, the bill authorizes the secretary, if the secretary determines that
an otherwise eligible participant has unintentionally forfeited or otherwise
involuntarily ceased to be eligible for any benefit administered by DETF because of
an error in administration by DETF, to order the correction of the error to prevent
inequity.
state government
Justice
Currently, DOJ is required to provide legal services to DATCP for enforcement
of the laws related to consumer protection. DOJ may commence an action to restrain
by temporary or permanent injunction the violation of marketing and trade
practices, including fraudulent representations, negative sales of
telecommunication services, or unfair retailing of merchandise. This bill removes
the authority of DOJ to enforce the laws relating to consumer protection and places
that authority with DATCP or the district attorney. The bill permits DATCP to
request DOJ to provide legal services to DATCP relating to consumer protection.
This bill increases from $8 to $12 the fee that DOJ charges a firearms dealer
for each firearms restrictions record search requested by the dealer.
With certain exceptions, current law requires that a person pay a penalty
assessment if ordered by a court to pay a fine or forfeiture for violating a state law
or local ordinance. The penalty assessment amount is 23% of the amount of the fine
or forfeiture (civil monetary penalty). Twenty-seven fifty-fifths of the revenue
collected under the assessment is appropriated to DOJ to fund training of law
enforcement, jail, and secure detention officers, and to fund the purchase of
equipment for the state crime laboratories. The remaining twenty-eight fifty-fifths
of the revenue collected under the penalty assessment is appropriated to the office
of justice assistance (OJA) to fund an assortment of criminal justice and law
enforcement programs.
This bill decreases the penalty assessment to 13% of the amount of a fine or
forfeiture. The revenue collected under the penalty assessment is appropriated to
OJA to fund the programs that OJA currently funds with the twenty-eight
fifty-fifths portion of the 23% penalty assessment.
The bill creates a law enforcement training fund assessment that is separate
from the penalty assessment. The law enforcement training fund assessment is an
11% surcharge on fines and forfeitures ordered for a violation of most state laws or
local ordinances. The bill appropriates the revenue collected under the law
enforcement training fund assessment to DOJ to fund the law enforcement, jail, and
secure detention officer training, and the purchase of equipment for the crime
laboratories that is currently funded by the twenty-seven fifty-fifths portion of the
penalty assessment revenue appropriated to DOJ.
Under current law, DOJ administers a grant program to fund cooperative
county-tribal law enforcement programs in counties that have Indian reservations
within their boundaries. OJA administers a similar grant program to fund county
law enforcement programs that are not supported by the DOJ grant program in
counties that border Indian reservations. Each program is funded from Indian
gaming receipts.
This bill moves administration of the DOJ cooperative county-tribal law
enforcement grant program to DOA and consolidates it with the OJA grant program
for counties bordering Indian reservations. The consolidated grant program
provides funding for law enforcement services to counties that have an Indian
reservation within their boundaries or that border an Indian reservation.
State employment
Under current law, appointments and promotions to positions in the state
classified civil service must be made according to merit and fitness. When vacancies
occur in such positions, the administrator of the division of merit recruitment and
selection in DER must certify names that may be considered for appointment to the
position. This bill authorizes the administrator, with the approval of the secretary
of employment relations, to establish pilot programs for the recruitment of
individuals to fill vacant positions in the classified service. Under the bill, the pilot
programs, which may not be in effect for more than one year, are exempt from all
recruitment and certification requirements under current law, except that
appointments and promotions to positions must be made according to the applicant's
merit and fitness for the position.
Currently, any legislator who establishes a temporary residence in Madison for
the period of any regular or special legislative session may receive an allowance for
expenses incurred for food and lodging for each day that he or she is in Madison on
legislative business. The amount of the allowance is recommended by the secretary
of employment relations and incorporated into the state compensation plan and
must be approved by the joint committee on employment relations.
This bill provides that the allowance is 90% of the per diem rate for travel for
federal government business within the city of Madison, as established by the federal
general services administration. Under the bill, the amount is established before the
start of the biennial legislative session and remains in effect the entire biennial
session.
Under current law, appointing authorities in state agencies are prohibited from
appointing nonresidents to limited term appointments and to project positions in the
state civil service. This bill eliminates this prohibition.
