Wisconsin political news for
clients and colleagues.
Previous issues of
Political Tidbits can be found at Tidbits Archive.
Click here to begin your free subscription.
Dec. 17, 2004
As we reach
the end of another year, we at The Hamilton Consulting Group (Jim
Hough, Bob Fassbender, Pat Osborne, Andy Franken, Amy Boyer and
Saralee Fassbender) extend our wishes to all of you for a happy
holiday season! Since our
Tidbits are
Political, we extend a special thanks to our elected and
other public officials who have chosen to dedicate their
professional lives to public service. Agree or disagree, we
respect the commitment and sacrifices that go with the dedication
to help make our state and nation a better place to live and work.
We look forward to participating with all of you in 2005 and
beyond to further improve and enhance the laws and regulations
that advance the positive climate of our great state.
Policy Developments
PSC, WE Energies
Request High Court Hearing in Coal Plant Case
The
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has asked the state Supreme
Court to bypass the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and review a
recent Dane County Circuit Court decision on the approval of the
Oak Creek power plants.
Citing concerns over
reliability as well as significant increases in electricity rates, the PSC’s
request includes a request for an expedited hearing. The court has ordered
that responses to the motion and petition for bypass are due on or before
December 27, 2004.
Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan ordered
state regulators to redo the approval process because the utility failed to
provide required cost and design information about new power transmission
lines it will need to run the $2.15 billion plant in
Oak Creek.
DOR Releases Major Study on
Taxes in Wisconsin
Wisconsin's overall
system of state and local taxation is slightly progressive to proportional,
according to a new
Tax Incidence Study released by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
This means that lower income households tend to pay a slightly smaller share
of their income in taxes than higher income households
Of the $15.1
billion in 2001 taxes studied, property taxes totaled the most, $6.3
billion; personal income taxes, $4.37 billion; sales taxes, $3.74 billion;
corporate taxes, $472 million; and utility taxes, $235 million.
The last such
study was in 1979.
Wisconsin
on Honor Roll of Economic Development Report Card
According to a
recently released study by the Center for Economic Development,
Wisconsin’s economy has shown strong improvements in its human and
infrastructure resources as well
as in the competitiveness
of its existing businesses.
The study is the 18th
annual report card by CFED, a nonprofit, Washington-based organization. To
make it possible to see the "big picture," CFED has developed 68 measures
organized into a three-index framework: Performance, Business Vitality, and
Development Capacity.
Wisconsin
received top grades in Performance due to short-term employment growth. The
image is slightly sullied, though, when you see
Wisconsin’s
49th-place ranking for mass layoffs.
Wisconsin
earned a B in the Business Vitality index due to modest boosts in business
closings and strength of traded sector. In the Development Capacity index,
Wisconsin maintains a C.
Lawmakers Propose Changes
to License Application Requirements
Legislation
proposed by State Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-new Berlin, would require proof of
legal residence before applicants could get a Wisconsin driver’s license.
Wisconsin is one of only 10 states in the country that does not have such a
requirement.
Citing a need to improve
the country’s security, Gundrum points to the terrorists involved in the
Sept. 11 attacks who had valid state drivers’ licenses. Gundrum said he has
asked for his proposal to be drafted into legislation that he hopes to
introduce once lawmakers reconvene in January.
State senator Mike Ellis is
proposing similar legislation to make the Wisconsin driver’s license a more
reliable identification document.
Ellis proposes the
following changes in order to obtain a driver’s license:
§
Require
U.S. citizens to provide a social security number
§
Persons
without social security numbers may not simply sign an oath that they are
not eligible for a social security number.
§
Allow
issuance of a driver’s license to persons who are legally in the United
States on a visa. The expiration date of the license would coincide with the
expiration date of the visa.
Wisconsin
Politics
Kedzie Elected
Assistant Senate Majority Leader
Senate Republicans caucused earlier this week and
elected Senator Neal Kedzie as Assistant Majority Leader to
replace Senator Mary Lazich who recently resigned from that
position, to which she had been elected only weeks earlier. Kedzie,
a Republican from
Elkhorn, was
elected to the State Senate in 2002. He served in the State
Assembly from 1997 until his election to the Senate. Senator
Kedzie will also serve as Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural
resources and Transportation for the 2005-06 session.
