To joint committee on Audit.
__________________
The committee on Highways and Transportation reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 119
Relating to: special distinguishing registration plates, payments to authorized special groups, granting rule-making authority and making an appropriation.
Assembly amendment 1 adoption:
Ayes: 15 - Representatives Brandemuehl, Otte, Musser, Lorge, Hahn, Zukowski, Huebsch, Sykora, Hasenohrl, Gronemus, Turner, L. Young, Ryba, Riley and Steinbrink.
Noes: 0.
Passage as amended:
Ayes: 15 - Representatives Brandemuehl, Otte, Musser, Lorge, Hahn, Zukowski, Huebsch, Sykora, Hasenohrl, Gronemus, Turner, L. Young, Ryba, Riley and Steinbrink.
Noes: 0.
To committee on Rules.
Assembly Bill 131
Relating to: load weight limits on trucks registered with the department of transportation as special interest, reconstructed, replica, street modified or homemade vehicles.
Passage:
Ayes: 15 - Representatives Brandemuehl, Otte, Musser, Lorge, Hahn, Zukowski, Huebsch, Sykora, Hasenohrl, Gronemus, Turner, L. Young, Ryba, Riley and Steinbrink.
Noes: 0.
To committee on Rules.
Assembly Bill 136
Relating to: the use of studded tires on school buses.
Passage:
Ayes: 12 - Representatives Brandemuehl, Otte, Lorge, Huebsch, Sykora, Hasenohrl, Gronemus, Turner, L. Young, Ryba, Riley and Steinbrink.
Noes: 3 - Representatives Musser, Hahn and Zukowski.
To committee on Rules.
David Brandemuehl
Chairperson
Committee on Highways and Transportation
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Secretary of State
Madison
To Whom It May Concern:
Acts, Joint Resolutions and Resolutions deposited in this office have been numbered and published as follows:
Joint Res. Number Enrolled Number
Pub. Date
Assembly Joint Res. 13 2Not published
Assembly Joint Res. 2 3Not published
Assembly Joint Res. 10 4Not published
Assembly Joint Res. 32 5Not published
Assembly Joint Res. 24 6Not published
Sincerely,
Douglas La Follette
Secretary of State
__________________
Communications
April 21, 1997
Speaker Ben Brancel
Room 211 West, State Capitol
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
Dear Speaker Brancel:
On Tuesday, May 6th I will be entering Burlington Memorial Hospital for Prostate operation for cancer. I will be taking pre-test beginning this week as established by my doctor for the operation on May 7th.
Therefore, I'm asking you to replace me on the Joint Committee on Finance effective Monday April 21, 1997. The doctor has informed me that I could be under his direction until the end of May.
Sincerely,
Cloyd A. Porter
State Representative
66th Assembly District
__________________
Speaker's appointments
April 21, 1997
Representative John Gard
Room 316 North, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53702
Dear John:
It is my pleasure as Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly to appoint you to the Joint Committee on Finance to fill the vacancy created by Representative Porter's resignation.
This appointment is effective immediately.
Sincerely,
Ben Brancel
Assembly Speaker
__________________
Agency Reports
DATE: April 15, 1997
TO: Members of the Legislature
FROM: Alan Tracy, Secretary
Secretary, DATCP
RE: County and District Fairs, Annual Report
We are pleased to submit to you a copy of the 1996 annual report on the 76 Wisconsin County and District Fairs receiving state aid. This report is prepared by the Department in accordance with the requirements contained in section 93.23(1)(h), Wisconsin Statutes.
This report is a detailed statement showing receipts and disbursements of each fair receiving state aid, together with a classified statement of premiums paid and the amount of state aid claimed.
If you have any questions relative to this report, please call Bob Williams, Fairs Coordinator, at 608/224-5131.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
April 22, 1997
We have completed an evaluation of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, as directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The District, whose 1996 operating expenditures totaled $118.8 million, recently completed work on the $2.3 billion Water Pollution Abatement Program, which is the largest public works project in the State's history to date.
Since 1992, the District has maintained a monthly capital fund balance that has averaged $114 million more than required to meet its cash requirements. We found that this excess balance is primarily the result of two factors: the District's decision to take advantage of favorable interest rates by issuing more bonds than it needed to pay for current construction costs, which appears to have minimized long-term taxpayer costs, and the receipt of more grant revenue than had been projected.
A130
The production of Milorganite, a fertilizer made from heat-dried sludge, is currently the least-costly method available to the District for waste disposal, in part because its sale generates revenue. To ensure that Milorganite production remains a cost-effective disposal option, the District may need to enhance its marketing efforts to address increased competition from other municipalities. Plant modifications made after a February 1996 explosion appear to have addressed safety concerns.
The District also administers the Minority Business Development and Training Program, created by the Legislature in 1985 to develop the capabilities of minority individuals and businesses to participate in construction and construction-related projects. Through 1996, the program has spent $21.0 million, of which only $2.8 million, or 11 percent, was for participant training services, while almost as much, $2.3 million, was spent for program management. In addition, per capita training costs for participating individuals and firms have been excessive.
Although the District has made some modifications to enhance its contract purchasing and oversight since our prior review in 1991, additional improvements are needed if the District is to be effective in evaluating the performance of its consulting engineers and contractors.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. A response from the District is the Appendix.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale Cattanach
State Auditor
__________________
DATE: April 22, 1997
TO: Charles R. Sanders
Assembly Chief Clerk
FROM: Michael R. Duckett, Executive Director
Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball
Park District
RE: Miller Park Monthly Progress Report
