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June 6, 2003
Wisconsin
Politics
JFC Budget
Wrap-up
On June 4 the Joint Finance Committee completed its work on the
State Budget (SB 44). For a summary of the Committee’s actions, go
to
The Hamilton Consulting Group web site.
With JFC action on the
budget bill finally over, there remains a stretch of road ahead before the
package is fully approved. Although neither house is expected to make major
changes to the Committee’s version of the budget, we do expect the Governor
will make use of his partial veto power.
The Governor has
side-stepped probing into his potential action so far; however, he has
expressed concern over several parts of the Committee’s work. A June 5th
Capital Times article highlighted some of the Governor’s concerns. It
was reported that the Governor believes that the Republican package raises
false hopes that substantial amounts of federal money will come through to
save the State budget. Additionally, the Governor feels it is misleading for
GOP members to represent their increase in state aids to schools as an
overall increase in school spending, compared to Gov’s budget. In Doyle’s
view, the extra state aid is offset by the cuts the Committee made to
4-year-old kindergarten funding; as a result, the Governor suggests that
K-12 will actually receive less funding under the Republican package.
Further, the Governor
opined that the Committee’s readjustment of the shared revenue formula for
aid to municipalities unfairly retains payments to wealthier suburbs, while
reducing aid to larger cities, and many smaller municipalities.
Yet Republicans stand by
their package. According to JFC Co-chair
Darling, the GOP plan puts the taxpayers first, by adopting the
three-year property tax freeze. Additionally, she believes the Committee
health care package, over the Governor’s budget, will enhance protection for
Wisconsin’s “most vulnerable citizens.” JFC Co-Chair
Kaufert agrees. He stated that under the JFC budget, Wisconsin will
actually be spending less, and borrowing less; citizens will find relief in
reduced fee increases, and, a proposed health care tax increase has been
eliminated.
All parties are awaiting
the draft language of the final JFC package in order to fully assess the
changes to the Governor’s budget. Both houses will be briefed on the budget
on June 12, with action expected to follow shortly thereafter.
Controversial Voter ID
Bill
Passes
Senate
On June 3,
AB 111 passed the Senate by a vote of 19-11. The bill provides that
any person attempting to register or vote on
election day, or attempting to obtain an absentee ballot, would be required
to present either a valid Wisconsin driver’s license or a Wisconsin
identification card issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT). If a
person does not have a valid ID, he or she may be issued a “provisional”
ballot but must provide a photo ID to the municipal clerk prior to
4:00 p.m. the day after the election for the vote to be counted. DOT would
be required to provide the photo ID free of charge if requested for voting
purposes.
Opponents
have argued that this proposal increases administrative burdens of DOT, poll
workers and municipal clerks and would be particularly cumbersome for
elderly, disabled and minorities. Proponents point to the fact that
identification is required for almost all customary business transactions
and that the integrity of the important function of voting should require no
less.
“Pay to Play”
Bill
Passes
Senate
On June 4,
AB-1 passed the Senate by a voice vote. The bill reenacts the portion of
Act 109 (relating to campaign finance reform and other ethics violations)
that adds to pay to play to current prohibitions on acts by elected
officials. The bill creates a further prohibition against elected officials
promising votes or public action in exchange for political contributions.
(AB-1’s author Gundrum
announces the Senate’s June 4th action).
Policy Developments
DNR Unveils
Final Mercury Rule
On Thursday, May 5, DNR briefed the Clean Air Act Task Force on
its final mercury rule. The rule, under development for close to
three years, now goes to the Natural Resources Board for adoption
at its June 24-25 meeting in Waupaca.
The final
proposal continues to target mercury emissions from “major
utilities” (system-wide mercury emission over 100 lbs/year). Four
Wisconsin utilities trip the major utility threshold – Dairyland
Power, WE Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, and Alliant Energy.
The revised reduction mandates are 40 percent by 2010 and 80
percent by 2015. DNR’s claims that modification to baseline
calculations allowing credit for existing reductions means the
40/80 percent mandate equates to 20-25 and 60-65 percent in
additional reductions. The original proposal called for 30/60/90
percent emission reductions over three 5-year phases.