State finance
This bill limits the aggregate amount of general purpose revenue (GPR) that
may be appropriated in any fiscal biennium. Under the bill, the limit is calculated
by first establishing a base year amount that equals the amount of GPR appropriated
in the second year of the prior fiscal biennium. For the new fiscal biennium, the base
year amount is increased by the annual percentage change in state aggregate
personal income for the calendar year that begins on the January 1 that precedes the
first year of the fiscal biennium. This amount is increased by the annual percentage
change in state aggregate personal income for the calendar year that begins on the
January 1 that precedes the second year of the fiscal biennium. The sum of these two
amounts is the aggregate amount of GPR that may be appropriated during the fiscal
biennium. Under the bill, DOA is required to make the determination of the amount
of GPR that may be appropriated for each fiscal biennium.
The bill excludes certain GPR appropriations from the limit. These are
appropriations for debt service or operating notes; appropriations to honor a moral
obligation pledge that the state has taken with respect to certain revenue bonds;
appropriations to refund certain earnings to the federal government relating to state
bond issues; an appropriation for legal expenses and the costs of judgments, orders,
and settlements of actions and appeals incurred by the state; an appropriation to
make a payment for tax relief; an appropriation to make a transfer from the general
fund to the budget stabilization fund; an appropriation to make a transfer from the
general fund to the tax relief fund; and any appropriation contained in a bill that is
enacted with approval of at least two-thirds of the members of each house of the
legislature.
This bill requires that certain transfers be made between the general fund, the
budget stabilization fund, and the tax relief fund, which is created in the bill.
Under the bill, the secretary of administration (secretary) must annually
calculate the difference between the amount of tax revenues projected to be deposited
in the general fund (projected tax receipts) and the amount of tax revenues actually
deposited in the general fund during the preceding fiscal year (actual tax receipts).
If the projected tax receipts are less than the actual tax receipts, the secretary must
transfer from the general fund to the budget stabilization fund an amount equal to
50% of the difference between the projected tax receipts and the actual tax receipts.
This transfer, however, may not take place once the balance of the budget
stabilization fund is at least equal to 5% of the estimated expenditures from the
general fund during the fiscal year, as projected in the biennial budget act or acts.
Also, the secretary must reduce the amount of the transfer if the transferred amount
would cause the general fund balance to be less than the required general fund
statutory balance. (The required statutory balance refers to a statement in current
law that the estimated general fund balance in any fiscal year may not be an amount
less than the following percentage of the total general purpose revenue
appropriations for that fiscal year plus any amount from general purpose revenue
designated as "Compensation Reserves": for fiscal year 2002-03, 1.4%; for fiscal year
2003-04, 1.6%; for fiscal year 2004-05, 1.8%; and, for fiscal year 2005-06 and each
fiscal year thereafter, 2%.)
The bill creates a tax relief fund that consists of the difference between the
projected tax receipts and the actual tax receipts in each fiscal year and the amount
transferred from the general fund to the budget stabilization fund in each fiscal year.
In addition, the bill creates an individual income tax relief fund tax credit,
which may be claimed by an individual taxpayer or by a taxpayer and his or her
spouse. A claimant may also claim a credit for each of his or her dependents,
although a dependent may not claim a credit. The credit is nonrefundable, meaning
that if the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, no check is issued
in the amount of the difference. The credit is available only in taxable years in which
the amount in the tax relief fund exceeds $25,000,000. If the secretary certifies that
the amount in the fund exceeds that amount, DOR determines the amount of the
credit that may be claimed in that taxable year. The credit amount is determined by
dividing the amount certified by the sum of all claimants, all spouses of claimants,
and all dependents, and then modified so that the amount in the fund is expended
as fully as possible.
On November 23, 1998, Wisconsin and other states agreed to a settlement of
lawsuits brought against the major U.S. tobacco product manufacturers (the tobacco
settlement agreement). Under the tobacco settlement agreement, the state is to
receive annual payments from the U.S. tobacco product manufacturers in perpetuity.
