Thursday, June 26, 1997
10:00 A.M.
Ninety-Third Regular Session
The Senate met.
The Senate was called to order by Senator Fred Risser.
The roll was called and the following Senators answered to their names:
Senators Adelman, Breske, Burke, Chvala, Clausing, Cowles, Darling, Decker, Drzewiecki, Ellis, Farrow, Fitzgerald, George, Grobschmidt, Huelsman, Jauch, A. Lasee, Moore, Panzer, Plache, C. Potter, Risser, Roessler, Rosenzweig, Rude, Schultz, Shibilski, Weeden, Welch, Wineke, Wirch and Zien - 32.
Absent - Senators Moen - 1.
The Senate stood for a moment of silent meditation.
The Senate remained standing and Senator Darling led the Senate in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
__________________
Senator Plache, with unanimous consent, asked that Senator Moen be granted a leave of absence for today's session.
__________________
Senators Rude, Risser and Schultz, with unanimous consent, introduced Mr. Sheng-tsung Yang, Director General of the Chicago Consulate of the Republic of China on Taiwan, his wife Esther Sheng-tsung Yang, Mr. Phillip Lee, Director, Service Division of the Consulate, and Ms. Karen Piele, Project Manager, Taiwan Trade Center in Chicago.
__________________
Read first time and referred:
Senate Bill 250
Relating to: uniform fees chargeable for certified duplicate health care records and granting rule-making authority.
By
Senators
Decker and Moen; cosponsored by Representatives Kreuser, Albers, Ziegelbauer, Staskunas, Johnsrud and Ott.
To committee on Health, Human Services, Aging, Corrections, Veterans and Military Affairs.
Senate Bill 251
Relating to: the operating privilege of an underage person convicted of certain alcohol-related offenses.
By
Senators
Darling, Grobschmidt, Farrow, Rosenzweig, Panzer and Roessler; cosponsored by Representatives Kaufert, Ward, Jeskewitz, Gunderson, Reynolds and Nass.
To committee on Judiciary, Campaign Finance Reform and Consumer Affairs.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
June 25, 1997
To the Honorable the Senate:
At the direction of s.
13.685(7),
Wisconsin Statutes, I am furnishing you with the names of organizations recently registered with the Ethics Board that employ one or more individuals to affect state legislation or administrative rules, and notifying you of changes in the Ethics Board's records of licensed lobbyists and their employers. For each recently registered organization I have included the organization's description of the general area of legislative or administrative action that it attempts to influence and the name of each licensed lobbyist that the organization has authorized to act on its behalf.
Organizations recently registered:
Below are the names of organizations recently registered with the Ethics Board as employing one or more individuals to affect state legislation or administrative rules.
Big Esox Inc
Subject(s): Monitor and influence legislation and administrative rules that have the potential to effect the operation or value of investments made in
Petersen, Eric
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
Subject(s): All legislation and rules involving tobacco, taxation and marketing.
Hilbert, Lisa
Jentz, Robert
River Alliance of Wisconsin
Subject(s): State legislation and administrative rules relative to the use, management and protection of Wisconsin's rivers and streams.
Johnson, Sara
Organization's authorization of additional lobbyists:
The following organizations previously registered with the Ethics Board have authorized to act on their behalf these additional licensed lobbyists:
Amusement and Music Operators, Wisconsin
Brown, George
MCI Telecommunications Corp
Brown, George
S213
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 the organizations that employ lobbyists.
Sincerely,
R. Roth Judd
Executive Director
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
June 24, 1997
The Honorable, The Senate:
We have completed financial audits of the Mendota and Winnebago Mental Health Institutes for fiscal year 1995-96. We were able to provide unqualified opinions on the Institutes' financial statements. However, we noted that on an accrual basis, Mendota Mental Health Institute had a loss of over $836,000 and Winnebage Mental Health Institute had a loss of over $3 million. In addition, the Institutes combined had a $10.9 million unsupported cash deficit on June 30, 1996. Therefore, it appears the cash deficit will not be eliminated by July 1, 1999, as required by legislative mandate. However, a proposal to increase reimbursement for services provided to Medical Assistance patients is currently under legislative consideration. If enacted, the higher Medical Assistant revenues would help reduce the accumulated deficit.