Another significant
change was the dropping of the “major stationary source” cap for industrial
and small utilities emitting over 10 pounds per year. But under the final
rule, these sources must still calculate annual emission using prescribed
procedures. Rather than requiring emission offsets, the final rule requires
Best Available Control Technology (BACT) on all new or modified sources
increasing mercury emissions by 10 pounds or more.
Industrial and utility
groups are still evaluating the proposals, but it is likely the final rule
will see opposition at the Board and legislative review stages that must be
completed before the rule becomes effective. The final rule and related
documents can be found on the
DNR web site at.
Committee Holds Hearing
on Controversial Wage Lien Bill
The “drafting error” which changed Article 9, resulting in the
“non-dischargeability” of all subordinate state and local government liens,
has brought the wage lien issue back into play in the State Legislature. The
change to Article 9 has been used on several occasions to recover monies due
under wage liens filed by a government entity. The UCC Article 9 issue is
considered by financial institutions to be a larger scale problem than
allowing for a super priority status of wage liens, with some “reasonable”
threshold cap. Consequently, there have been several negotiation sessions
involving industry, the Governor’s office and the Department of Commerce. A
“proposal” was developed which would: 1) restore the super priority status
of wage liens by eliminating the financial institution exemption—prospective
only; 2) establish a cap per employee for wage lien claims; and, 3) amend
Article 9 to restore previous language providing that all subordinate state
and local government liens be discharged in a UCC Article 9 proceeding. That
proposal was introduced as Substitute Amendment 1 to
AB 2.
The Senate Committee on
Financial Institutions held a public hearing on AB 2 and Substitute
Amendment 1 on June 4. The bill was supported by banks, credit unions and
other lenders but was opposed by labor and the Department of Justice. The
lenders want to resolve the Article 9 concern while the opponents want to
use the opportunity to further expand on the wage claim lien coverage and
status. The Senate Committee Chair, Senator Dale Schultz, is willing to
allow some additional negotiation but is committed to passage in the Senate
this month. The Assembly passed the original bill without the UCC fix early
in the session and would have to approve the Senate version before being
sent to the Governor.
Action by End of June on
Economic Development Bills
Likely influencing the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions’ urgency
regarding AB 2, was the Senate Republican’s June 4th announcement
that they plan to take action on AB 2 before the end of the month. The
Senate also plans to act on
SB-100 (relating to creation of a Small Business Regulatory Review
Board, which would create more flexibility in regulatory rules affecting
small businesses), and
SB-180 (regarding payments to local utilities), as passage of the three
bills could jump-start economic development in
Wisconsin.
Energy
Impact
Report
Bill
Passes
Senate
Also during Wednesday’s floor period, the Senate passed
SB-113, as amended. The bill would require the Department of
Administration to prepare an energy impact report on each legislative and
regulatory proposal that impacts energy policies.
Bill Proposing New Joint
Committee Passes Senate
On Wednesday, June 4,
SB-17 was passed by the Senate. The bill creates a Joint Committee on
Court Judgments and Settlements made on behalf of the state.
Controversial
‘Conscience Clause’
Bill
Passes
Assembly
During Thursday’s floor period,
AB 67 passed by a vote of 56-35. The bill would make changes to current
law regarding employment discrimination based on creed, refusal of certain
health care providers and hospital employees to participate in certain
procedures on moral or religious grounds, and duties of physicians regarding
power of attorney for health care instruments.
WPC Recommends Reform to
Strengthen Paper Industry
On Tuesday, June 3, the Wisconsin Paper Council
released a report entitled
The State of Wisconsin’s Paper Industry: Recommendations for Action.
The report was written as part of the Department of Commerce’s economic
cluster initiative, and is aimed at strengthening the paper industry’s
presence in Wisconsin. Main priorities for policy change are tax reform,
environmental regulation reform, and strong energy policy.
