This letter is to inform you that I am officially submitting my resignation as State Representative for the Seventeenth Assembly District, effective Monday, July 2, 2012. It has truly been an honor to have had the opportunity to represent Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Serving in the Assembly has been both challenging and rewarding. During my tenure here I have learned a lot about politics, and even more about what's important in life. As I begin a new chapter of my life, I do so with a new awareness of, and focus on, what matters most.
Sincerely,
Barbara L. Toles
State Representative
17th Assembly District
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July 3, 2012
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
17 West Main Street, Suite 401
Madison, WI 53703
Dear Chief Clerk Fuller:
I recently noticed an error in the Journal of the Assembly for March 15, 2012.
I asked unanimous consent to be recorded as voting "no" on the question of concurrence in Senate Bill 262. The journal correctly indicates my request and that it was granted.
The journal then indicates that I made a similar request on the next question, which was to withdraw Assembly Bill 355 (relating to exempting rules promulgated by the Government Accountability Board from certain administrative rule-making procedures involving the approval of the governor) from the Assembly Committee on Election and Campaign Reform. As a co-author of AB 355 and the ranking Democratic member of the committee in question, I supported the motion to withdraw the bill from committee and did not request that my vote be changed from "aye" to "no".
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I ask that a copy of this letter be entered in the Journal.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Kelda Helen Roys
State Representative
81st Assembly District
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
June 27, 2012
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Attached please find the Department of Administration's (DOA) Contractual Services Purchasing Report for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) pursuant to §
16.705 (8), Wis. Stats. Overall, contracting increased seventeen percent since Fiscal Year 2010 however the State of Wisconsin has reduced contractual spending by $62.9 million since Fiscal Year 2005.
The report also includes information on cost-benefit analyses produced by state agencies and campuses during FY11. Wisconsin Act 89 requires state agencies and campuses to conduct a cost-benefit analysis prior to any proposed contractual service procurement over $25,000. A summary of the 355 cost-benefit analyses produced during FY11 is included in this report.
State government will continue to pursue ways to reduce costs, eliminate inefficiencies, and create sustainable sources of savings for state and local governments.
If you have any questions about this report, please contact Helen McCain, Administrator, DOA Division of Enterprise Operations, at 266-0779.
Sincerely,
Christopher P. Schoenherr
Deputy Secretary
Referred to committee on Homeland Security and State Affairs.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Corrections
Madison
June 27, 2012
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As required in
2011 Wisconsin Act 32, the Department of Corrections has completed a report on juvenile delinquency-related services provided by the state and counties. The Act required the Department to include in the report a list of all providers of juvenile delinquency services, the number of juveniles receiving each service, whether each juvenile was supervised by the county or the state, and an accounting of the costs of the services provided. To collect the required information, the Department worked with county staff to develop and administer a survey of all 72 Wisconsin counties and reviewed Division of Juvenile Corrections records on the juvenile correctional services provided or purchased. The report includes information as of CY 2010, which represents the most current data available at the time the effort was undertaken. It should be noted the Department was not able to independently audit the information provided to us by counties, and due to differences in counties' services and accounting methods, some figures may be approximations.
In CY 2010, the Department billed counties and the state $46.5 million to serve 942 youth in juvenile correctional institutions and 560 youth in the community under the Department's supervision. The Department also provided or purchased additional services for youth, including residential services, therapy, and mentoring. Counties collectively spent $69.4 million on intake and supervision services in CY 2010 and an additional $84.7 million on residential and other juvenile delinquency-related services, excluding services provided by the Department.
We appreciate the cooperation extended to us by county human service departments, county courts, and other county agencies involved in providing the information contained in this report. All counties will be receiving a copy of the report.
Sincerely,
Gary H. Hamblin
Secretary
Referred to committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections.
