Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ron brown
State Senator
31st Senate District
__________________
Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
November 1, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As required by s.
250.03 (3)(b) of the Wisconsin Statutes, I am pleased to submit to you the first biennial report on the preparedness of the Wisconsin public health system to address public health emergencies. The Department of Health and Family Services' Division of Public Health manages two major federal grants for public health and hospital preparedness and response to bioterrorism, outbreaks of infectious disease, and other public health threats and emergencies. The Division of Public Health approach to implementing preparedness initiatives has been that of multi-agency cooperation, regionalization, and the dual-use enhancement of state and local public health infrastructure.
If you have any questions about this report, please contact Steven Marshall, Public Health Preparedness Program Director in the Division of Public Health at (608) 266-9783 or
marshs@dhfs.state.wi.us.
Sincerely,
Helene nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Public Health.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
November 4, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
In compliance with Wisconsin statue 16.548, please find the Wisconsin Office of Federal/State Relations quarterly report to be submitted to the Legislature for the third quarter of 2005. This report provides information on the activities of the office and the status of federal legislation of concern to the state of Wisconsin.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this material.
Sincerely,
Stephen e. Bablitch
Secretary
Referred to committee on State-Federal Affairs.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
College Savings Program Board
Madison
November 8, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We are pleased to submit the College Savings Program Annual Report for the 2004-2005 Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2005. This eighth annual report covers the EdVest and tomorrow's scholar plans, including key developments in the program over the past fiscal year and summaries of the financial audit and actuarial valuation. The program experienced significant growth and success in FY05. As of June 30, we were meeting the college savings needs of nearly 200,000 families nationwide with over $1.4 billion in assets under management.
Highlights for the year:
Wells Fargo purchased Strong Financial Corporation and assumed the contracts for management of the program in a seamless transition.
The Board hired Evaluation Associates, Inc. to provide ongoing independent monitoring of investment performance of all program portfolios.
All investment options were improved and fees were lowered as part of a September 2005 "re-launch" of the program.
The College Savings Program Board and staff look forward to continued growth with quality service to participants in this exciting program. If you have any questions regarding the EdVest Annual Report, please contact Marty Olle at 264-7886.
Sincerely,
senator Alberta darling
Chair, College Savings Program Board
STate Treasurer Jack C. Voight
Vice-Chair, College Savings Program Board
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
November 11, 2005
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
At the request of the departments of Commerce and Administration, and in accordance with s.
13.94(1s), Wis. Stats., we have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2005, and June 30, 2004. We express our unqualified audit opinion on the Statement of Changes in Program Assets and related notes.
Under the Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program, the State issues revenue obligations, such as bonds and commercial paper, to provide financing for payment of claims under the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) program. The obligations are not general obligation debt of the State. Instead, the revenue obligations are to be repaid primarily from the fee charged to suppliers for petroleum products sold in Wisconsin and collected by the Department of Revenue. This fee, which is established in s.
168.12(1), Wis. Stats., has been $0.03 per gallon since before the revenue obligations program was established in January 2000, and it will remain in effect through April 30, 2006.
As provided for in
2005 Wisconsin Act 25, the petroleum inspection fee will be reduced to $0.02 per gallon effective May 1, 2006, which will result in a decline in the petroleum inspection fee revenues available to fund debt service for the revenue obligations. While the ratings for the petroleum inspection fee revenue bonds remain unchanged, one bond rating agency recently revised its long-term rating outlook from stable to negative. Nevertheless, the Department of Administration expects that future petroleum inspection fee revenues will be sufficient to fully meet debt service requirements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us during the audit by staff of the departments of Commerce, Administration, and Revenue.
Respectfully submitted,
janice mueller
State Auditor