Sincerely,
Stephen E. Bablitch
Secretary
Referred to committee on Government Operations and Spending Limitations.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
College Savings Program Board
Madison
November 7, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We are pleased to submit the 2005-2006 College Savings Program Annual Report. This ninth annual report covers the EdVest and tomorrow's scholar plans, highlighting the key developments in the program over the past fiscal year, with summaries of the financial statements. The program experienced significant growth and success in FY06. As of June 30, we were helping to meet the college savings needs of over 214,000 current and future students and families nationwide with over $1.7 billion in assets under management.
Highlights for the year:
• In a nationwide competitive procurement, the program's administrative contracts were re-bid and Wells Fargo was selected as program manager for a five-year term.
• Account owners now enjoy lower fees, as the annual account fee payable to the Board and the annual account maintenance fee payable to Wells Fargo are now waived for Wisconsin residents.
• Total program fees now include some of the lowest among all "529" college savings plans nationally.
The College Savings Program Board and staff look forward to continued growth with quality service to participants in this exciting program. We're sending a cover letter regarding this report to all state legislators and will post the report on our website
www.ost.state.wi.us/home/edvest.htm If you have any questions regarding the Annual Report, please contact Marty Olle at 264-7886.
Sincerely,
Senator Alberta Darling
Chair, College Savings Program Board
Jack C. Voight
Vice-Chair, College Savings Program Board
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
November 14, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
In compliance with Wisconsin statute 16.548, please find the Wisconsin Office of Federal/State Relations quarterly report to be submitted to the Legislature for the third quarter of 2006. 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 Relations.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction
Madison
November 16, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
In accordance with ss.
115.28 (39) and
115.361 (2), Wis. Stats., the Department of Public Instruction submits this report relating to alcohol and other drug abuse programs in public schools. The report provides an evaluation of its 2004-2006 school-based alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) prevention and intervention initiatives. The department's AODA program consists of grant-making, training, and technical assistance.
If you have any questions regarding this document, please contact Douglas White, Director, at 266-5198.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Burmaster
State Superintendent
Referred to committee on Education.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
November 30, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
This report is transmitted as required by s.
20.002(11)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, (for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s.
13.172(3), Wisconsin Statutes) and confirms that the Department of Administration has found it necessary to exercise the "temporary reallocation of balances" authority provided by this section in order to meet payment responsibilities and cover resulting negative cash balances during the month of October 2006.
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On October 26, 2006, the Medical Assistance Trust Fund cash balance closed at a negative $12.4 million. This negative balance continued through October 31, 2006, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $12.0 million. The Medical Assistance Trust Fund cash balance reached its intra-month low of a negative $12.5 million on October 30, 2006. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On October 26, 2006, the Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund cash balance closed at a negative $2 thousand. This negative balance continued through October 31, 2006, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $2 thousand. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On October 26, 2006, the Worker's Compensation Fund cash balance closed at a negative $1.7 million. This negative balance continued through October 31, 2006, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $1.7 million. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
The Medical Assistance Trust Fund, Wisconsin Health Education Loan Repayment Fund, and Worker's Compensation 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,
Stephen E. Bablitch
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 1, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Department of Health and Family Services is pleased to provide you this annual report of the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium's plans to address food insecurity, as required under s.
46.76(4) and
(5).
The Wisconsin Food Security Consortium continues making progress in devising strategies to end hunger and food insecurity in Wisconsin. Key steps in 2006 include:
• The Consortium expanded its membership to include several more local food security representatives, and improved communications among Consortium members through regular emails. A web site is being planned.
• The Consortium meetings throughout 2006 continued providing updates from the various programs associated with the Consortium, including School Breakfast Programs, Summer Food Program. Emergency Food Programs, FoodShare and the FoodShare Access Program.
• The Consortium established a governance structure with by-laws. The structure represents an independent partnership, rather than a committee appointed by and reporting to DHFS. A Steering Committee consisting of Consortium members meets monthly and carries out the work of the Consortium.
• The Steering Committee wrote and submitted a Wisconsin Food Security Partnership grant application to The Wisconsin Partnership Fund for a Healthy Future. It proposes to plan and conduct a statewide gathering on the issue of hunger that will result in the development and dissemination of an Action Plan that offers a menu of specific steps which state and local leaders from the public and private sectors can take to help minimize hunger and food insecurity.
The WIC Program is planning a Food Insecurity Survey of its participants for January 2007.
These successes indicate the continued commitment of the Department, with the assistance of the Food Security Consortium, to fight hunger in Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Helene Nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Families.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Reference Bureau
Madison
October 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The LRB has completed another successful year of service to the Wisconsin Legislature. At the request of members of the legislature and others, we prepared thousands of bills, amendments, and resolutions. We published numerous briefs and other documents helping to explain the legislative process and the acts of the legislature.
In August 2005, the LRB began publishing Governing Wisconsin, a series of educational papers that will cover the entire curriculum in civics education. We target these papers to Wisconsin high school students, as they introduce the vocabulary and the basic concepts of how government works in Wisconsin. We believe this series may also be useful to legislators as handouts when members speak to groups. Each issue of Governing Wisconsin is posted at
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lrb/gw/. This new publication underscores the Bureau's commitment to civics education. We have worked closely with the Department of Public Instruction to identify topics and focus the series for use in the classroom.
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We continue to offer the LRB Seminars, our popular training program on legislative topics and processes. We have experimented with saving some sessions on DVD for later viewing.
The LRB continues to host many international visitors-members and staff of parliamentary organizations who are interested in the Wisconsin legislative process. We enjoy these visits and believe we have a duty to present information about the legislature and its procedure. These visitors also remind us how lucky we are to live and work in a representative democracy.
Sincerely,
Steve Miller
Director
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
November 14, 2006
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a best practices review of local government operations, as directed by s.
13.94(8), Wis. Stats. This report focuses on the emergency management activities of Wisconsin's counties, which have primary local responsibility for emergency planning and response and for coordinating the emergency management efforts of municipalities within their borders. The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is the lead state agency in planning for and responding to emergencies, and its Division of Emergency Management coordinates federal, state, local, and private emergency management efforts statewide. The Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) administers some federal emergency management grants.
In fiscal year 2005-06, counties received 48.6 percent, or $19.4 million, of the $39.9 million in emergency management funds available through DMA and OJA. Municipalities and school districts, state agencies, technical colleges, the University of Wisconsin System, and Native American tribes received the remaining funds. Federal grants funded 90.0 percent of these awards.
Through a survey of the 72 county emergency management directors and an analysis of ten county emergency management plans, we identified best practices related to preparing for and responding to emergencies. Other units of government and individuals may find them useful in carrying out their own emergency management responsibilities.
