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The Chief Clerk records:
Senate Joint Resolution 59
Senate Joint Resolution 60
Senate Bill 283
Senate Bill 341
Senate Bill 349
Senate Bill 370
Senate Bill 375
Senate Bill 386
Report correctly enrolled on February 7, 2006.
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Read first time and referred:
Senate Bill 583
Relating to: limiting the scope of county zoning authority over commercial establishments.
By
Senators
Stepp and S. Fitzgerald
; cosponsored by Representatives Albers, F. Lasee, Hines, Bies, Petrowski and Musser.
To committee on Housing and Financial Institutions.
Senate Bill 584
Relating to: regulation of bank branches, mergers and acquisitions of banks, providing an exemption from rule-making procedures, and granting rule-making authority.
By
Senators
Stepp, Brown, Grothman, Erpenbach and Harsdorf; cosponsored by Representatives Vos, Molepske, Albers, Fields, Musser, Krawczyk, Jeskewitz, Petrowski, Kreibich, J. Fitzgerald, Jensen, Hahn, Gunderson, Moulton, F. Lasee and Nischke.
To committee on Housing and Financial Institutions.
Senate Bill 585
Relating to: operation of the Building Commission, submission of capital budget recommendations, waiver of state construction contracting procedures, supervision of state facilities construction, estimates of state facility costs, and approval of leases that provide for construction of state facilities.
By
Senators
Cowles, Grothman, A. Lasee and Olsen; cosponsored by Representatives Vos, Jeskewitz, Krawczyk and Petrowski.
To committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs, Small Business and Government Reform.
Senate Bill 586
Relating to: preparing and filing parenting plans, equalizing periods of physical placement to the highest degree possible, using parenting plans to determine periods of physical placement, and modifying physical placement and custody orders.
By
Senators
Plale, Reynolds, A. Lasee and Lazich; cosponsored by Representatives Pridemore, Gronemus, Gunderson, Gundrum, Hahn, Hines, Kestell, Krawczyk, Kreibich, F. Lasee, Musser, Nass, Ott, Van Roy, Wood, Strachota and Vos.
To committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy.
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The committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care reports and recommends:
Relating to department recoupment of program benefit overpayments from program recipients.
Modifications requested, Ayes 5, Noes 0.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Roessler, Darling, Brown, Erpenbach and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Carol Roessler
Chairperson
The committee on Labor and Election Process Reform reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 377
Relating to: absentee balloting by certain military electors.
Concurrence.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Reynolds, Lazich, Kanavas, Hansen and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Senate Bill 419
Relating to: mailing and transmittal of absentee ballots.
Passage.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Reynolds, Lazich, Kanavas, Hansen and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Senate Bill 474
Relating to: making various changes in the worker's compensation law, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and making appropriations.
Passage.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Reynolds, Lazich, Kanavas, Hansen and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Thomas Reynolds
Chairperson
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State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
February 7, 2006
The Honorable, The Senate:
The following lobbyists have been authorized to act on behalf of the organizations set opposite their names.
Arnold, G Brett Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools
S587
Canuteson, Beth Sprint Nextel Corporation
Hoven, Timothy Cottonwood Financial Ltd.
Taylor, Chad Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin
Welsh, Michael Cottonwood Financial Ltd.
For more detailed information about these lobbyists and organizations and a complete list of organizations and people authorized to lobby the 2005 session of the legislature, visit the Ethics Board's web site at
http://ethics.state.wi.us
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
Legislative Audit Bureau
February 8, 2006
The Honorable, The Legislature:
We have completed an evaluation of the Milwaukee County child welfare program, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The program, which protects children from abuse and neglect, is administered by the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare in the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), which contracts for most services. In June 2005, the program served 3,188 children who had been removed from their homes to ensure their safety. An additional 266 families received services without having a child removed from the home. From January 2001 through June 2005, program expenditures totaled $493.7 million. Our review of program expenditure and staffing issues is report 06-2.
DHFS has taken important steps in recent years to improve the welfare of children in Milwaukee County, including significantly reducing the number of children in out-of-home care. However, we identified concerns with the timeliness of investigations of child abuse and neglect, as well as the timeliness with which court-ordered services are provided. Collaboration and coordination among child welfare staff is limited, and problems related to establishing permanent placements were documented in 25 of 48 cases we reviewed. We make a number of recommendations for the Bureau to improve program management.
To assess whether the Bureau adequately ensured the safety of children, we reviewed 73 highrisk cases that were most likely to involve child abuse or neglect. The Bureau and its contractors took reasonable and appropriate action in 69 of these cases, but we believe more could have been done to protect children in the remaining 4 cases.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DHFS and the child welfare contractors. A response from DHFS follows the appendices.
Sincerely,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
February 8, 2006
