Following is a list of the most commonly used acronyms appearing in the
analysis.
DATCPDepartment of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
DEGDepartment of Electronic Government
DERDepartment of Employment Relations
DETFDepartment of Employee Trust Funds
DFIDepartment of Financial Institutions
DHFSDepartment of Health and Family Services
DMADepartment of Military Affairs
DNRDepartment of Natural Resources
DOADepartment of Administration
DOCDepartment of Corrections
DOJDepartment of Justice
DORDepartment of Revenue
DOTDepartment of Transportation
DPIDepartment of Public Instruction
DRLDepartment of Regulation and Licensing
DVADepartment of Veterans Affairs
DWDDepartment of Workforce Development
JCFJoint Committee on Finance
OCIOffice of the Commissioner of Insurance
PSCPublic Service Commission
UWUniversity of Wisconsin
WHEDAWisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
WHEFAWisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority
Agriculture
Under current law, DATCP administers the Soil and Water Resource
Management Program, which provides funding for land and water resource
management projects and for the construction of animal waste management
systems. This bill increases the state general obligation bonding authority for the
program by $7,000,000.
Under current law, beginning on February 1, 2004, dog and cat breeders, and
persons who operate pet stores, kennels, and animal shelters must have licenses
from DATCP. The law requires DATCP to specify requirements for humane care to
be provided by these persons. This bill repeals the law regulating dog and cat
breeders and operators of pet stores, kennels, and animal shelters.
Current law requires a person who is licensed to manufacture or distribute
fertilizer in Wisconsin to pay several fees and surcharges, including a basic fee of 30
cents per ton of fertilizer sold or distributed. This bill increases the basic fee to 45
cents per ton. Current law requires a person who is licensed to manufacture or
distribute animal feed to pay a feed inspection fee of 23 cents per ton. This bill
increases the feed inspection fee to 30 cents per ton.
Current law requires a person who is licensed to manufacture or label
pesticides to pay a number of fees and surcharges when the person applies for a
license. The license year begins on January 1. The fees and surcharges are based
on sales during the 12 months ending on September 30 of the year preceding the year
for which a license is sought. Under this bill, the fees and surcharges paid by a
pesticide licensee are based on sales during the 12-month period that ends on
September 30 of the license year. Fees are initially based on estimated sales. At the
end of the license year, the person pays any balance due based on actual sales or may
request a refund for any overpayment.
Under current law, grants to counties for programs to collect waste farm
chemicals and farm chemical containers are funded from the agrichemical
management fund. This bill changes the source of funding for the grants to the
recycling fund.
Currently, a person who is licensed to manufacture or distribute fertilizer must
pay an agricultural chemical cleanup surcharge of 38 cents per ton of fertilizer sold
or distributed, unless DATCP establishes a lower surcharge by rule. This bill
authorizes DATCP to increase the agricultural chemical cleanup surcharge to up to
88 cents per ton.
Under the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program, DATCP pays a portion of
the costs of cleaning up spills of agricultural chemicals. This bill reduces the
reimbursement rate under the program from 80% to 75% of eligible costs.
Commerce and economic development
Business organizations and financial institutions
Under current law, any limited liability company that is organized in another
state and that may operate in Wisconsin must file an annual report containing
specified information with DFI. This bill requires Wisconsin limited liability
companies to file a similar annual report and establishes a procedure by which DFI
may administratively dissolve a Wisconsin limited liability company for violating
this requirement.
Under current law, savings banks and savings and loan associations are
regulated by the Division of Savings Institutions in DFI. This bill eliminates the
Division of Savings Institutions and, instead, provides that savings banks and
savings and loan associations are regulated by the Division of Banking in DFI.
Under current law, the Office of Credit Unions must conduct an annual
examination of each credit union unless the office accepts an audit report of the
condition of the credit union that satisfies certain conditions. This bill requires the
office to conduct an examination of each credit union at least once every 18 months
unless the office accepts an audit report.
Economic development
Currently, DOA must develop a state housing strategy, administer several
grant programs that provide different types of housing assistance, and administer
a program governing the use of surplus, state-owned real estate. This bill transfers
these responsibilities to the Department of Commerce, except that DOA must still
administer the weatherization assistance for low-income persons program and the
low-income energy assistance program.