This bill authorizes the secretary of administration (secretary) to sell the state's right
to receive payments under the tobacco settlement agreement and provides that the
proceeds from this sale are to be deposited in the permanent endowment fund, a trust
fund created in the bill.
Under the bill, annually the secretary must transfer a certain amount of
moneys in the permanent endowment fund to the general fund. For 2002 and 2003,
the amount that must be transferred from the permanent endowment fund to the
general fund is the amount that the state would have received as payments under
the tobacco settlement agreement had the state's right to receive the payments not
been sold. The amount available for transfer in each subsequent year, as calculated
by the investment board, must equal the sum of the following:
1. An amount that equals 8.5% of the market value of the investments in the
permanent endowment fund on June 1.
2. All proceeds of, and investment earnings on, investments of the permanent
endowment fund made at the direction of the secretary that are received in the fiscal
year.
3. All other amounts identified by the secretary as payments of residual
interests to the state from the sale of the state's right to receive moneys under tobacco
settlement agreement that are received in the fiscal year.
The bill also requires that, in fiscal years 2001-02 and 2002-03, the first
$12,006,400 and $21,169,200, respectively, in payments from the tobacco settlement
agreement be deposited in the tobacco control fund and appropriated to the tobacco
control board for distribution to specific smoking cessation and prevention programs
and for grants for smoking cessation education, research, and enforcement
programs. In the event that the state's right to receive payments under the tobacco
settlement agreement is sold before the required amounts are received in fiscal years
2001-03, the bill requires that a necessary amount be transferred from the general
fund to the tobacco control fund to make up any shortfall.
The bill provides that the investment board may invest the assets of the
permanent endowment fund in any investment that is an authorized investment for
assets in the fixed retirement investment trust and the variable retirement trust.
In addition, the bill requires the investment board to invest certain of the assets in
the permanent endowment fund according to the terms and conditions specified by
the secretary; the bill specifically provides that the investment board is not subject
to its statutory standard of responsibility when it makes such an investment.
The bill also authorizes the secretary of administration to organize one or more
nonstock corporations or limited liability companies for any purpose related to the
sale of the state's right to receive payments under the tobacco settlement agreement
and appropriates moneys for the organization and initial capitalization of any such
corporation or company.
The bill establishes the legal characteristics of any sale, assignment, or transfer
of payments under the tobacco settlement agreement. In addition, the bill provides
that, with certain exceptions, this state's version of Article 9 of the Uniform
Commercial Code governs the granting and enforcing of security interests in those
payments. Article 9 generally governs similar transactions. Under the bill, if a
person obtains, evidences, and provides notice of an interest in the tobacco
settlement agreement payments under the procedure specified in the bill, that
interest is enforceable against the debtor, any assignee or grantee, and all third
parties, including creditors under any lien obtained by judicial proceedings. In
addition, the interest is superior to all other liens against the tobacco settlement
agreement payments that arise after the date on which the interest attaches to those
payments.
Currently, DOA is required, subject to numerous exceptions, to make purchases
by solicitation of bids or competitive sealed proposals preceded by public notice. DOA
must prepare written justification of contractual service procurements and must
comply with rules regarding conflicts of interest between contractors and DOA
employees. DOA must also attempt to ensure that a specified portion of its
procurement business is awarded to minority-owned businesses. This bill exempts
contracts entered into by DOA to provide financial services in relation to this state's
interest in the tobacco settlement agreement payments from compliance with these
requirements.
Currently, with certain exceptions, no person may commence a legal action
against the state unless the person presents a claim to the claims board for a
recommendation and the legislature denies the claim. This bill exempts claims
presented in relation to this state's interest in the tobacco settlement agreement
payments from compliance with this requirement.
Under current law, the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority
(WHEFA) may issue bonds to finance certain projects of health or educational
facilities, such as the construction or remodeling of a health or educational facility
or related structure, and to refinance outstanding debt of health or educational
facilities. Under this bill, WHEFA is authorized to purchase the state's right to
receive payments under the tobacco settlement agreement, to make a loan that is
secured by the state's right to receive those payments, and to issue bonds to finance
the purchase or to make the loan. Any bonds issued to finance the purchase or to
make the loan must be payable from, or secured by interests in, the payments under
the tobacco settlement agreement. In addition, WHEFA is authorized to organize
one or more nonstock corporations or limited liability companies for any purpose
related to the purchase or sale of the state's right to receive payments under the
tobacco settlement agreement.
