Dear Patrick:
I am pleased to transmit to you the following report to the 2003 Legislature on legislation introduced by the Joint Legislative Council:
RL 2003-02 Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations
I would appreciate your including this letter in the Journal for the information of the membership. Additional copies of this report are available in the Legislative Council Staff offices, One East Main, Suite 401, or from our web page at
www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/reports_by_topic.htm.
Sincerely,
Terry C. Anderson
Director
__________________
June 30, 2003
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
Room 208, Justice Building
Madison, WI
Dear Mr. Fuller:
I was excused for a portion of the day on June 25, 2003, and was unable to vote on some items. I am writing to inform you of how I would have cast my vote had I been in attendance at the time of the vote.
On tabling Assembly substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 77, authored by Senator Darling re: Milwaukee Public School System unfounded pension liability refinancing: "Yes".
On adoption of Assembly substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 77, authored by Senator Darling re: Milwaukee Public School System unfounded pension liability refinancing: "No".
On concurrence of Senate Bill 173 re: the agricultural producer security program, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation: "Yes".
On concurrence of Senate Bill 206 re: changes to levy limits related to towns, certain cities or villages, and 1st class cities: "Yes".
If you have any questions on this please call me.
Sincerely,
Anthony J. Staskunas
State Representative
15th Assembly District
__________________
July 2, 2003
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
17 West Main Street
Madison, WI 53708
Dear Patrick:
Please remove my name as a co-author of Assembly Bill 415, relating to sales of motor vehicle fuel that are exempt from the requirements of the Unfair Sales Act.
Should you have any questions about this matter, please feel free to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Mark Pettis
State Representative
28th Assembly District
__________________
Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
June 30, 2003
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
This report is transmitted as required by s.
20.002(11)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, (for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s.
13.172(3), Wisconsin Statutes), and confirms that the Department of Administration has found it necessary to exercise the "temporary reallocation of balances" authority provided by this section in order to meet payment responsibilities and cover resulting negative cash balances during the month of May 2003.
On May 30, 2003, the Recycling Fund cash balance closed at a negative $3.4 million. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
The Recycling Fund shortfall was not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitation and did not exceed the balances of the funds available for interfund borrowing.
A302
The distribution of interest earnings to investment pool participants is based on the average daily balance in the pool and each fund's share. Therefore, the monthly calculation by the State Controller's Office will automatically reflect the use of these temporary reallocations of balance authority, and as a result, the funds requiring the use of the authority will effectively bear the interest cost.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Marotta
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction
Madison
June 30, 2003
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Administrative rules were promulgated in July 2001 that amended eligibility criteria for cognitive disabilities (CD), specific learning disabilities (SDL), emotional behavioral disabilities (EBD), speech or language impairment (S/L), visual impairment (VI) and hearing impairment (HI). At the request of the Assembly Education Committee, the Department of Public Instruction also promulgated PI 11.37, Wisconsin Administrative Rules, requiring the department to conduct a study of the effect of the modification of special education eligibility criteria and report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature.
Revised rules relating to the identification of a child with a disability went into effect July 1, 2001 (Chapter
PI 11, Wisconsin Administrative Code). Specifically, revised eligibility criteria were established for the areas of (1) specific learning disability, (2) emotional behavioral disability, (3) cognitive disability, (4) speech and language impairment, (5) hearing impairment, and (6) visual impairment. As part of the rules promulgation process, the Wisconsin Legislature required the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to conduct a study of the effects of the modifications of special education eligibility criteria (PI 11.37(2)). A preliminary report to the Assembly and Senate Education Committees is due on June 30, 2003, and a final report shall be submitted by June 30, 2005.
If you have any questions about the report or would like to discuss the findings, please do not hesitate to contact the department. The report will be posted on the Special Education Team website and distributed upon request. We look forward to continuing to work with you and other stakeholders to improve services for all children, including children with disabilities. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Stephanie J. Petska, Ph.D.
Director, Special Education
Referred to committee on Education.
