Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ninety-Eighth Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Senate
May
28
, 2008
The Honorable, the Senate:
I submit my resignation as State Senator of the 12th Senate District, and any committee or councils on which I serve as a result of that position, effective at the end of the business day, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
My 18 years in the Senate have been my personal privilege and I have served humbly as the representative for the people in northern Wisconsin. I am honored to have been their State Senator and will miss the many duties I have fulfilled in that role.
I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow legislators as well as people throughout the entire state in my new capacity as Wisconsin's Commissioner of Railroads.
Sincerely,
ROGER BRESKE
State Senator
12th Senate District
State of Wisconsin
Senate Majority Leader
May
27
, 2008
Dear Senator Plale,
I am writing to inform you that I am appointing you as chair of the Senate Transportation and Tourism Committee effective June 4, 2008. As the current vice-chair of the committee, I believe that you are well wuited to assuming the duties and responsibility of chairing the committee upon Senator Roger Breske's confirmation as State Railroad Commissioner.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
RUSS DECKER
Senator Majority Leader
State of Wisconsin
Senate Majority Leader
June
4
, 2008
The Honorable, The Senate:
Pursuant to Senate Rule
20 and with consultation from the Senate Minority Leader, I am apointing Senator Sheila Harsdorf to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
RUSS DECKER
Senator Majority Leader
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
May 9, 2008
The Honorable, The Legislature:
2007 Wisconsin Act 20, Section
9148 (4c), directs the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of alternative program models for the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program.
The enclosed report summarizes alternatives for:
• organizational structures feasible for vehicle emissions inspection maintenance programs.
• methods available to capturing and transmitting data from vehicle on-board computers.
• tools available for collecting data from vehicle on-board computers.
The report is submitted for your distribution to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation and Tourism.
Staff from the Division of Motor Vehicle is available to answer questions about the enclosed paper. Please contact Anna Biermeier, Director of the Bureau of Vehicle Services, at (608) 267-5121 or
anna.beirmeier@dot.state.wi.us.
Sincerely,
Frank J. Busalacchi
Secretary
Referred to committee on Transportation and Tourism.
State of Wisconsin
Government Accountability Board
May 29, 2008
The Honorable, The Legislature:
Yesterday, the Government Accountability Board received notice that we had won a nationwide competitive grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to improve the reporting of election data for elections. We are pleased to provide you with a brief summary of the benefits this grant will bring to election administration in Wisconsin, and the nation.
S835
Ten states applied for five grants of $2 million each, and Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania were funded. The purpose of the federal grant is two-fold: To “enhance the capacity of states and their jurisdictions to collect accurate and complete election data," according to the EAC, and “to develop a model elections data collection protocol."
Fulfillment of the grant will include the development of new procedures, systems and methodologies for election data collection. As part of our compliance with the grant requirements, Wisconsin will report to the EAC in March 2009, with data collected from the November 4, 2008 election, to be used in their required June 2009 report to Congress.
As you are aware, Wisconsin has one of the most decentralized systems of election administration in the country. Therefore, our state is in a unique position to offer suggestions for best practices and procedures that will benefit election data collection here at home and throughout the nation. Collection of Wisconsin election data at the ward level already occurs to a significant degree. This new $2 million dollar project will fortify local election officials' collection and reporting efforts.
To summarize, this grant will significantly enhance Wisconsin's ability to:
• Assist county and local clerks to improve analysis and reporting of local election data;
• Collect and record better - and more complete - statewide election data;
• Receive and report in a more timely manner accurate, statewide election data;
• Provide the EAC with a reliable model of data collection that can be replicated by other states
• Continue to serve as a national leader in election administrations practices and information
Attached to this memo is our news release of yesterday afternoon. We will be happy to provide you with more information. Please contact me if you have questions about the EAC grant, our plans to improve election data collection in the state, or our preparedness for the fall elections.
