Referred to, and
withdrawn from, the joint committee on
Finance, pursuant to Senate Rule
41 (1)(e):
Ayes, 5 - Senators
Decker, Risser, Hansen, Fitzgerald and Grothman.
Noes, 0 - None.
Placed the following proposals on the Senate Calendar of Tuesday, June 9, 2009:
Senate Joint Resolution 35
Senate Joint Resolution 38
Assembly Joint Resolution 27
Assembly Joint Resolution 37
Assembly Joint Resolution 52
Assembly Joint Resolution 53
Senate Bill 67
Senate Bill 107
Senate Bill 157
Senate Bill 158
Senate Bill 167
Senate Bill 188
Senate Bill 193
Senate Bill 216
Assembly Bill 122
Assembly Bill 123
Assembly Bill 124
Ayes: 5 - Senators Decker, Risser, Hansen, Fitzgerald and Grothman.
Noes: 0 - None.
RUSS DECKER
Chairperson
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Senate President
June
3
, 2009
S193
The Honorable, the Senate:
Pursuant to Senate Rule
46 (2)(c), I am writing to inform you that I have directed the following proposal(s) to be withdrawn from committee and rereferred. I have obtained the consent of the appropriate standing committee chairperson and the chairperson of the committee on Senate Organization.
Senate Bill
224
, relating to
notice of proposed vacation of certain highways, withdrawn from committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry, and Natural Resources and rereferred to committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy, and Rail.
Sincerely,
FRED A. RISSER
Senate President
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
June 3, 2009
The Honorable, The Legislature:
As required by s.
13.94(1)(de), Wis. Stats., we have completed a financial audit of the Local Government Property Insurance Fund, which provides property insurance to counties, towns, villages, school districts, and other local units of government. The Property Fund is administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). As of June 30, 2008, it insured $45.5 billion in property owned by 1,124 local units of government. We have provided an unqualified auditor's report on the Property Fund's financial statements for the fiscal years (FYs) ending June 30, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005.
The Property Fund's surplus balance, or net assets available to pay future claims, has increased by $12.2 million since June 30, 2004, and by the end of FY 2007-08 it had reached $36.7 million. Therefore, the Property Fund began to reduce rates beginning July 1, 2005. OCI monitors premium rates and the surplus balance and believes both are appropriate in light of recent loss experience and its reinsurance program. We include a recommendation that OCI continue to monitor the Property Fund's surplus.
We question some of OCI's practices for charging expenses to the Property Fund's administration and operations appropriations, especially expenses related to a new computer system implemented in 2004. We include a recommendation that costs be charged in accordance with an approved and consistent methodology.
Finally, we note financial reporting concerns that are discussed in the Report on Control and Compliance included in this report.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by OCI staff and the private contractor responsible for administration of the Property Fund. OCI's response follows our report.
Sincerely,
janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
Wisconsin Conservation Congress
June 2, 2009
The Honorable, The Legislature:
In 2007, The Conservation Congress, along with other organizations and individuals around the state, worked hard see the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund become a reality. Thanks to those efforts, and the vision of a great many of our legislators, reauthorization has become a reality. The road to reauthorization was filled with negotiation, and compromise. It was agreed that reauthorization would be contingent upon requirements for new rules concerning public access, and more freely available information about properties acquired with stewardship funds.
The Department of Natural Resources appointed a committee to draft rules towards those ends. Twenty-nine well meaning citizens worked on that committee. Larry Bonde was seated on the committee to represent the Conservation Congress. He donated 8 days of vacation to the work. I'm sure that the other good people on the committee made similar sacrifices.
As the committee's work is nearing completion, we are seeing a series of amendments to the Governor's proposed 2009 Budget Bill which will undo the 2007 agreements, and will make the work of the special committee meaningless. Out of respect for the people who spent days working on the rule language which was dictated by the 2007 Budget Bill, and out of respect for your own work back in 2007, we ask that you allow the agreements of 2007 to remain in place, and allow the rules drafted by the special committee to be promulgated.
Sincerely,
edgar harvey, jr.
Chair
