Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Ninety-Sixth Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries dated Friday, April 23, 2003.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 22, 2004
To the Honorable, the Senate:
The following bill(s), originating in the Senate, have been approved, signed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State:
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 22, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I have approved
Senate Bill 17 as
2003 Wisconsin Act 309 and have deposited it in the Office of the Secretary of State. I have vetoed Sections 1, 3 and 6. I have exercised partial vetoes in Sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
Senate Bill 17 bill creates the Joint Committee on Court Judgments and Settlements to review and recommend who should receive awards resulting from certain court actions and creates a new investigations and prosecution appropriation under s.
20.455(1)(gh), to receive ten percent of certain award amounts. The new appropriation is to be used for the investigation and prosecution of certain violations. The bill would require the Attorney General to notify the public when the Department of Justice, in a court action brought on behalf of the citizens of the state, wins a money judgment or settlement of $100,000 or more, that includes court-ordered parameters for the use of the money, but does not make awards to particular persons. If the court judgment does not specify payments to particular persons or for specific purposes, the award will be deposited into the state's budget stabilization fund. A person wishing to receive a portion of an award subject to the committee's review, must apply to the Department of Justice within sixty days after the Attorney General issues the notice of the award. The department is required to develop application forms, publicize the availability of awards, process grant applications and provide the new committee with the staff necessary to review and make determinations as to the merits of grant requests. The Joint Committee on Finance must approve all of the new committee's recommendations.
I am vetoing Sections 1, 3 and 6 because they create an unnecessary and complicated review of court decisions and potentially increase state personnel costs, during a time in which the state needs to be exercising fiscal restraint. For example, the legislative review mechanism in the bill is needlessly cumbersome since it requires duplicative legislative involvement through both the legislative seats on the Joint Committee on Court Settlements and the Joint Committee on Finance.
I am partially vetoing Sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 to ensure that the Department of Justice receives the actual amount spent on investigation and prosecution of the specified violations, and not an arbitrary ten percent of court judgments. This way, the department will be fairly and adequately compensated for the actual costs it incurs on behalf of the state's citizens.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 8. The bill creates an exemption from the open records requirement for security system plans for utilities. These plans could relate to physical or electronic security of utility facilities, telecommunications or information technology systems. The exemption requires a determination that the facility or system is so vital to the state that the incapacity or destruction of the facility or system would have a debilitating impact on the physical or economic security of the state or on public health, safety or welfare.
S768
I recognize that the state's utility systems are vital to Wisconsin's security and that the intent of this bill is to ensure that security. However, current law already provides for the protection of these records without creating another exemption to the Open Records Law. The Open Records Law anticipates the need for protection of certain records and provides for an exception based on a case-by-case determination of whether a record should be disclosed, a process commonly called the balancing test. Under the balancing test, if the public's interest in not disclosing the information outweighs the public's interest in disclosure, then release of the record is not required.
The public scrutiny of government action provided by the Open Records Law is vital to maintaining the integrity of state government. During a time when national, state and local resources are focused on maintaining public security, it remains equally imperative for a democratic society to safeguard access to public records so that the public's right to know and ability to evaluate the actions of its government is not unduly hindered. I object to setting another exemption of certain records when an alternate means of protection is already in place and functioning well. Access to these records should be subject to the balancing test on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the public interest is upheld.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 40. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to designate and mark the portion of U.S. Highway 14 from Madison to the Wisconsin-Illinois border as the Ronald Reagan Highway.
I recognize that state highway and bridge designations have been used to pay tribute to and memorialize certain individuals. This bill, however, violates the precedent that this honor be bestowed only on Wisconsin-born citizens or state residents.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 64. This bill repeals current law provisions that allow the Governor to request an extension for introducing the executive budget message and bill in January of the odd numbered years. It also removes such an option for the Building Commission in submitting its capital budget recommendations to the Joint Committee on Finance in April of the odd numbered year.
I am vetoing this bill because I object to the reduced amount of time that a Governor would have to ensure that increasingly complex budgets are balanced based on the best and most recent estimates of available revenues. The latest revenue estimates at the time of introduction of the Governor's budget, while not required by state statute, are routinely developed by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in the last two weeks of January and are used as the basis for determining if a budget is in balance. To require that a budget be submitted within a few days of this information becoming available is unreasonable and sets the stage for unnecessary disagreement between the Governor and the Legislature.
While the limited focus of this bill leaves me no choice but a veto, I remain committed to improving the budget process. Together, the Legislature and I worked to complete the most recent budget on time and without a preponderance of nonfiscal policy items. I look forward to continued progress in improving the state's financial and budget management.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 218. The bill makes numerous changes to the laws governing business corporations, limited partnerships, nonstock corporations and limited liability companies that include:
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Permitting a board of directors to decrease the number of shares of a class or series of stock, to eliminate the class or series, or to increase the number of shares of the class or series;
