The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Lundberg, William,
of Wisconsin Rapids, as a member of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, for the term ending May 1, 2008.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Natural Resources and Transportation.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 8, 2005
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Lubar
, Sheldon,
of Milwaukee, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Medical College of Wisconsin, for the term ending May 1, 2011.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
April 13, 2005
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Tenuta
, Ralph,
of Kenosha, as a member of the Banking Review Board, for the term ending May 1, 2010.
Sincerely,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Housing and Financial Institutions.
__________________
Senate amendment 1 to Senate Bill 9 offered by Senator Roessler.
Senate amendment 1 to Senate substitute amendment 1 to Senate Bill 103 offered by Senator Kanavas.
S178
Senate substitute amendment 1 to
Senate Bill 126 offered by Senator Roessler.
__________________
Read and referred:
Senate Joint Resolution 22
Relating to: the life and military service of Sergeant Andrew L. Bossert.
By
Senator
Brown
; cosponsored by Representative Gronemus
.
To committee on Senate Organization.
Read first time and referred.
Senate Bill 178
Relating to: allowing the operation of certain 2-vehicle combinations on certain highways without a permit, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures and from rule-making procedures, and granting rule-making authority.
By
Senators
Kedzie, Kapanke, Breske, Stepp, A. Lasee, Grothman and Reynolds; cosponsored by Representatives Petrowski, Sherman, Ainsworth, Albers, Bies, Boyle, Gunderson, Hines, Krawczyk, F. Lasee, Montgomery, Nerison, Pettis, Sheridan, Van Roy, Gronemus, Townsend, Musser and Towns.
To committee on Natural Resources and Transportation.
Senate Bill 179
Relating to: acreage requirements for areas in which farm-raised deer that may be hunted are kept and transfers of registration certificates for keeping farm-raised deer.
By
Senators
Decker, Breske, Cowles and A. Lasee; cosponsored by Representatives M. Williams, Turner, Hahn, Albers and Petrowski.
To committee on Natural Resources and Transportation.
Senate Bill 180
Relating to: cash discounts for retail motor vehicle fuel purchases.
By
Senators
Zien, Brown, Grothman, Reynolds, Stepp and Lassa; cosponsored by Representatives Wood, Suder, Moulton, Jensen, Hines, Jeskewitz, Krawczyk, Vos, Musser, LeMahieu, Nerison, Pridemore, Nass, Gunderson, F. Lasee, Vrakas and Mursau.
To committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy.
Senate Bill 181
Relating to: harassment of, causing injury to, or theft of a service dog and providing penalties.
By
Senators
Risser, Miller, Roessler, Lassa, Carpenter and Harsdorf; cosponsored by Representatives Berceau, Hahn, Sherman, Sheridan, M. Williams, Bies, Hines, Grigsby, Pocan, Molepske, Benedict, Ott and Gunderson.
To committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy.
Senate Bill 182
Relating to: temporary revision of child or family support when payer is on active military duty.
By
Senators
Plale, Brown, Grothman, Darling, Wirch, A. Lasee and Lassa; cosponsored by Representatives Musser, Suder, Staskunas, Ainsworth, Zepnick, Hahn, Travis, Sheridan, Jeskewitz, Kestell, Albers, Nass, Ott, F. Lasee, J. Fitzgerald, Seidel, Gundrum, Sinicki and Kleefisch.
To committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs, Small Business and Government Reform.
__________________
The committee on Labor and Election Process Reform reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 61
Relating to: residency of certain election officials.
Concurrence.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Reynolds, Lazich, Kanavas, Hansen and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Assembly Bill 64
Relating to: polling hours.
Concurrence.
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Reynolds, Lazich, Kanavas, Hansen and Carpenter.
Noes, 0 - None.
Thomas Reynolds
Chairperson
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
April 19, 2005
The Honorable, The Senate:
As requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we have completed a review of the physician office visit data (POVD) program administered by the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS). Chapter
153, Wis. Stats., directs DHFS to collect, analyze, and disseminate certain types of health care information. The POVD program is intended to provide a centralized, statewide source of information for outpatient health care services delivered in physician offices.
The program is funded by fees levied on physicians who are licensed and practicing in Wisconsin. Since fiscal year (FY) 1999-2000, DHFS has spent more than $2.9 million to administer the POVD program and related projects. It is authorized 12.28 full-time equivalent positions for all health care data collection activities, but only 6.2 full-time equivalent DHFS staff worked on physician-related projects, including the POVD program, in FY 2003-04.
We found numerous problems with the program, including serious concerns with the quality, comparability, and comprehensiveness of the data. For example, there are inconsistencies in reported charges, service delivery locations, and types of services being provided. Further, DHFS is collecting information from 13 medical practice groups, representing only 30.9 percent of Wisconsin physicians, and has released data only for 2003. The data it has released have been of limited usefulness to researchers and health care professionals, although this results in part from statutory and other restrictions on data release. DHFS has yet to produce information that is usable by the general public.
S179
In 2005 Assembly Bill 100, the Governor has proposed creating a new Health Care Quality and Patient Safety Board in October 2005. The proposed Board would be responsible for recommending changes to the POVD program, with the goal of replacing it with a new health care information system by July 2007. As it debates the Governor's proposal, the Legislature may wish to direct DHFS to address concerns with the POVD program; alternatively, the Legislature may choose to eliminate the program immediately.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DHFS staff as we conducted this review.
Sincerely,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
State of Wisconsin
Ethics Board