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DATE: June 29, 2012
TO: Patrick E. Fuller, Assembly Chief Clerk
Robert J. Marchant, Senate Chief Clerk
FROM: Roland Couey, Bureau Director, Budget and
Facilities Management Department of Corrections
SUBJECT: Department of Corrections Energy Cost
Reduction Plan as Required by Stat. 16.953 For Period July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014
It is the plan of the Department of Corrections (DOC) to operate and maintain facilities in a manner to cost effectively reduce energy consumption and costs whenever possible. Due to constraints on capital spending and staffing, plus the mandated requirements of safety and security for inmates and personnel, regulatory compliance, and court-ordered spending, it may not be possible to pursue every energy cost saving opportunity. The current and forecasted cost of fuel supplies, with natural gas being plentiful and relatively low cost at the moment, make long term energy project justification difficult in the near term.
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In the July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014, report period, DOC plans to implement using All-Agency Capital funds only one project that is specifically designed for energy cost savings for which the savings is expected to exceed the cost of the installation over the life of the equipment: installation of a waste heat economizer on boiler number 4 at Waupun Central Generating plant. The cost of $300,000 is expected to reduce fuel costs by $30,000 per year through improved boiler efficiency with waste heat recovery. Other building and equipment replacement projects will be designed in accordance with Executive Order #63 dated March 9, 2012, which requires meeting or exceeding commercial code energy efficiency by at least 10 percent.
DOC has also initiated a series of Energy Performance Contracting projects that will be implemented during the report period in accordance with DOA/DSF procedures. These projects will utilize funding from the PRSB energy bonds that will be paid back with the energy savings generated over the term of the project. DOA has indicated an initial commitment of $20 million in PRSB funds, subject to State Building Commission approval, for the cost of projects. Potential overall energy cost savings potential is estimated to be about $2 million per year once all projects are implemented.
Please advise if any further information is needed.
Referred to committee on Energy and Utilities.
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State of Wisconsin
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Madison
June 29, 2012
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Commission is required by Wis. Stat. §
196.218 (5r) to submit a biennial report on the universal service fund (USF) to the legislature. This report addresses the rules, programs, and regulatory policies that impact universal service. The Commission includes in these reports, information on state USF expenditures and on USF issues at the federal level. In the past, the USF report has been included with a report to the legislature on telecommunications infrastructure. However,
2011 Wisconsin Act 22 - effective June 9, 2011 - eliminated the infrastructure report obligation. Consequently, the USF report of July 2012 is a stand alone report. In this USF report, the Commission has included some information about broadband service in Wisconsin. The July 2012 report and the June 2010 report are provided here:
http://psc.wi.gov/utilityInfo/tele/usf/usfReports.htm
If you have any questions please let me know.
Sincerely,
Matthew Pagel
Communications and Policy Liaison
Referred to committee on Energy and Utilities.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Veterans Affairs
Madison
June 30, 2012
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
2011 Wisconsin Act 32, Section
9152 (2i), requires the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and the Board of Veterans Affairs to jointly provide recommendations regarding the adoption of a viable long-term funding source for the Veterans Trust Fund. We are pleased to send you the attached Veterans Trust Fund Solvency Options report, which provides several options to meet the fund's future revenue needs, describes some of the cost savings measures the department has implemented and identifies challenges posed by the current economic climate and the ever growing demand for programs and services.
Ensuring the ongoing solvency of the Veterans Trust Fund has always been a shared priority of the department, the board, the Governor, the Legislature, and our state veterans.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss ways we can help Wisconsin veterans by saving the Veterans Trust Fund and all of its associated benefits.
Respectfully submitted,
John A. Scocos, Secretary
Department of Veterans Affairs
Alan Richards, Chair
Board of Veterans Affairs
Referred to committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.
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State of Wisconsin
Department of Justice
Madison
July 5, 2012
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Please find the enclosed CD which contains the Department of Justice portion of the annual legislative DL photo report pursuant to state statute 343.237 (9).
Should you or your staff have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via email to
kalinaca@doj.state.wi.us or phone 608-266-7394.
Sincerely,
Chris Kalina
TIME System Operations Coordinator
Department of Justice
Crime Information Bureau
Referred to committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections.
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