On August 1, 2004, the General Fund cash balance closed at a negative $431.4 million. The fund's negative cash balance continued intermittently until August 27, 2004, when the fund's cash balance closed at a positive $34.9 million. The fund reached an intramonth low cash balance of a negative $436.8 million on August 11, 2004. The negative balance was due to a difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On August 1, 2004, the
Medical Assistance Trust Fund cash balance closed at its intramonth low of a negative $203.8 million. The fund's negative cash balance continued through August 31, 2004, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $199.6 million. The deficit is due to federal revenues falling short of estimates included in
2003 Wisconsin Act 33.
On August 1, 2004, the University Trust-Principal Fund cash balance closed at its intramonth low of a negative $3.2 million. The fund's negative cash balance continued through August 31, 2004, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $2.5 million. The negative balance was due to a coding error and has since been corrected.
The General Fund, Medical Assistance Trust fund, and the University Trust-Principal Fund shortfalls were not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitations and did not exceed the balances of the funds available for interfund borrowing.
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 Joint Committee on Finance.
State of Wisconsin
Supreme Court
October 1, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
Pursuant to s.
758.19(5)(i), Wis. Stats., the information reported to the Director of State Courts under ss.
758.19(5)(e) and
758.19(6)(d), Wis. Stats., by Wisconsin's counties has been compiled and is herein submitted. Under ss.
758.19(5)(e) and
758.19(6)(d), Wis. Stats., each county is required to submit an annual report to the Director of State Courts which provides information on the actual amount expended in the previous calendar year for court costs relating to the circuit court support and the guardian ad litem payment programs. Statutes prohibit the Director of State Courts from requiring counties to submit audited annual reports to ensure accurate, uniform information. As a result, due to the differing and inconsistent accounting practices among and within counties, the following reported expenditures are not comparable among counties.
Sincerely,
A. JOHN VOELKER
Director of State Courts
State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
October 5, 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
Schubert, Louis American Family Insurance Group
Also available from the Wisconsin Ethics Board are reports identifying the amount and value of time state agencies have spent to affect legislative action and reports of expenditures for lobbying activities filed by organizations that employ lobbyists.
Sincerely,
R. Roth Judd
Executive Director
State of Wisconsin
State Employment Relations
September 30, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
S868
I am pleased to submit the Fiscal Year 2004 report on employment of customers of the Wisconsin works (W-2) program. This report includes a description of each agency's efforts to employ W-2 job seekers, shows the number of W-2 job seekers employed by each agency, and the classification title of each position filled, from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
If you have questions or need additional information regarding this report, please contact Kathryn A. Moore at 266-9472 or by e-mail at
kathryn.moore@oser.state.wi.us.
Sincerely,
KAREN E. TIMBERLAKE
Director
State of Wisconsin
Women's Council
October 1, 2004
The Honorable, The Legislature:
Wisconsin Statutes s.
16.01(2)(g) requires the Council to submit a biennial report on its activities to the Governor and to the Chief Clerk of each house of the legislature. This letter is intended to fulfill this statutory requirement. A list of Council Members and a budget/staffing summary for the 2001-2003 biennium are provided in Attachments.
The Wisconsin Women's Council did not meet frequently during the 2001-2003 biennium. Nonetheless, a review of the records shows a wide range of programs and activities that continued to be carried out by the Council under its program of work. During the reporting period, the Council continued to build on successful projects begun in the previous biennium, including programs such as Wardrobes for Working Women (a Council program that has been modeled nationally), the Financial Education Blueprint, and marital property law education. The Council gave emphasis to developing its web site with links and reference materials to serve as a resource for Wisconsin women, as well as providing links to the Council's own products such as the Financial Blueprint and other educational materials. During the reporting period, the Council also distributed a reprinted version of its Directory, Wisconsin Women's Resources 2001. Finally, the Council continued its outreach efforts by speaking to a variety of community and professional organizations, and partnering and serving on committees with organizations focused on helping Wisconsin women improve their lives.
In 2004, in a collaborative effort by the Governor and Legislative Leaders, a new group of Women's Council members was appointed and I was hired as Executive Director. This revitalized group has been hearing testimony from the leadership of state agencies and other organizations concerned with issues affecting women in order to fulfill its mission - that is, to identify barriers that prevent women from participating fully and equally in various aspects of life and to develop long-term solutions to women's economic and social inequality in this state. The strategic plan that is developing out of these efforts is designed to guide Council activities in the coming years.
Questions about the Wisconsin Women's Council and requests for additional copies of this report may be directed to the Wisconsin Women's Council, 101 East Wilson, 8th fl., Madison, WI 53703, or by telephone at (608)266-2219.
Sincerely,
CHRISTINE LIDBURY
Executive Director
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
September 30, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
Attached please find the Environmental Improvement Fund Biennial Finance Plan for the 2005-2007 biennium.
Environmental Improvement Fund program legislation (s.
281.59(3), wis. Stats.) requires the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Administration to submit the first version of the Biennial Finance Plan to the Legislature and to the State Building Commission. The purpose of the plan is to provide information on loan, loan subsidy, and bonding levels for program operations in the 2005-2007 biennium.
If you have any questions regarding the Biennial Finance Plan, please contact Robert Ramharter at 266-3915 or Michael Wolff at 267-2734.
Sincerely,
THOMAS J. NIEBAUER
Acting Bureau Director
Bureau of Community Financial Assistance
Department of Natural Resources
MICHAEL WOLFF
Finance Program Administrator
Department of Administration
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
September 15, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
As required by s.
292.25, Wis. Stats., the Department of Natural Resources is pleased to submit the attached report regarding the status of the Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) environmental cleanup process. As required by law, this report is being submitted to the Governor, the Department of Administration, and the Legislature. If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Darsi Foss from my staff at (608)267-6713.
Sincerely,
SCOTT HASSETT
Secretary
State of Wisconsin
Department of Commerce
September 29, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
Please find enclosed a copy of the State of Wisconsin 2004 Consolidated Annual Plan to address statewide housing and community development needs. The Plan was submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the State's annual funding application for:
•
Small Cities Community Development Block Grants (CDBG),
•
HOME Investment Partnership (HOME),
•
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), and
•
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA).
Section
560.9802 (4), Wis. Stats., requires the Department to submit a copy of this state housing strategy plan to the Governor and the Chief Clerk of each house of the legislature before October 1 of each year.
If you have any questions regarding the plan, please contact Marty Evanson, Director, Bureau of Housing, at (608) 267-2713.
Sincerely,
JAMES O'KEEFE
Administrator, Division of Community Development
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor