The Chief Clerk makes the following entries dated Friday, April 23, 2003.
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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.
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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;
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Permitting a corporation's articles of incorporation or bylaws to specify the manner in which shareholder meetings will be conducted;
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Eliminating restrictions on certain committee actions including the authorization of distributions, filling board of director or committee vacancies, and amending articles of incorporation without shareholder action;
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Providing that a parent corporation may merge with or into one of its indirect wholly owned subsidiaries without approval of the shareholders under certain conditions;
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Changing certain practices relating to mergers, share exchanges and business combinations including filing requirements relating to articles of merger or share exchange, the determination of valuation dates and stock acquisition dates, and specification of voting power of any person owning greater than 20 percent of a corporation's stock;
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Generally permitting a board of directors to transfer any or all of its assets to one or more entities owned by the corporation;
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Allowing the abbreviation of the words "limited partnership"; and
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Deleting the requirement that, in the event of merger or conversion, title to real estate be transferred to the surviving entity by deed, which must be recorded in the appropriate office of the register of deeds.
I support improving the ability of boards of directors and their committees to act in today's rapidly changing economy. I also support streamlining and updating regulations governing shareholder notices, meetings, and articles of merger.
I am, however, vetoing this bill because it deletes the requirement to promptly record an instrument of conveyance with the appropriate register of deeds for certain mergers and conversions. This would make it more difficult for lien holders and other parties to identify actual owners of real estate. By deleting the recording requirement, the most recent information that is necessary for local-taxing authorities to calculate assessed values would be limited. This could create problems with the local assessment process and potentially distort the fair market value of real estate. It is important that lien holders, local assessors, and potential real estate purchasers have the tools that they need to determine real estate ownership and calculate assessment values.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 253. This bill allows certain four-year institutions of the University of Wisconsin System to establish up to five independent charter schools across the state. Under current law, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin – Parkside may establish independent charter schools. All current independent charter schools must be located in the City of Milwaukee, except for the school established by UW-Parkside in Racine.
I am vetoing the bill because this expansion of the independent charter school program will dilute the program's goal of improving educational opportunities for students living in Milwaukee and Racine.
I am also vetoing the bill because it will drain state funds from existing public schools and increase property taxes. State payments to independent charter schools are funded by the reallocation of general school aids from the state's 426 school districts. The bill's expansion of the program reduces state resources for all existing public schools and diminishes the state's property tax relief efforts.
As I have indicated repeatedly to the Legislature, changes to the charter school program should be part of a broader effort to improve the education of all our children.
Sincerely,
Jim Doyle
Governor
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 21, 2004
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 322. The bill changes the definition of a group health benefit plan in such a way that it will harm consumers. Under current law, a group health benefit plan is a plan that is sold to two or more employees of an employer or an individual policy sold to three or more employees of an employer. In both cases, numerous consumer protections apply. This bill would restrict this definition to only those health benefit plans that are funded or reimbursed in whole or in part by an employer on behalf of their employees.
Under this bill, many employees would be removed from small employer health insurance protections if employers currently do not, or in the future would not, reimburse or fund a portion of the employees' health plan. In either situation, these employees would no longer be covered by the protections currently available to small insurance plan participants, regardless of whether the employer made a contribution or reimbursement to the employee for costs associated with the insurance. These protections include:
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Continuation and conversion rights, which permit persons who leave the group to access group health insurance for up to 18 months. While the individual may be asked to pay the premiums for a continuation policy, coverage under these policies is generally less expensive and offer better benefits than individual coverage. Once the conversion period is ended, the individual must then be offered a conversion policy, which is individual coverage.
