State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
March 31, 2022
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist159701I am vetoing Senate Bill 609 in its entirety. This bill would require the Department of Natural Resources to produce and stock a minimum number of pheasants each year and to stock them on an established schedule. The department would also be required to produce a report identifying where pheasants would be stocked and a detailed plan for stocking those properties.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s failure to provide resources for the Department of Natural Resources to implement this new requirement. According to the fiscal estimate prepared by the Department of Natural Resources, stocking the number of pheasants required under this bill could cost over $5.7 million in one-time startup costs an additional $1.5 million in ongoing annual costs. This is not feasible without providing additional budgetary and staff resources to the department, which are absent from this bill. Additionally, capital projects costing in excess of $1,000,000 must be enumerated in the State Building Program. This bill does not provide an enumeration for a hatchery expansion at the State Game Farm, which would be necessary to comply with this bill. Finally, the Department of Natural Resources has a history of collaborating with stakeholders in order to make stocking decisions that are science-based, and which incorporate biological, social, and economic factors while ensuring habitat protection, among other considerations. This includes regular consultation the Wisconsin Conservation Congress as well as the Pheasant Advisory Committee, consisting of Department of Natural Resources experts as well as stakeholder group representatives who review and make recommendations on the management of pheasant in Wisconsin. This bill bypasses that informed process.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
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State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
March 31, 2022
The Honorable, the Senate:
hist159702I am vetoing Senate Bill 612 in its entirety. This bill would require the Department of Natural Resources to annually stock at least 100,000 brook trout in Lake Michigan.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to implementing arbitrary stock quotas without considering, much less incorporating, evidence and science-based practices and processes. The Department of Natural Resources has a history of collaborating with stakeholders in order to make stocking decisions that are science-based, and which incorporate biological, social, and economic factors to evaluate stocking fish while ensuring habitat protection, among other considerations. This bill would not allow the department to adjust stocking levels based on angler demand, natural fish reproduction rates, or economic factors. Furthermore, this bill would require the department to shift resources towards stocking brook trout, potentially reducing the propagation of other fish species. This could lead to challenges from sport fishers as certain species of other fish would see limited stocking efforts as resources are shifted toward the arbitrary statutory requirement to stock brook trout.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY EVERS
Governor
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Referrals and Receipt of Committee Reports Concerning Proposed Administrative Rules
The committee on Utilities, Technology and Telecommunications reported and recommended:
Relating to the incorporation of a PM2.5 emissions reporting requirement, alignment of state and federal emissions reporting terminology, updates to reflect current emissions reporting procedure, and affecting small business.
hist159689Referred to the joint committee for review of Administrative Rules, March 31, 2022. Relating to coal combustion residual landfills.
hist159691Referred to the joint committee for review of Administrative Rules, March 31, 2022. JULIAN BRADLEY
Chairperson
