Chuck Benedict
Chairperson
Committee on Public Health
__________________
Speaker's Communications
July 8, 2009
Mr. Patrick Fuller
Chief Clerk, Wisconsin State Assembly
Room 401, Risser Justice Center
17 West Main Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Dear Chief Clerk Fuller:
A335
Pursuant to Assembly Rule
42 (3)(c), I am withdrawing
Assembly Bill 181 from the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Ethics and re-referring it to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice. I have the consent of Representative Gary Hebl, chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Ethics.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this referral
Sincerely,
Michael J. Sheridan
Assembly Speaker
__________________
Referral of Agency Reports
DATE: June 23, 2009
TO: Patrick E. Fuller, Assembly Chief Clerk
Robert J. Marchant, Senate Chief Clerk
FROM: Kevin P. Reilly
University of Wisconsin System
Office of the President
RE: Report Pursuant to
Wis. Stat. §
36.11 (22)(2)(b)
Section
36.11 (22)(2)(b), Wisconsin Statutes, requires the Board of Regents to annually submit a report to the chief clerk of each house of the Legislature on the methods used by each UW System institution to disseminate information to students on sexual assault and sexual harassment. The attached report is submitted on behalf of the Board of Regents to fulfill the UW System's statutory requirements.
The law requires UW System institutions to incorporate into their orientation programs for newly entering students oral and written information on sexual assault and sexual harassment, including information on: (1) sexual assault by acquaintances of the victims; (2) the legal definitions and penalties for sexual assault; (3) generally available national, state, and campus statistics on sexual assault; (4) the rights of victims; and (5) protective behaviors including methods of recognizing and avoiding sexual assault and sexual harassment. In addition, each institution must annually supply to all students enrolled in the institution printed material that includes information on all of these topics. This law was enacted in April 1990, and this is the eighteenth report to be compiled for the Legislature since its enactment.
This report summarizes the primary methods used by each institution to comply with s.
36.11 (22)(1), Wisconsin Statutes. The summaries are not exhaustive of all efforts underway at the institutions. Instead, they summarize the programs institutions have identified as their "best practices" to respond to victims of sexual assault and provide information about sexual assault prevention to all students.
Overall, UW System institutions are (1) continually updating and improving the scope and quality of information provided to students; (2) integrating presentations, small-group discussion of the issues, and interactive dramatizations relating to sexual violence into new student orientation programs; (3) providing educational and resource information required by s.
36.11 (22), Wisconsin Statutes, on the web or in print form; (4) offering educational programs addressing the topic in a wide range of venues, including residence halls, student unions, classrooms, student organization gatherings, and private housing facilities; and (5) establishing effective and important connections among campus and health personnel, local police, community service agencies, and regional hospitals to address sexual violence in a coordinated manner.
If you need additional information regarding this report, please contact Cindy Graham at
cgraham@uwsa.edu or 608-263-4398.
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
July 8, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Department of Health Services is pleased to submit to you and the Legislature the report on Preparedness of the Wisconsin Public Health System to Respond to Public Health Emergencies. This report was prepared by the Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, as required by s.
250.03 (3)(b) of Wisconsin Statues.
Wisconsin's Public Health Preparedness Program continues to strengthen preparedness through planning, workforce competency development training, and exercises to assure not only individual agency response capability, but also strong coordination of regional and statewide responses. Highlights of the Public Health Preparedness Report include:
• Extensive pandemic influenza planning, purchase of antiviral medication and the exercise of plans for disease containment.
• Planning for Wisconsin's Special Populations with statewide expert input on a toolkit for local public health agencies.
• The activation of the Wisconsin Emergency Assistance Volunteer Registry (WEAVR) to connect health care professional resources in a disaster.
• Testing, evaluating and improving emergency response to public health emergencies, terrorism and mass casualty events at the State, regional, local and tribal level.
These successes reflect sustained progress as well as exciting enhancements to Wisconsin's readiness to prevent, detect, investigate, control and recover from a public health event.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
Referred to committee on Health and Healthcare Reform.