By
Law Revision Committee.
To committee on Transportation.
Senate Bill 490
Relating to: registration plates for vehicles leased to persons with a disability that limits the ability to walk (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Transportation).
By
Law Revision Committee.
To committee on Transportation.
Senate Bill 492
Relating to: restoration to competency of a defendant (suggested as remedial legislation by the Department of Health Services).
By
Law Revision Committee.
To committee on Judiciary and Ethics.
Senate Bill 507
Relating to: changing the fees collected by a register of deeds, the redaction of social security numbers from electronic documents, and changes to the land information program.
By
Senators
Erpenbach, Lehman, Hansen, Kreitlow, Vinehout, Risser and Taylor; cosponsored by Representatives Soletski, Hebl, Pope-Roberts, Smith, Lothian, Townsend, Vruwink, Dexter, Vos, Radcliffe and Van Roy.
To committee on Urban and Local Affairs.
__________________
The following Assembly proposals, which have been approved by both the Assembly and Senate, have been enrolled by the Legislative Reference Bureau:
Assembly Bill
166
Assembly Bill
275
Assembly Bill
415
Assembly Bill
570
Assembly Bill
571
Assembly Bill
572
Assembly Bill
573
Assembly Bill
592
Assembly Joint Resolution 111
Patrick E. Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Secretary of State
Madison
To Whom It May Concern:
Acts, Joint Resolutions and Resolutions deposited in this office have been numbered and published as follows:
Bill Number Act Number Publication Date
Assembly Bill 458134March 10, 2010
Sincerely,
Douglas La Follette
__________________
Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
February 25, 2010
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Community Integration Program (CIP) for residents of State Centers was created by
1983 Wisconsin Act 27. According to s.
46.275 of the Wisconsin statutes, this program is intended:
...to relocate persons from the state centers for the developmentally disabled into appropriate community settings with the assistance of home and community-based services and with continuity of care. The intent of the program is also to minimize its impact on state employees through redeployment of employees into vacant positions.
Under Wisconsin statutes s.
46.275 (5m), the Department is required to submit an annual report to the Joint Committee on Finance and to the Chief Clerk of each house of the Legislature describing the program's impact during the prior calendar year on state employees, including the Department's efforts to redeploy employees into vacant positions and the number of employees laid off.
During calendar year 2009, Southern Wisconsin Center and Central Wisconsin Center have relocated 9 center residents into the community under the CIP program. There were no employee layoffs as the result of these placements. However, the Department redeployed 24 employees into other vacant positions dedicated to providing care to persons who continue to reside at the Center.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
Referred to committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
February 26, 2010
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
This report is transmitted as required by s.
20.002 (11)(f), Wisconsin Statutes, (for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s.
13.172 (3), Wisconsin Statutes) and confirms that the Department of Administration has found it necessary to exercise the "temporary reallocation of balances" authority provided by this section in order to meet payment responsibilities and cover resulting negative cash balances during the month of January 2010.
On January 1, 2010, the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund cash balance closed at a negative $12.7 million (its intra-month low). This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $9.1 million. The negative balance was due to the transfer of $200 million to the Medical Assistance Trust Fund per
2007 Wisconsin Act 20, and the pending liquidation of fund securities necessary to offset this shortfall.
On January 1, 2010, the Utility Public Benefits Fund cash balance closed at a negative $10.9 million. This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $14.1 million (its intra-month low). The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On January 1, 2010, the Permanent Endowment Fund cash balance closed at a negative $2.0 million. This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $2.0 million. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On January 1, 2010, the Workers Compensation Fund cash balance closed at a negative $4.1 million (its intra-month low). This negative balance continued through January 19, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a positive $782 thousand. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On January 1, 2010, the Medical Assistance Trust Fund cash balance closed at a negative $70.4 million. This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $97.0 million (its intra-month low). The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On January 1, 2010, the Police and Fire Protection Fund cash balance closed at a negative $32.2 million (its intra-month low). This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $29.7 million. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
On January 21, 2010, the Conservation Fund cash balance closed at a negative $3.8 million. This negative balance continued through January 31, 2010, when the fund's cash balance closed at a negative $7.1 million (its intra-month low). The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
A710
The Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, Utility Public Benefits Fund, Permanent Endowment Fund, Workers Compensation Fund, Medical Assistance Trust Fund, Police and Fire Protection Fund, and Conservation Fund shortfalls were not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitations and did not exceed the balances of the funds available for interfund borrowing.
The distribution of interest earnings to investment pool participants is based on the average daily balance in the pool and each fund's share. Therefore, the monthly calculation by the State Controller's Office will automatically reflect the use of these temporary reallocations of balance authority, and as a result, the funds requiring the use of the authority will effectively bear the interest cost.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Morgan
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means and joint committee on Finance.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
February 26, 2010
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a limited-scope review of the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority (WHEFA) as authorized in s.
231.19 (1), Wis. Stats. Through June 2009, WHEFA has issued 603 revenue bonds totaling more than $14.5 billion on behalf of tax-exempt healthcare and certain educational institutions. The tax-exempt bonds help the borrowing institutions finance capital projects. They are not debt or obligations of the State of Wisconsin and are repaid solely by the borrowing institutions.
WHEFA has no taxing power and does not receive state appropriations. It is governed by a seven-member board and has four full-time employees, whose salaries and fringe benefits are its primary operating costs. WHEFA funds those costs with annual fees paid by borrowing institutions.
As of June 30, 2009, WHEFA accumulated a surplus balance of $3.1 million, which is more than four times its annual operating expenses. We include a recommendation that WHEFA continue to carefully monitor its surplus balance for appropriateness. We are also concerned that the WHEFA Board's actions to increase compensation for the Executive Director have had the effect of circumventing a statutory salary limit on the Executive Director's salary. Since 2005, the WHEFA Board has provided him with 40 days of vacation each year. WHEFA paid him for unused leave, including vacation and sick leave, by making annual deposits into the Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Program. As a result, the Executive Director's annual compensation has exceeded the statutory limit established for his position by an average of $16,200 annually. In addition, we believe WHEFA is incorrectly reporting some unused leave as earnings that will effectively increase its employees' pension benefits under the Wisconsin Retirement System. We include recommendations for the Legislature to take steps to address these concerns and for WHEFA to work with the Department of Employee Trust Funds to correctly report future earnings.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the WHEFA Board and staff in completing this review.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
