January 2, 2003
The Honorable, The Legislature:
In accordance with Section 9143 (2z) of
2001 Wisconsin Act 16, I am enclosing the Department of Revenue's study regarding moving tax processing activities to southwestern Wisconsin.
The Department has concluded that moving our tax processing activities away from their centralized location in Madison to another part of the state would not be the most cost-effective or efficient use of the state's limited resources. Some of the important reasons DOR believes that our processing activities should remain in Madison include:
Efficient use of equipment, space and other physical resources. The department has a new building in Madison that was specifically designed to accommodate tax processing activities.
Security and confidentiality of tax records. The department's existing consolidated location for tax processing lends itself well to maintaining the security and confidentiality of tax records that we strive for. Transportation of records to a location outside of our central office adds a new level of complexity to processing and may introduce opportunities for security and confidentiality breaches.
Additional cost. Our cost estimates indicate that moving tax processing to a location outside of Madison would result in substantial one-time costs as well as increased on-going costs.
DOR continues to work to maintain a stable, integrated tax-processing environment. Our primary focus has been to increase electronic filing, paying, and other forms of electronic business. In the future, we see further reduction of costly and time consuming manual processing of paper documents and reduced reliance on LTE staff through implementation of more efficient processing technologies and procedures.
The enclosed report details our research regarding a possible processing move and includes a detailed cost assessment. Please contact Sherrie Gates-Hendrix if you have questions or would like further information regarding this report.
Sincerely,
Richard G. Chandler
Secretary of Revenue
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
January 6, 2003
The Honorable, The Senate:
Please find enclosed the final report for the Passive Alcohol Sensors Study mandated by former Governor Scott McCallum. The Department of Transportation is submitting this report to you and members of the Wisconsin Legislature who have expressed an interest in alcohol detection and passive alcohol sensors, along with members of Wisconsin law enforcement, judiciary, and advocacy groups.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require additional copies of the report. We hope this report will be used as a resource for the Legislature when considering proposals related to alcohol detection.
Sincerely,
Loralee Brumund, Wisconsin State Patrol
Timothy McClain, Bureau of Transportation Safety
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
December 20, 2002
The Honorable, The Legislature:
I am pleased to submit the Final Report of the Governor's Airport Financing Committee, which was developed by dedicated representatives of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce, airport managers, airlines serving this state, the general aviation community, the people of this state, and private businesses with an interest in transportation policy and financing. I think you will find that the hard work of the Committee has resulted in a thorough discussion of the issues related to airport needs and financing in Wisconsin.
The Governor's Airport Financing Committee was created in the 2001-2003 Biennial Budget (
2001 Wisconsin Act 16) in response to challenges encountered by the Governor, the Legislature and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) during the budget process. Wisconsin Act 16 charged the Committee:
to review and evaluate the state's airport system needs and the current system of funding those needs and to recommend changes, if any, to better meet those needs;
to evaluate, among other things: aircraft registration fees; aviation fuel taxes and fees; allocation of sales tax receipts from the sale of aircraft, parts, and services; and the allocation of other moneys for airport financing:
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to make recommendations, if any, to generate revenue in amounts equal to or greater than the sum of moneys appropriated for aeronautical activities in fiscal year 2002.
The Committee met on five occasions between April and December 2002 to hear reports on specific aviation finance issues and to discuss alternative ways of meeting Wisconsin's airport financing challenges. The Committee studied topics identified in the Legislature's charge plus other issues identified by individual committee members. A variety of innovative aviation revenue initiatives were discussed, and the Committee set goals and criteria to evaluate proposed revenue initiatives.
The final months of the Committee's process were dedicated to evaluating revenue options to determine how best to meet both near-term and more long-term airport needs in Wisconsin. The recommendations of the report address the near and long-term aviation revenue needs of the State and the current system of funding those needs.
A solid transportation infrastructure is important to Wisconsin, and public airports in Wisconsin represent an essential part of that infrastructure. We are ready to assist you in any way possible as you tackle the challenging task of addressing our airport needs.
Sincerely,
Patrick O. Goss
Deputy Secretary
Airport Financing Committee Chair
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
January 6, 2003
The Honorable, The Senate:
Please withdraw the following appointments that are pending in the Senate:
Bernie A. Abrahamson
Raymond Allen
Beverly J. Anderson
Gordon R. Baldwin
Herbert F. Behnke
Charles E. Bena
Daniel P. Blask
Lorraine M. Blaubach
Robert C. Blessington
Rose E. Boron
Mark T. Braden
Richard A. Brock
DeAnn L. Brosman
Ritchie J. Brown
Paul E. Bucher
Thom A. Ciske
J. Michael Clumpner
Hector Colon
William Cress
Dr. JoAnn Noe Cross
Kay M. Czaplewski
Jan D'Amico-Dove
Philip J. Dahlberg
Andrew S. Diercks
James W. Dorn
Ronald C. Engelke (2)
Larry Erickson
David B. Falstad
Dr. Dennis Farrar
John Farrow
Edward F. Fenhaus
Larry T. Finley
Nicole M. Gladney
William N. Godfrey
Richard Graber
Dr. Kerry L. Griebenow
Dr. Leon D. Griffin
Bill L. Gronley (2)
Dr. L. Kevin Hamberger
Jon D. Hammes (State of Wisconsin Investment Board only)
Muriel J. Harper
Sandra K. Heidel
Tee Heiser
Dr. Jean M. Heyt-Thompson
Greg A. Hilbert
James A. Holte
Gilbert L. Homstad