Potawatomi Compact
Amendments Approved by Governor
Responding to certain criticisms made by Republicans regarding recently
renegotiated gaming compacts, the Governor and the Potawatomi Tribe have
agreed to an amendment to their original compact that would:
-
Delete language from
the original compact providing for use of funds by the State for the
benefit of the
University of
Wisconsin,
-
Delete
State’s
express waiver of sovereign immunity,
-
Provide alternative
remedies for the Tribe should the State legislature not authorize an
express waiver of the State’s sovereign immunity for enforcing the
compact.
Identity Theft Bill
Hearing
The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, and Privacy is scheduled to
hold a hearing on
AB 288 on June 10, at 10am. The bill passed the Assembly on May 29th.
The bill is aimed at persons engaged in identity theft and expands the
definition of “personal identification document” to include several new
types of documents under the prohibition. The bill also creates a new crime,
prohibiting the unauthorized use of identification documents or information
relating to a corporation, partnership, association, government, or
government agency.
Hearing on Bill Deleting
Gas Tax Indexing.
The Assembly Committee on Ways and Means is scheduled to hold a hearing on
June 11, at 10am,
on
AB 242. Under the bill, current law requiring the rate of motor vehicle
fuel tax to be annually adjusted would be deleted.
Federal Developments
National
Medicare Budget
On June 5, key Senate Finance leaders
announced they’d made an agreement on the basics of the
Medicare reform package that will head for committee action next
week.
Clear Skies Hearing
At a June 5th
hearing on the Clear Skies Bill, the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee
on Environment and Public Works Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear
Safety, George Voinovich, R-O,
announced that he does not support the addition of carbon dioxide
regulation to Bush’s Clear Skies Bill. However, repeated calls to attach
carbon dioxide to the bill, which would already create new controls on
mercury, sulfer dioxide, and nitrogen oxide emissions, were not fully
silenced. The bill will likely face further heated debate in committee and
on the Senate floor before moving too far this summer.
Hatch Considers Changing
Asbestos Bill to Build Support
Senate
Judiciary Chairman Hatch said this week he is considering changes to
asbestos litigation reform legislation in order to build support for the
bill. Changes include doing away with language that would reduce
compensation to victims of asbestos-related diseases based on payments from
other sources. Hatch is trying to win the support of key Democrats to pass
the plan for reforming the litigation system for victims of asbestos-related
illnesses. Both parties, as well as insurers, defendant companies, victims'
groups, unions and others say reform is badly needed to ensure that
companies are not driven into bankruptcy and to ensure that the sickest
victims are compensated. Other changes to the legislation include a proposal
that would ban the future use of asbestos, and a plan to compensate victims
in the mining town of Libby, Montana, where asbestos exposure and related
diseases are widespread among miners and their families. Hatch indicated he
would examine concerns that asbestos victims' compensation would be
unfairlyreduced by payments from Medicare, Medicaid, insurance and other
"collateral" sources.
The Senate Judiciary
Committee held a
hearing on the bill this past week. Excerpts of the testimony follow:
-
AFL-CIO:
"We intend to talk to
Hatch on Friday," Damon Silvers, associate general counsel of the AFL-CIO
in Washington, told Reuters. Although a meeting time had not yet been set,
Silvers reported that "we very much appreciate the invitation," to speak
with Hatch.
-
Senator Leahy:
"The stakes are
too high for us to leave the field before trying our utmost to complete
the task. I urge everybody working on this - industry, labor, victims,
and lawyers - everybody involved to keep on working for a consensus." (Leahy’s
goal for consensus on the bill derives from his belief that acting
together will provide the best chance of success in getting legislation on
the President's desk).
-
Senator Durbin:
“We have reached a
national crisis and have to do something. I have an open mind and hope
that we truly have a bipartisan and open mark up.”
-
Senator Feingold:
“The
current bill falls short, but I am hopeful that the process will yield a
consensus bill we can all support.”
-
Senator Sessions;
“The
fundamental problem is that we're not getting enough of limited resources
to victims in need. Congress has a moral obligation to get resolution to
people in true need as soon as possible. The number of bankruptcies will
escalate dramatically without legislation.”