This bill affirms the state's participation in the tobacco settlement agreement
and states that the payments received under that agreement are the property of the
state, to be used as the state decides by law. The bill also provides that no political
subdivision of the state, or officer or agent of a political subdivision, may maintain
a claim related to the tobacco settlement agreement or any claim against any party
that was released from liability by the state under the tobacco settlement agreement.
This bill requires the secretary to prepare a statement of estimated general
purpose revenue receipts and expenditures in the biennium following the succeeding
biennium based on recommendations in the executive biennial budget bill or bills.
This statement is to accompany the biennial budget report that is submitted by the
secretary on the day that the governor delivers the budget message to the legislature.
The bill also requires that the legislative fiscal bureau prepare the same
statement but based on the recommendations in the executive biennial budget bill
or bills, as modified by an amendment offered by JCF, as engrossed by the first house,
as concurred in and amended by the second house or as nonconcurred in by the
second house, or as reported by any committee on conference.
The bill requires the secretary to prepare, as part of the biennial budget report,
a comparison of the state's budgetary surplus or deficit according to generally
accepted accounting principles, as reported in the most recent audited financial
report prepared by DOA, and the estimated change in the surplus or deficit based on
recommendations in the biennial budget bill or bills.
Current statutes state that "[n]o bill directly or indirectly affecting general
purpose revenues ... may be enacted by the legislature if the bill would cause the
estimated general fund balance on June 30 of any fiscal year ... to be an amount equal
to less than the following percentage of the total general purpose revenue
appropriations for that fiscal year plus any amount from general purpose revenue
designated as "Compensation Reserves" for that fiscal year ...." For fiscal year
2002-03, the amount is 1.4%. This bill reduces this amount to 1.2%.
Public utility regulation
Under current law, the PSC is required to establish standards for water or
sewer service that is provided to occupants of a mobile home park by the park
operator or a contractor. The PSC's rules must include requirements for metering,
billing, depositing, arranging deferred payment, installing service, refusing or
discontinuing service, and resolving disputes about service. The rules must also
ensure that charges are reasonable and not unjustly discriminatory, that service is
reasonably adequate, and that any related practice is just and reasonable. This bill
transfers authority to regulate water and sewer service provided to occupants of
manufactured home parks from the PSC to the department of commerce.
This bill creates immunity from liability for public utilities for stray voltage.
Under the bill, a public utility is immune from liability for any damage caused by or
resulting from stray voltage contributed by the public utility if the stray voltage is
below the level of concern established by the PSC. In addition, the stray voltage must
be determined using the PSC's principles and guidelines regarding stray voltage
screening and diagnostic procedures. Upon the request of any party to an action for
damages for stray voltage, the PSC must evaluate and testify as to whether its
applicable order was followed in calculating the amount of stray voltage. The bill
provides that damages from stray voltage are not subject to the current provision
that allows treble damages for injuries resulting from the willful, wanton, or reckless
acts or omissions of the public utility's directors, officers, employees, or agents.
This bill authorizes the PSC to conduct an energy assessment of any proposed
state agency rule that may affect state energy policies and, if the rule has a
significant impact on the state's energy policies, to prepare an energy impact
statement. The bill requires the state agency that is proposing the rule to consider
the PSC energy impact statement before final adoption of the rule and to include the
energy impact statement and the agency's response in the notice when the agency
submits its proposed rule in final form to the legislature.
Under current law, telecommunications utilities and providers are subject to
certain requirements regarding the protection of consumers, including other
telecommunications utilities and providers that use their services. The PSC, on its
own motion or upon a complaint filed by a consumer, may take administrative action
or commence civil actions against telecommunications utilities and providers to
enforce these requirements. This bill provides that the PSC has jurisdiction in its
own name or on behalf of consumers to take such actions. The bill also clarifies that
the PSC's authority to take administrative action includes initiating a contested
case.
