Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Ninety-Sixth Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
August 31, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We at the Department of Natural Resources are pleased to provide you with a copy of our annual Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA) report. In fulfillment of Section
1.11 (2)(j) of the state statutes, this document provides information on the numbers of environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (ElSs) completed by the Department in the past fiscal year.
Questions about the report can be directed to James Pardee, of the Environmental Analysis and Liaison Section, Bureau of Integrated Science Services, telephone 6-0426.
Sincerely,
george h. albright
Chief Environmental Analysis and Liaison Section, Bureau of Integrated Science Services
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
August 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
The Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) is pleased to release its 2004 Report to the Legislature. The GCC was formed in 1984 to help state agencies coordinate non-regulatory activities and exchange information on groundwater. For the past 20 years, the GCC has served as a model for interagency coordination and cooperation among state agencies, the Governor, local and federal government, and the university. It is one of the few groups in the nation to effectively coordinate groundwater activities in its state from an advisory position.
This report summarizes GCC and agency activities related to groundwater protection and management in FY 04 (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004) and provides an overview of the condition of the groundwater resource. See the Executive Summary for highlights and the GCC's recommendations in Future Directions for Groundwater Protection. The full report is available online at http:dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/gcc/rtl/gccreport.htm.
A significant focus of the State's groundwater protection activities this past year has been on groundwater quantity.
Highlights include:
• Providing scientific and technical expertise for the drafting of legislation to address acute and chronic impacts of groundwater withdrawals, which went into effect in May 2004;
• Developing a statewide strategy to guide agency monitoring activities for ground water quality, levels, and use;
•Completing groundwater flow models and developing scenarios of groundwater pumping in southeastern Wisconsin;
• Launching an educational website on Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin;
• Summarizing groundwater management issues at the local and regional level in a Wisconsin Natural Resources a magazine article;
• Supporting research related to groundwater drawdowns and withdrawals through the Water Resources Institute.
We hope you will find this report to be a useful reference in protecting Wisconsin's valuable groundwater resource.
Sincerely,
todd ambs
Chair, Groundwater Coordinating Council
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
August 31, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We have completed financial audits of the Mendota and Winnebago Mental Health Institutes for the period July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2003. The audits were requested by the Department of Health and Family Services to comply with requirements of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. We were able to express an unqualified opinion on each Institute's financial statements.
The Institutes reported mixed financial results for fiscal year (FY) 2002-2003. Mendota reported a gain of $1.4 million in net assets, while Winnebago reported a loss of $1.8 million in net assets. Winnebago sustained a loss because it did not generate enough revenue to cover its expenses. However, each Institute continued to report a positive accounting balance, which is reflected in its financial statements as unrestricted net assets.
S853
During the course of our audits, we found the Department's treatment of collections received on behalf of state-funded patients, which were primarily forensic patients, was not in compliance with s.20.435(2)(gk), Wis. Stats., which requires that these funds be treated as general purpose revenue (GPR)-earned. Relying on only s.20.001(4), Wis. Stats. which defines GPR-earned, the Department retained $815,000 of the $2.3 million received in FY 2001-02 and $759,000 of the $2.1 million received in FY 2002-2003 for operation of the Institutes. The Department has, however, agreed to properly treat all collections received on behalf of state-funded patients as GPR-earned in FY 2003-04 and in the future.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by Department of Health and Family Services staff during our audit.
Sincerely,
janice Mueller
State Auditor
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
August 31, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
The Wisconsin Land Council (WLC) and the Wisconsin Land Information Board (WLIB) submit the attached Report to the Governor and Legislature in compliance with the provisions of S.S.
16.023(2), Wis. Stats., and
2003 Act 33, Section
2809.
Our report strongly supports continuation of the Wisconsin Land Information Program. Every Wisconsin citizen has benefited from this program through more modern and accessible land records. The digitization of land information enables the public and all levels of government to make informed decisions using standardized, reliable data.
The report also recommends support for the Comprehensive Planning Grant Program. About 645 local governments -- or one-third of all counties and municipalities --are using this state resource to support local planning decisions. This will continue to be a critical resource as additional communities prepare for growth and future service needs.
We also recognize the Governor's and Legislature's desire to reduce the size of State Government. To that end, the report calls for the sunset of the WLC and the WLIB. Instead, we recommend using existing structures to support the land information and comprehensive planning grant programs.
The WLC and WLIB appreciate this opportunity to report on activities and recommend future directions. We ask that you consider our comments as you develop land information and planning policies.
Sincerely,
Mayor Timothy M. Hanna, Chair
Wisconsin Land Council
Ted W. Koch, Chair
Wisconsin Land Information Board
State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
August 31, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
The following lobbyists have been authorized to act on behalf of the organizations set opposite their names.
For more detailed information about these lobbyists and organizations and a complete list of organizations and people authorized to lobby the 2003 session of the legislature, visit the Ethics Board's web site at
http://ethics.state.wi.us
Ebbott, John Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc
Petkovich, Vlado HNTB
Petrovic, Milan HNTB
Rongstad, Deedee Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc
Turney, Susan Wisconsin Medical Society
Also available from the Wisconsin Ethics Board are reports identifying the amount and value of time state agencies have