Governor Schedules State of the State for Jan. 12, 2005
Governor Doyle announced this morning that he has
requested the Legislature schedule a special joint session for Wednesday,
Jan. 12, 2005 to allow the Governor to present his State of the State
Message. The January 12 date is a very early date for the State of the
State. The Legislature’s schedule has not yet been set, although the first
floor period days are not expected until the last full week in January.
Speaker Gard Announces Assembly Committee Structure & Committee Chair
Assembly Speaker John Gard has announced the Assembly committees and the
majority party members who will hold the important and powerful position as
chairs of the respective committees. The names of the other Republicans and
Democrats, except for Joint Finance, have not as yet been announced. The
Committees and the Chairs are:
Aging and Long Term Care: Rep. John Townsend.
Agriculture: Rep. Al Ott.
Budget Review: Rep. Samantha Kerkman.
Campaigns & Elections: Rep. Stephen Freese.
Children & Families: Rep. Steve Kestell.
Colleges and Universities: Rep. Rob Kreibich.
Corrections and the Courts: Rep. Garey Bies.
Criminal Justice and Homeland Security: Rep. Scott
Suder.
Economic Development: Rep. Terry McCormick.
Education: Rep. Debi Towns.
Education Reform: Rep. Leah Vukmir.
Energy & Utilities: Rep. Phil Montgomery.
Family Law: Rep. Carol Owens.
Financial Institutions: Rep. Jean Hundertmark.
Forestry: Rep. Don Friske.
Government Operations and Spending Limits: Rep. Frank
Lasee.
Health: Rep. Greg Underheim.
Highway Safety: Rep. Jerry Petrowski.
Housing: Rep. Steve Wieckert.
Insurance: Rep. Ann Nischke.
Joint Administrative Rules: Rep. Mark Gottlieb.
Joint Audit: Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz.
Joint Finance: Rep. Dean Kaufert.
Joint Legislative Council: Rep. Steve Wieckert.
Joint Retirement: Rep. Dan Vrakas.
Judiciary: Rep. Mark Gundrum.
Labor: Rep. Steve Nass.
Medicaid Reform: Rep. Curt Gielow.
Military Affairs: Rep. Terry Musser.
Natural Resources: Rep. Scott Gunderson.
Property Rights and Land Management: Rep. Sheryl
Albers.
Public Health: Rep. J. A. Hines.
Rural Affairs and Renewable Energy: Rep. Gene Hahn.
Rural Development: Rep. Mary Williams.
Rules: Rep. Mike Huebsch.
Small Business: Rep. Karl Van Roy.
Southeast Wisconsin
Freeways: Rep. Mark Honadel.
State Affairs: Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald.
State-Federal Relations: Rep. Thomas Lothian.
Tourism: Rep. Mark Pettis.
Transportation: Rep. John Ainsworth.
Urban & Local Affairs: Rep. Dan LeMahieu.
Veterans Affairs: Rep. Gabe Loeffelholtz.
Ways and Means: Rep. Jeff Wood.
Workforce Development: Rep. Judy Krawczyk.
Doyle Names Amy Kasper as Chief Legal Counsel
Governor Jim Doyle has named Amy Kasper as his Chief Legal Counsel. Kasper
previously served as Assistant Legal Counsel in the Governor’s Office, and
is replacing Stan Davis, who has been Chief Legal Counsel since January 2003
and who is leaving to join the law firm of Quarles & Brady. Kasper began her
new duties on Dec. 14.
Federal Developments
Federal
Appropriations Bill Signed
Congress recently passed an omnibus bill that will provide
government funding for fiscal year 2005. The $388 billion omnibus
package ties together FY 05 funding for nine government
departments and many federal agencies.
President Bush succeeded in
his drive to keep the overall 2005 appropriations budget to about $822
billion (excluding emergency supplemental funding for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan) with the resulting bill representing one of the leanest budgets
for domestic departments in many years. Although a few agencies, such as
Amtrak and NASA, were spared cuts, negotiators required every other
discretionary program funded in the omnibus to be shaved by 0.75 percent.