Under current law, the PSC may bring an action in court for injunctive relief
for compelling compliance with the requirements, for compelling refunds of any
moneys collected in violation of the requirements, or for any other relief under the
public utility statutes. This bill also allows the PSC to take administrative action,
in addition to bringing an action in court, for compelling compliance with the
requirements or for compelling refunds. The bill also allows the PSC to take
administrative action or bring an action in court for any other appropriate relief,
instead of just any other relief under the public utility statutes. Also, the bill allows
the PSC to directly impose forfeitures for violations of the requirements.
Under current law, the PSC may request the attorney general to bring an action
in court to require a telecommunications utility or provider to compensate any
person for any pecuniary loss caused by failure to comply with the requirements.
Under this bill, in addition to requesting the attorney general to bring such an action,
the PSC may take administrative action, including initiating a contested case, or
bring its own action in court to require such compensation.
Under current law, the PSC may investigate whether rates, tolls, charges,
schedules, or joint rates are unjust, unreasonable, insufficient, unjustly
discriminatory or preferential, or unlawful and order that reasonable rates, tolls,
charges, schedules, or joint rates be imposed, observed, or followed in the future.
With respect to telecommunications providers, this bill also allows the PSC to order
reasonable compensation for persons injured by reason of rates, tolls, charges,
schedules, or joint rates of telecommunications providers that are investigated.
Under current law, public utilities and certain other entities, such as
telecommunications providers, that violate laws enforced by the PSC, PSC orders,
and certain other requirements are subject to a forfeiture of between $25 and $5,000,
for each day of violation, which is imposed by a court. Under this bill, the PSC may
also impose such a forfeiture against a telecommunications provider by
administrative action.
Under current law, the PSC is required to inquire into neglect or violation of
laws by public utilities and telecommunications carriers, enforce such laws, and
report all violations to the attorney general. This bill also allows the PSC to take
administrative action and institute and prosecute all necessary actions and
proceedings for enforcing all laws relating to telecommunications providers or
telecommunications carriers, and for the punishment of all violations.
This bill requires DOA to award grants to operators of dairy, beef, or swine
farms for eliminating stray voltage concerns and sources or replacing electrical
wiring. The bill creates a farm rewiring fund, consisting of contributions that certain
gas and electric utilities make to the PSC, from which the grants are made. A farm
operator is not eligible for grants unless the public utility that provides electric
service to the farm has conducted tests to determine the sources of stray voltage on
the farm.
Under current law, the PSC is allowed to assess against a public utility the
expenses incurred by the PSC in taking regulatory action with respect to the public
utility. The PSC is allowed to make similar assessments against other entities under
its jurisdiction, including a person seeking approval to construct a wholesale
merchant plant. A wholesale merchant plant is electric generating equipment that
does not serve retail customers and that is owned and operated by either: 1) a person
that is not a public utility; or 2) subject to approval of the PSC, an affiliate of a public
utility.
Current law imposes a limit on the amount that the PSC may assess against
a public utility or other entity under the PSC's jurisdiction. The total amount that
the PSC may assess in a calendar year may not exceed four-fifths of one percent of
the public utility's or entity's gross operating revenues derived from intrastate
operations in the last preceding calendar year.
Under this bill, the limit on assessments does not apply to assessments for the
expenses incurred by the PSC in taking regulatory action with respect to approving
construction of wholesale merchant plants.
Other state government
Creation of department of electronic government
This bill creates a department of electronic government (DEG). The bill
transfers most existing functions of DOA relating to information technology and
telecommunications to DEG and creates a number of new functions for DEG. The
bill grants DEG broad powers to manage the state's information technology and
telecommunications systems. Under the bill, the secretary of information services,
who serves as department head, is titled the "chief information officer." The officer's
position is assigned to executive salary group 8 ($82,979 to $128,618 per year in
2000-01). The officer is appointed by the governor to serve at his or her pleasure.
The officer appoints the staff of DEG, which includes a deputy, executive assistant,
and three division administrators outside the classified service.
The bill also creates an information technology management board which is
attached to DEG. The board consists of the governor, chief information officer,
secretary of administration, and two heads of state executive branch agencies and
two other members appointed by the governor without senate confirmation. The
board advises DEG, monitors progress in attaining the state's information
technology goals, and hears and decides appeals of actions of the officer by executive
branch agencies.
