Assembly Bill 54714December 30, 1999
Assembly Bill 11916December 30, 1999
Assembly Bill 57617December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 27918December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 37019December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 14420December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 35721December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 30522December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 9123December 31, 1999
Assembly Bill 22725December 31, 1999
Sincerely,
Douglas La Follette
Secretary of State
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Reference Bureau Corrections
Assembly Joint Resolution 69
In enrolling, the following correction was made:
1. Page 2, line 10: delete the colon.
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Justice
Madison
December 7, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Section
165.90 of the Wisconsin Statutes requires the Department of Justice to report on the performance of cooperative county-tribal law enforcement programs receiving aid under this section. This letter constitutes our report.
Sincerely,
James E. Doyle
Attorney General
Referred to committee on Judiciary.
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A579
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 14, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Section
46.03(26) of the statutes requires the Department of Health and Family Services to report annually on information systems projects under development. The attached report is a summary of the departmental systems currently under development.
Sincerely,
Joe Leean
Secretary
Referred to committee on Health.
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State of Wisconsin
Public Service Commission
Madison
December 16, 1999
Report to the Legislature on Feasibility and Desirability of Enforcing Interconnection Agreements to which a Commercial Mobile Radio Service Provider is a Party
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
1997 Wisconsin Act 218 (1997 Senate Bill 351), hereafter Act 218, created Wis. Stat. §
196.199 entitled "Interconnection agreements." This statute sets forth the Public Service Commission's powers "to approve and enforce interconnection agreements and...do all things necessary and convenient to its jurisdiction." Wis. Stat. §
196.199(2). Enforcement procedures and penalties for failure to comply with interconnection agreements are found at Wis. Stat. §§
196.199(3) and
(4), respectively.
By definition, "interconnection agreement" does not include an interconnection agreement to which a commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) provider is a party. Wis. Stat. §
196.199(1). Section 50, Nonstatutory provisions, (2m) of Act 218 reads as follows:
The public service commission shall study the feasibility and desirability of enforcing interconnection agreements, that are subject to the approval of the public service commission under
47 USC 252(e), to which a commercial mobile radio service provider, as defined in section
196.01(2g) of the statutes, as created by this act, is a party in the same manner as interconnection agreements to which such a provider is not a party. The commission shall submit a report on the results of the study and any recommended proposals for legislation to the legislature in a manner provided in section
13.172(2) of the statutes no later than January 1, 2000.
Accordingly, the Commission submits this report to the Legislature for its consideration.
Act 218 became effective on January 1, 1999. To date, no complaints have been filed under Wis Stats. §
196.199 wherein noncompliance of an existing interconnection agreement has been alleged. Consequently, the Commission does not have any actual experience by which to make comparisons as anticipated and directed in the study charge and reporting requirement of the Legislature. Nevertheless, the Commission has approved several new or revised interconnection agreements pursuant to 47 USC § 252(e) involving CMRS providers. On a few occasions, the Commission, by its staff, has mediated disputes over new agreements pursuant to 47 USC § 252(a)(2). All of these disputes resulted in voluntary interconnection agreements. None were arbitrated pursuant to 47 USC § 252(b).
Although the Commission has federal law authority to mediate, arbitrate and approve new or revised interconnection agreements involving CMRS providers, it does not have state law authority to assess CMRS providers for costs associated with those proceedings. Ordinarily, the Commission assesses both parties to an interconnection dispute, whether that is a dispute over new or revised terms and conditions of an agreement, or a dispute over the interpretation and application of an existing agreement.
At this time, the Commission does not see an immediate need for legislation to apply Wis. Stat. §
196.199 to interconnection agreements to which a CMRS provider is a party. If such legislation is initiated, however, CMRS provider assessment of direct costs associated with Commission proceedings involving interconnection disputes of any description should be addressed.
If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Nick Linden of the Commission staff at (608) 266-8950.
Sincerely,
Lynda L. Dorr
Secretary to the Commission
Referred to committee on Utilities.
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State of Wisconsin
Council on Recycling
Madison
December 17, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
On behalf of the Council on Recycling, I am pleased to send you our report and recommendations regarding the recycling of used oil filters in Wisconsin. After receiving our charge in
1997 Act 243, the Council formed a subcommittee made up of stakeholders and interested parties to do research and prepare alternatives. The subcommittee delivered its' report to the Council in October, 1999. The Council reviewed their findings and the following report is the culmination of over a year of involvement with this issue.
A580
I would like to offer the Council's assistance in fulfilling the mission of the proposed Task Force by submitting the names of individuals and organizations to participate. Several private sector organizations, for example, have indicated support for the partnership and have expressed a willingness to serve. The Council would also like to share their expertise by having members take part in the Task Force and serving as a sounding board for Task Force ideas.
Thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the health of recycling in Wisconsin. We look forward to continuing to be a part of this important issue.
Sincerely,
Daniel P. Meyer
Chair, Council on Recycling
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Revenue
Madison
November 30, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is an Order of the Department of Revenue Adopting an Emergency Rule relating to the assessment of agricultural property as affected by
1995 Wisconsin Act 27. A copy of this emergency rule is being sent to you pursuant to the requirements specified in s.
227.24(3), Wis. Stats. A certified copy of the order has been filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, as required by s.
227.20, Wis. Stats.
This emergency rule will become effective upon publication in the official state newspaper, on November 30, 1999. It will remain in effect for 150 days after publication, when a permanent rule is expected to be in place.
Copies of this letter and the emergency rule order are also hereby being transmitted to the Chief Clerks of the Senate and the Assembly with the request that the code, or a notice of it, be published in the Journal of each house to make the rule amendment known to persons who will be affected by it.
The Department's fiscal estimate of the rule is also enclosed.
Sincerely,
Cate Zeuske
Secretary of Revenue
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 13, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We have completed an audit of the financial statements of the State Life Insurance Fund for the period January 1, 1996 through December 31, 1998, as required by s.
13.94 (1)(de), Wis. Stats. The Fund, which was created in 1911 to provide low-cost life insurance policies to Wisconsin residents, is administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. As of December 31, 1998, the Fund had 31,033 life insurance policies in effect, and total life insurance in force of approximately $226 million. The Fund is subject to the same regulatory requirements as any life insurance company licensed to operate in Wisconsin, as well as to other specific statutory restrictions, such as a prohibition on advertising and maximum coverage to any insured person of $10,000.
The State Life Insurance Fund prepares its financial statements using insurance accounting practices prescribed by the Commissioner of Insurance. We found the regulatory-based financial statements to be fairly presented in accordance with these accounting practices. The Fund, which is self-funded through premiums and investment earnings, returned between $3.6 million and $3.8 million to policyholders as dividends in each of the three years we audited. Statutes require that any fund surplus that accumulates be maintained at a level between 7 and 10 percent of fund assets, so far as is practically possible. The Fund's surplus-to-asset ratio was 10.1 percent as of December 31, 1998, which slightly exceeds the statutory range.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the staff of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
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Southeast Wisconsin
Professional Baseball Park District
Milwaukee