Under current law, the Department of Commerce awards grants to eligible
technology-based nonprofit organizations to provide support for manufacturing
extension centers. This bill repeals this grant program. Current law also authorizes
similar grants to be awarded from the Wisconsin development fund. This bill repeals
this authorization. This bill also reallocates $500,000 in Indian gaming receipts
currently used to fund manufacturing extension center grants to the conservation
fund.
Currently, the secretaries of commerce and administration, or their designees,
serve on the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, along with
other designated members. This bill adds the secretary of agriculture, trade and
consumer protection, or his or her designee, to the authority.
Currently, under the Forestry Education Grant Program, the Department of
Commerce awards grants to nonprofit organizations to develop forestry educational
programs and materials for use in public schools. This bill eliminates this program.
correctional system
Adult correctional system
Under current law, DOC and DHFS operate the Drug Abuse Correctional
Center (DACC) program in Winnebago, which provides substance abuse treatment
for prison inmates transferred there. Under this bill, if DOC determines that a
person has successfully completed the DACC program, the person must be released
to parole or extended supervision, regardless of how much of his or her sentence the
person has served. Inmates convicted of violent crimes or certain offenses against
children are not eligible for this earned release program. Inmates who are sentenced
under the "Truth in Sentencing" law are eligible only if the court authorizes their
participation.
DOC currently operates a boot camp for adults who are under 30 years old and
who have a substance abuse problem. Each participant must perform strenuous
physical exercise and manual labor and participate in counseling, substance abuse
treatment, and military drill and ceremony programs. A person who successfully
completes the boot camp program is released to parole or extended supervision,
regardless of how much of his or her sentence the person has served. This bill
specifies that a person is eligible for boot camp if he or she is under 40 years old at
the start of the program. The bill also specifies that the strenuous exercise for
participants who begin the boot camp program after turning 30 years old must be age
appropriate.
Under current law, DOC operates the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional
Facility, where it may confine up to 400 persons who are from 15 to 21 years old and
who are sentenced to state prison. This bill authorizes DOC to place up to 450
persons at that facility and increases the upper age limit for prisoners there to 24.
Under current law, until July 1, 2003, DOC may operate the juvenile
correctional facility at Prairie du Chien as a state prison for nonviolent offenders who
are not more than 21 years of age. This bill permanently converts that facility into
an adult prison and lifts all restrictions regarding the age and type of prisoners who
may be confined there.
Current law provides that, with certain exceptions, DOC must charge a fee to
each person on probation, parole, or extended supervision to cover some or all of the
cost of supervising the person. Current law authorizes DOC to set fees for persons
subject to administrative or minimum supervision separately from its setting of fees
for persons subject to more intensive supervision. This bill eliminates DOC's
authority to base the fee on the level of supervision.
Under current law, DOC may contract with a private entity to confine a
Wisconsin prisoner in a private prison in another state. Current law further provides
that a person confined under such a contract is subject to the laws of the state in
which the prison is located that relate to the confinement of persons in that prison.
Under this bill, the contract may provide that certain laws of the state in which the
person is confined do not apply to that person.
Juvenile correctional system
Under current law relating to community youth and family aids, generally
referred to as youth aids, DOC must allocate various state and federal moneys to
counties to pay for state-provided juvenile correctional services and local
delinquency-related and juvenile justice services. DOC charges counties for the
costs of services provided by DOC according to per person daily cost assessments
specified in the statutes. This bill increases most of these assessments.
Under current law, subject to certain exceptions, case management services are
reimbursable under Medical Assistance (MA) only if provided to an MA beneficiary
who receives case management services from a certified case management provider
in a county, city, village, or town that elects to make those services available. This
bill permits DOC to elect to provide case management services to an MA beneficiary
who has been adjudged delinquent and placed under the supervision of DOC. Under
the bill, DOC is reimbursed for the amount of allowable charges for those services
under MA that is provided by the federal government and must pay the amount of
allowable charges for those services under MA that is not provided by the federal
government.
Under current law, DOC is required to provide a Juvenile Boot Camp Program
for juveniles who have been adjudged delinquent and placed under the supervision
of DOC. This bill eliminates that program.
Courts and district attorneys
The bill increases the circuit court support services fees as follows: for cases
other than small or large claim cases, from $52 to $67.60; for large claim cases, from
$130 to $169; and for small claim cases, from $39 to $50.70.