The bill directs DEG, with the assistance of executive branch agencies and the
advice of the board, to manage the information technology portfolio of state
government to meet specified criteria. The portfolio includes information technology
systems, applications, infrastructure and information resources, and human
resources devoted to developing and maintaining information technology systems.
Currently, each executive branch agency is required to prepare, revise, and
submit annually to DOA, for its approval, an information technology strategic plan
that details how the agency plans to use information technology to serve its needs
and those of its clients. This bill makes proposed strategic plans of executive branch
agencies subject to approval of the chief information officer, with the advice of the
board.
The bill permits DEG to acquire, operate, or maintain any information
technology equipment or systems required by DEG to carry out its functions and to
provide information technology development and management services related to
those systems. Under the bill, DEG may assess executive branch agencies for the
costs of equipment or systems acquired, operated, maintained, or provided or
services provided and may also charge legislative and judicial agencies for these
costs as a component of any services provided by DEG to these agencies. The bill also
permits DEG to assume direct responsibility for the planning and development of
any information technology system in the executive branch of state government that
the chief information officer determines to be necessary to effectively develop or
manage the system, with or without the consent of any affected agency. The bill
permits DEG to charge any executive branch agency for its reasonable costs incurred
on behalf of the agency in carrying out this function.
Currently, DOA must provide computer services to state agencies in the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches. DOA may also provide
telecommunications services to those agencies and computer or telecommunications
services to local governments and private schools, postsecondary institutions,
museums, and zoos. DOA may also provide supercomputer services to state
agencies, local governments, and entities in the private sector. Under this bill, DEG
may enter into an agreement to provide any services that DEG is authorized to
provide to any state agency or authority, any unit of the federal government, any local
governmental unit, or any entity in the private sector. DEG may also develop and
operate or maintain any system or device facilitating Internet or telephone access to
information about programs of state agencies or authorities, local governmental
units, or entities in the private sector by means of electronic communication and may
assess or charge agencies, authorities, units, and entities in the private sector for its
costs of development, operation, or maintenance on the same basis that DEG
assesses or charges for information technology equipment or systems.
The bill appropriates to DEG all revenues received from assessments or
charges, without limitation, for the purpose of carrying out its functions. The bill also
appropriates general purpose revenue to DEG equivalent to the depreciated value
of its equipment.
Currently, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for each state
agency within each revenue source is fixed by law or by the governor, JCF, or the
legislature in budget determinations. Program-revenue funded positions may be
adjusted by the governor with the concurrence of JCF and federally funded positions
may be adjusted by the governor alone. This bill permits the chief information officer
to transfer any number of FTE positions having responsibilities related to
information technology or telecommunications from any executive branch agency to
DEG or any other executive branch agency and to transfer the funding source for any
position from one source to another for the purpose of carrying out the functions of
DEG. Upon transfer of any position, the incumbent in that position is also
transferred without loss of pay, fringe benefits, or seniority privileges. The bill also
permits the officer to transfer moneys from the appropriation account for any
appropriation made to an executive branch agency, except a sum sufficient
appropriation, without the consent of the agency, for the purpose of facilitating more
efficient and effective funding of information technology or electronic
communications resources within the executive branch of state government. Under
the bill, any transfer of positions or funding may not be made if it would be
inconsistent with state or federal law or any requirement imposed by the federal
government as a condition to receipt of aids by this state.
Currently, every executive branch agency, other than the board of regents of the
UW system, is required to purchase computer services from DOA, unless DOA grants
permission to the agency to procure the services from a private source or from
another agency, or to provide the services to itself. This bill provides that every
executive branch agency, including the board of regents of the UW system, must
purchase all materials, equipment, supplies, and services relating to information
technology or telecommunications from DEG, unless DEG requires the agency to
purchase the materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services under a master
contract established by DEG or unless DEG grants permission to the agency to
procure the materials, supplies, equipment, or services from a private source or from
another agency, or to provide the materials, supplies, equipment, or services to itself.
The bill also makes all contracts by any executive branch agency for the purchase of
materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services relating to information
technology or telecommunications subject to review and approval of the chief
information officer.
