Passage as amended.
Ayes, 3 - Senators
Kanavas, Stepp and Leibham.
Noes, 2 - Senators
Chvala and Jauch.
Ted Kanavas
Senate Chairperson
Cathy Stepp
Senate Chairperson
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Read and referred:
Senate Joint Resolution 60
Relating to: commending Professor Bryant Browne and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on receipt of a patent for a device used to test gases in groundwater and surface water.
By
Senator
Lassa
; cosponsored by Representatives Molepske, Schneider and Vruwink.
To committee on Senate Organization.
Senate Bill 430
Relating to: notice of the open meetings and public records access laws.
By
Senator
Hansen
; cosponsored by Representatives Turner, Berceau, Hines, Seratti and Zepnick.
To committee on Homeland Security, Veterans and Military Affairs and Government Reform.
Senate Bill 431
Relating to: the gross earnings tax on car line companies.
By
Senators
Schultz, Breske, Roessler and Welch; cosponsored by Representatives Lothian, Gronemus, Hahn, Hines, Albers, Krawczyk, Seratti, Ainsworth, Gunderson and Kaufert.
To committee on Homeland Security, Veterans and Military Affairs and Government Reform.
Senate Bill 432
Relating to: a sales tax and use tax exemption for energy-efficient motor vehicles.
By
Senator
Risser
; cosponsored by Representatives Freese, Richards, Turner, Miller, J. Wood, J. Lehman, Molepske and Gronemus.
To joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions.
Senate Bill 433
Relating to: the time period for service of a responsive pleading.
By
Senators
Kanavas and Reynolds; cosponsored by Representatives Gielow, Hines, J. Fitzgerald and Vrakas.
To committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy.
Relating to: the content of the program of instruction on snowmobile laws and safety.
By
Senators
Stepp, Kedzie, Breske, S. Fitzgerald, Wirch, Welch, Jauch, Kanavas, Hansen, Schultz, Erpenbach and Roessler; cosponsored by Representatives D. Meyer, M. Williams, Gard, Gronemus, Krawczyk, Travis, Towns, Plouff, LeMahieu, Hebl, Grothman, J. Lehman, Hahn, J. Fitzgerald, Huebsch, Ott, Kerkman, Petrowski, McCormick, Albers, M. Lehman, Bies, Gunderson, Ladwig, Ainsworth, Freese, Kreibich, Powers, Gottlieb, Van Roy, Suder, Hines, Seratti, Friske and Vrakas.
To committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
February 3, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
Pursuant to Senate Rule
20(2)(a) and
(b) I have appointed Senator Decker to the Joint Committee on Finance and removed Senator Meyer.
With regard to members of the minority party, appointments are made based on the nominations of that caucus.
Sincerely,
Senator Mary Panzer
Senate Majority Leader
State of Wisconsin
Milwaukee Public Schools
January 30, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
Enclosed you will find a copy of the report entitled "High/Scope All-Day Five-Year-Old Kindergarten Program and High/Scope First Grad Program." This report summarizes the projects and the data collected for the 2002-2003 school year.
Each year a report is prepared in response to Sections
119.71,
119.73, and
119.75 of the current state statutes.
Sincerely,
Michelle J. Nate
Chief MPS Financial and Operations Officer
Department of Finance
Referred to committee on Education, Ethics and Elections.
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
February 3, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
At your request, we have compiled information on nursing staff issues at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, which is operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and provides direct care to approximately 710 veterans. The Veterans Home includes four main residence halls that are separately licensed nursing homes and are regulated by the Department of Health and Family Services.
DVA spent $18.1 million in fiscal year (FY) 2002-03 on salaries - including overtime costs - and fringe benefits for nursing staff working at the Veterans Home. Overtime payments totaling $1.2 million represented only 6.5 percent of nursing staff expenditures. However, we found that most nursing staff at the Veterans Home worked more than 80 hours in a two-week pay period we reviewed. In June 2003, 22 of 31 full-time nurse clinicians, 17 of 31 full-time licensed practical nurses, and 126 of 165 full-time certified nursing assistants worked more than 80 hours. Furthermore, employees in part-time positions defined as 40 hours in a two-week pay period, worked an average of 77 hours.
DVA staff report that significant vacancy rates have led to the extra time required to meet minimum staffing levels for nursing homes under state law. We note that no citations were issued to the Veterans Home in FY 2002-03 because of insufficient staffing. It also has higher staff retention rates than other Wisconsin nursing homes.
DVA has developed several initiatives designed to retain current nursing staff and to recruit additional staff to fill vacancies. While it is still too early to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives, the vacancy rate fell during the first ten months of 2003, particularly for licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants. Nevertheless, a competitive labor market for nursing staff remains an obstacle to filling vacancies, and 25.0 percent of nurse clinician positions at the Veterans Home were vacant in October 2003.
I hope you find this information useful. Please contact me if you have additional questions.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
January 30, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Van Goethem, Rick,
of Green Bay, as a member of the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2005.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Labor, Small Business Development and Consumer Affairs.
__________________
Senator Lazich, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess until 3:30 P.M.
12:14 P.M.
__________________
3:30 P.M.
The Senate reconvened.
Senator A. Lasee in the chair.
__________________
The Chair noted the possible lack of a quorum.