Currently, in all criminal proceedings and in a limited number of civil
proceedings, a circuit court must provide an interpreter for an indigent party or
witness who has limited English proficiency. This bill requires the court, in all
criminal and civil proceedings, to provide an interpreter for a party or witness who
has limited English proficiency, regardless of indigence.
Under current law, the Milwaukee County clerk of circuit court must collect a
$2 special prosecution clerks fee when most complaints initiating civil actions are
filed. This bill increases this fee to $3.50.
Under current law, a court imposes a crime laboratories and drug law
enforcement assessment when it sentences a person, places a person on probation,
or, in most cases, imposes a forfeiture. This bill increases the assessment from $5 to
$7.
This bill increases the filing fees in court of appeals and supreme court appeals
from $150 to $195.
Under current law, district attorneys and deputy and assistant district
attorneys are state employees. DOA, through its State Prosecutors Office, provides
personnel, budget, and other types of management assistance to district attorney
offices. With respect to individual cases, however, district attorneys have near-total
discretion in deciding what cases to pursue and how to prosecute them. In working
on those cases, a district attorney may request assistance from prosecutors in other
counties, who may then serve in the same capacity as the district attorney who
requested their assistance.
This bill creates a State Prosecutors Board, which is attached to DOA. The
board consists of eight district attorneys selected by the governor who must: 1) adopt
advisory guidelines for district attorneys to use in determining when criminal cases
should be prosecuted or diverted for nonprosecutorial programs; 2) issue rules
regarding the temporary assignment of district attorneys, deputy district attorneys,
and assistant district attorneys to other counties; 3) hire and assign prosecutors for
temporary placement in district attorney offices throughout the state; and 4)
supervise the State Prosecutors Office.
crimes
Current law requires the Sentencing Commission to collect and disseminate
information about sentencing practices in criminal cases and to develop advisory
sentencing guidelines for felonies to promote public safety, to reflect changes in
sentencing practices, and to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice and
correctional systems. (As of the date of this bill's introduction, however, the
Sentencing Commission has not adopted any sentencing guidelines.) When a court
sentences a person who, on or after February 1, 2003, committed a felony, the court
must consider any advisory sentencing guidelines that the Sentencing Commission
develops for that offense. If the Sentencing Commission has not adopted guidelines,
the court must consider any temporary advisory sentencing guidelines that were
developed by the Criminal Penalties Study Committee (CPSC) for that offense. The
court, however, is not required to make a sentencing decision that is consistent with
applicable guidelines, and a defendant may not appeal a court's sentencing decision
based on the court's decision to depart from a guideline.
Under this bill, by January 1, 2004, the Sentencing Commission must analyze
whether the temporary sentencing guidelines adopted by the CPSC are adequately
promoting public safety in a cost-effective manner, promoting consistency in
sentencing practices, and preserving the integrity of the criminal justice and
correctional systems. If the commission determines that the temporary guidelines
are not adequately promoting these objectives, it must adopt mandatory sentencing
guidelines for felonies and any other crimes for which a person may be sentenced to
a state prison, other than those for which the penalty is life imprisonment. The
mandatory sentencing guidelines for an offense must assign suggested ranges of
punishment based upon the combination of offense and defendant characteristics in
each case, but the range of punishment must be consistent with the penalty provided
for that crime under current law.
If the commission adopts a mandatory sentencing guideline for a crime, a court,
in sentencing a person convicted of that crime, must impose a sentence of the kind
and within the range described in the guideline unless the court finds that there is
an aggravating or mitigating factor that warrants a different sentence. In addition,
the prohibition on appeals based on a departure from an advisory guideline does not
apply to a departure from a mandatory guideline.
In addition, this bill requires the Sentencing Commission to adopt advisory
guidelines regarding the use of alternatives to incarceration. It also detaches the
commission from DOA and attaches it to DOC.
Under current law, DOJ makes crime victim compensation awards to victims
of certain crimes. In addition, when sentencing a person convicted of a crime, a judge
may order the person to make restitution to the victim of the crime. If a person is
ordered to make restitution to a victim of his or her crime, and the victim also
received a crime victim compensation award for that crime, DOJ is entitled to be
reimbursed from the restitution payments the amount it previously awarded to the
crime victim.
