Referred to committee on Children and Families.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
February 19, 2004
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
In
1997 Act 27, the 97-99 Biennial Budget, the Legislature established requirements in state law intended to strengthen protections for children and vulnerable adults in organized care settings. The provisions require, among other things, that designated caregivers conduct background checks on all new and existing staff and bar them from employing anyone who has committed certain crimes or acts. DHFS and (for certain child care providers) counties and local school boards must perform checks on a provider before issuing a license or other credential. Individuals who have committed prohibited crimes or acts may apply to the Department, counties, or school boards for a waiver of the employment or licensing bans upon evidence of rehabilitation.
Sections
48.685(5g) and
50.065(5g) of the Wisconsin Statutes direct the Department to submit an annual report to the legislature that specifies the number of persons who have sought waivers of employment or licensing bans by requesting to demonstrate that they have been rehabilitated. The report must also specify the number of requests that were approved and the reasons for the success or failure of the requests. Attached is the report for 2003.
Questions about this report should be referred to Linda Dawson, Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, at 608-266-0355.
Thank you for distributing this report to members of the Assembly.
Sincerely,
Helene Nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Health.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Workforce Development
Madison
February 23, 2004
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Pursuant to §
109.12(2) and
(3), Wis. Stats., I hereby submit the Department of Workforce Development's (DWD) 2003 annual report on the administration and enforcement of §
109.07 and
109.075, Wis. Stats. The report contains three sections. The first section lists all employers in 2003 that notified DWD of business closings and mass layoffs planned in Wisconsin. The second section of the report lists employers against whom DWD has received business closing or mass layoff notification complaints and the current status or outcome of those complaints. The third section of the report lists employers against whom DWD has received healthcare cessation notification complaints, DWD's actions and the current status or outcome of those complaints.
If you have any questions regarding the information contained in this report please contact Micabil Diaz-Martinez, Adminstrator of the Equal Rights Division, at (608) 266-0946.
Sincerely,
Roberta Gassman
Secretary
Referred to committee on Labor.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
February 26, 2004
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We have completed an evaluation of the Department of Natural Resources' (DNR's) air management programs, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. DNR administers two separate permitting programs for controlling air pollution at 2,219 stationary facilities in Wisconsin: the operation permit program and the construction permit program. In fiscal year 2002-03, expenditures for all air management programs - including permitting, monitoring, vehicle emissions, and enforcement - totaled $17.9 million, including $13.3 million in salaries and fringe benefits for 184.0 full-time equivalent employees.
A750
As of June 30, 2003, DNR had issued operation permits to just over half of the facilities required to obtain them. Although 1,128 permits have been issued since 1995, the number of facilities in the backlog was 1,091. Wisconsin is among the slowest states in the nation to issue operation permits, and it is the slowest among midwestern states. The Legislature recently passed
2003 Wisconsin Act 118 to streamline the permitting process and increase the number of permits issued in a timely manner. We have included additional recommendations for streamlining the operation permit process.
Although DNR has generally met statutory and administrative code timeliness standards for issuing construction permits - which are needed for new construction or facility modification - we found 40 construction permits, or 29.2 percent of all pending applications, have been backlogged for at least two years. We recommend changes to streamline the process and issue construction permits in a more timely manner.
We also found numerous examples where program management could be improved, including better emission fee billing, issuing completed permits, obtaining applications from required facilities, issuing renewal permits, inspecting facilities, and consistently following federal and state enforcement policies.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DNR staff. The agency's response follows the appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
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Representative Huebsch moved that the Assembly stand adjourned until 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, March 2.
The question was: Shall the Assembly stand adjourned?
Motion carried.
The Assembly stood adjourned.
3:01 P.M.