As a result, even programs whose budgets were frozen will get less money.
The leaner budget, though, will still allow a seven percent increase for the
Pentagon and a nine percent increase for the Department of Homeland
Security.
Report:
Wisconsin Scores
in Middle for Bioterrorism Preparedness
Over two-thirds of states and the District of Columbia achieved a score of
six or less out of the 10 possible indicators on
a recently released study (exec. summary pdf doc) (complete
report, 72 pg. pdf doc) examining our nation’s ability to respond to
public health emergencies.
Wisconsin
is one of 20 states to receive a six out of 10.
Some specific observations
relating to Wisconsin:
·
The state has
sufficient lab response capabilities for a bioterrorism threat, but not for
a chemical terrorism threat;
·
Wisconsin
is not one of one-third of states that electronically tracks disease
outbreak information by national standards.
·
Wisconsin
has a publicly available plan for a flu pandemic;
During a news conference
announcing his resignation earlier this month, departing HHS Secretary Tommy
Thompson highlighted the importance of bioterrorism preparedness issues.
Political News
State's job
recovery humming along nicely: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 17,
2004.
Growth rate of state economy in 2003 just above national average:
Wisconsin State Journal, Dec. 16, 2004.
Keep
import tax, Doyle tells U.S.: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 16,
2004.
State
spreads tax burden: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 16, 2004.
Wisconsin shouldn’t license illegal immigration (opinion): Appleton
Post-Crescent, Dec. 16, 2004.
Panel OKs pact to broadcast Capitol proceedings: Appleton
Post-Crescent, Dec. 16, 2004.
Coal-plant
case taken directly to high court: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec.
16, 2004.
Power line crosses scenic river hurdle: Wausau Daily Herald, Dec.
16, 2004.
Electricity
demand spikes: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 16, 2004.
Study Backs Regional Rail: Madison Capital Times, Dec. 15, 2004.
Unclogging those fuel clogs (opinion): Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
Dec. 14, 2004.
Bush Taps EPA Chief As Health Secretary: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
Dec. 13, 2004.
Homeowners carry heavier tax load: Baraboo News Herald, Dec. 12,
2004.
Commerce chief to leave agency: Appleton Post-Crescent, Dec. 11, 2004.
Nettles leaving
state job: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 11, 2004.
Fuel
quality declining, auto industry asserts: Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, Dec. 11, 2004.
State Should Get More From Casinos, Lawmakers Say: Wisconsin State
Journal, Dec. 11, 2004.
Make Wisconsin Entrepreneur-friendly Wisconsin (opinion): Wisconsin State
Journal, Dec. 9, 2004.
Manufacturers to receive development grants: Racine Journal Times,
Dec. 9, 2004.
DNR grants
review of air permit for Weston power plant: Janesville Gazette,
Dec. 9, 2004.
Board
passes DNR job cuts, higher fees: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec.
9, 2004.
Should Wisconsin develop a tollway system of its own? (opinion):
Racine Journal Times, Dec. 9, 2004.
Study praises state's climate for small businesses: Wisconsin State
Journal, Dec. 8, 2004.
Former state governor will keep options open: Appleton
Post-Crescent, Dec. 4, 2004.
The
Thompson tenure (opinion): Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 4, 2004.
Thompson
resigns Cabinet post: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 4, 2004.
Cowles keeps role in Senate leadership: Green Bay Press-Gazette,
Dec. 6, 2004.
Appeal Oak Creek ruling (opinion): Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec.
6, 2004.
Sensenbrenner driven by driver's-license issue: Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, Dec. 5, 2004.
Two Rivers is proactive in sale of plant (opinion): Manitowoc Herald
times, Dec. 5, 2004.
Plan to build turbines two miles from Horicon Marsh needs study
(opinion): Fond du Lac Reporter, Dec. 3, 2004.
Upcoming Fundraisers
Monday, Dec. 20
Tuesday, Dec. 21
| 