Kaiser Commission
Releases Report on Health Insurance Coverage for All
Health insurance coverage for all citizens would increase the nation's
health spending by between $34 billion and $69 billion, which constitutes
between 3 and 6 percent of total spending, according to a
study released this week by the journal Health Affairs and the Kaiser
Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Expanding coverage to all would
increase health spending's share of the gross domestic product from 14.1
percent to between 14.5 and 14.9 percent.
Changes Proposed to
Improve Access to Generic Drugs
A bipartisan group of senators have a
plan to improve access to generic drugs that could save billions of
dollars. Senator Judd Gregg, R-N.H., chairman of the Senate Health
Committee, said his committee would vote on the legislation next week. The
proposal is co-sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the panel's top
Democrat, and Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz.
The bill is aimed at
limiting some of the practices that brand-name pharmaceutical companies
allegedly use to keep generic competitors off the market. It would allow
only one 30-month stay, delaying Food and Drug Administration approval of a
generic drug when a brand-name company sues the generic maker over patent
infringement. Currently, the brand-name company can use repeated 30-month
stays to keep a generic off the shelves.
The first maker of a
generic product to come to market now has 180 days of exclusivity, where the
brand-name maker pays its competitor not to enter the market. The
Gregg-Schumer bill would forfeit exclusivity for companies that enter
anticompetitive deals or fail to come to market in a timely fashion.
The bill would also
allow the generic company to file a counterclaim when sued by a brand-name
firm.
Energy Bill’s Hydropower
Provision Retains Public Input on Environmental Protections
Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici and Public Lands and Forests
Subcommittee Chairman Larry Craig issued a
statement to set the record straight on the hydropower provision in S.
14 (The Energy Policy Act of 2003) which is currently under consideration by
the Senate. The hydropower relicensing provision in the bill ensures
reliable and affordable electricity by seeking to eliminate unnecessary
costs, delays, and uncertainty in the relicensing process.
Ethanol Amendment Passes
Senate
On June 5th, the Senate accepted the Frist-Daschle-Voinovich
backed amendment to the energy bill. The amendment would increase the use of
ethanol nationwide in the manufacturing of gasoline, and includes the
Renewable Fuel Standard, coauthored by Voinovich.
Additional amendments to
the energy bill may be coming, as environmentalists have reported that they
are gathering votes for an amendment deleting liability protection
provisions from the bill.
Political News
Panel OKs budget
plan: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 5, 2003.
A look at the
GOP's freeze on property taxes, state spending: Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, June 5, 2003.
Committee backs state budget plan; Democrats riled: Wisconsin State
Journal, June 5, 2003.
Sales tax exemption sought for papermakers: Green Bay Press-Gazette, June
5, 2003.
Paper companies aim at small gains:
Appleton Post-Crescent, June 3, 2003.
Unions, paper firms seek reforms:
Appleton Post-Crescent, June 3, 2003.
Industry seeks help: Wisconsin
Rapids Daily Tribune, June 3, 2003.
Assembly bill
on right of refusal passes: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 5, 2003.
State health plan remains grounded: Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 4,
2003.
Drug recovery
plan advanced: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, June,
3, 2003.
GOP told:
Don't raid state pay: Madison Capital Times, June
3, 2003.
Property tax freeze drawing support, criticism:
Manitowoc Herald Times, June 3, 2003.
Reinstate conservation fee increase (opinion):
Manitowoc Herald Times, June 3, 2003.
Republicans
reallocate gambling revenues: Eau Claire
Leader-Telegram, June 3, 2003.
Council proposed to improve state, tribal relations:
La Crosse Tribune, June 3, 2003.
State budget deficit worsens school inequities: Oshkosh
Northwestern, June 1, 2003.
Alliant faces energy demands:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 31, 2003. Upcoming Fundraisers
Sunday, June
8:
Monday, June 9:
Sunday, June 22:
Monday, June 30, 2003
-
State Rep. Jon
Richards, Trocadero, 5:00 p.m.
-
Reception for Tom
Petri, Manitowoc, 5:00 p.m.
-
Fundraiser for Terri
McCormick, Oshkosh
-
Reception in Honor of
Congressman Jerry Kleczka,
Milwaukee,
5:00 p.m.
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