This bill provides that restitution that is paid to DOJ as reimbursement for
crime victim compensation awards must be used to fund other crime victim
compensation awards. The bill also eliminates restrictions that prevent state funds
from being used to pay certain parts of crime victim awards. Under this bill, either
state or federal funding may be used to pay for any part of an award.
This bill appropriates funds derived from restitution paid in drug crime cases
to DOJ for the purchase of drugs in investigating other drug crimes.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Current law requires DPI, DOA, and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to certify to
JCF by May 15 of each year an estimate of the amount of general equalization aid
needed, in combination with the amounts distributed to schools as categorical aids
and the school levy tax credit, to fund two-thirds of statewide school costs
(two-thirds funding). This bill eliminates two-thirds funding.
Current law requires DPI to develop a high school graduation examination.
Beginning on September 1, 2005, a school board or charter school may not grant a
pupil a high school diploma unless the pupil satisfies criteria set by the school board
or charter school, including the pupil's score on the high school graduation
examination. This bill eliminates the high school graduation examination
requirement and the requirement that DPI develop a high school graduation
examination.
The current state school aid formula is designed to equalize school district tax
bases and thus minimize the differences among the abilities of school districts to
raise revenue for educational programs. The formula establishes three guaranteed
tax bases, known as guaranteed valuations, that apply to three different levels of
expenditure. The primary guaranteed valuation applies to those costs that do not
exceed the primary ceiling cost per pupil of $1,000. The secondary guaranteed
valuation applies to per pupil costs that exceed the primary ceiling. The tertiary
guaranteed valuation applies to per pupil costs that exceed the secondary ceiling.
The percentage of a school district's state-aided costs at each level of expenditure is
equal to the net guaranteed valuation (the difference between the applicable
guaranteed valuation and the equalized value of taxable property in the school
district) divided by the applicable guaranteed valuation.
Under the school aid formula, the aid generated at the primary level is reduced
by aid generated at the secondary and tertiary levels but each school district is
guaranteed aid for its primary costs. This bill eliminates this guarantee of aid for
primary costs for a school district whose secondary or tertiary equalized valuation
exceeds its secondary or tertiary guaranteed valuation.
Under current law, annually the state pays to each private school participating
in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) the lesser of the following for
each pupil attending the school under MPCP:
1. The private school's cost per pupil that is related to educational
programming.
2. The sum of the amount paid per pupil under the MPCP in the previous school
year plus the amount of revenue increase per pupil allowed under the school district
revenue limits.
Under this bill, the state pays to each participating private school the lesser of
the following:
1. The private school's cost per pupil that is related to educational
programming.
2. The amount paid per pupil under the MPCP in the previous school year
increased by the percentage change in the amount of general school aid over the
previous school year.
Under current law, annually the state pays to each independent charter school
(a charter school established by the city of Milwaukee, the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, or the Milwaukee
Area Technical College), for each pupil attending the charter school, the sum of the
amount paid per pupil in the previous school year plus the amount of revenue
increase per pupil allowed under the school district revenue limits.
Under this bill, annually the state pays to each independent charter school, for
each pupil attending the school, the sum of the amount paid per pupil in the previous
school year and the amount of increase in the per pupil payment under the MPCP.
The amount paid per pupil may not be less than the amount paid per pupil in the
previous school year.
Current law generally limits the increase in the total amount of revenue per
pupil that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes
in a school year to the amount of revenue increase allowed per pupil in the previous
school year increased by the percentage change in the consumer price index. School
districts with revenues per pupil that are below their revenue ceiling are exempt
from the revenue limits. This bill increases the revenue ceiling from $6,900 to $7,400
in the 2003-04 school year and to $7,800 in the 2004-05 school year.
This bill distributes a portion of general school aid from the transportation
fund.
Currently, school district professional employees are required to be placed in a
collective bargaining unit that is separate from the units of other school district
employees. This bill eliminates this requirement.
This bill reduces the number of vocational education consultants that DPI must
to employ from 11 to 5.5.
Under current law, DPI pays each school district, each county children with
disabilities education board (CCDEB), and each technical college district $100 for
each pupil who completes a DPI-approved course in driver education. This bill
provides that, if the amount appropriated is more than enough to provide $100 per
pupil, DPI must distribute the balance to eligible school districts, CCDEBs, and
technical college districts on a prorated basis.
