January 18, 2008
Volume #30, Issue #1
MARK YOUR CALENDARS - AFSCME LOBBY DAY IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 -
Lobby Day is a
great opportunity to talk to your state-elected officials about public services
and the contributions that public
workers make every day to provide the essential services that are the backbone
of this state. Whether you
work in a school system, county courthouse, the University of Wisconsin, a
highway department, a nursing
home or hospital, you have a story to tell that lawmakers need to hear. Protect
your job. Come to Lobby Day.
UPDATE ON AFSCME’S EFFORTS TO REFORM WISCONSIN’S JOHN DOE LAW -
A bill to prevent
inmates and others from abusing the John Doe law is moving quickly in the State
Assembly. AB-695, offered
by Representative Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) and Senator Dan Kapanke (R-La
Crosse) will get a public
hearing by the end of the month, according to Assembly leaders. AFSCME supports
reforming the John Doe
process to prevent the intimidation and harassment of state workers who are
merely carrying out the normal
duties of their jobs. Those who work in state or county correctional facilities,
state mental health institutions,
and those who work in probation and parole would be protected from frivolous,
harassing complaints under
this bill.
The bill must also be approved by the full State Senate and be signed by the
Governor before it becomes
law. Please contact your State Assembly Representative and your State Senator
and tell them that
lawmakers have an obligation to protect public employees from on-the-job
harassment. This is a worker’s
rights issue. Time is running out, and legislators need to hear from us NOW.
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY BILL GAINING STEAM - For years, people in
need of mental health services
or alcohol and drug abuse treatment have run up against high costs of treatment
and limits on insurance
coverage. A bi-partisan bill to require improved coverage of treatment of
addiction and mental health
disorders has broad support in the State Legislature. On January 17 a public
hearing on Senate Bill 375,
the so-called Mental Health Parity bill, brought out hundreds of supporters.
AFSCME supports SB 375.
TAX FAIRNESS AND TAX BREAKS… FOR WHOM? - This week, Assembly
Republicans outlined a
comprehensive economic development agenda which mainly involves tax breaks or
tax credits and a 1%
income tax cut. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker said
Wisconsin cannot afford more
tax cuts. Meanwhile, the Senate’s Tax Fairness and Working Families Committee is
looking at corporate tax
avoiders and omissions in Wisconsin’s tax system. They’re reviewing the 2004
Wisconsin “Tax Incidence
Study” and a handy document called the “Summary of Tax
Exemption Devices” to examine who is paying
taxes and shouldering the cost of
services. Check it out online at
http://www.revenue.wi.gov/ra/07sumrpt.pdf.
MILWAUKEE COUNTY PENSION OBLIGATION BONDING BILL SET FOR HEARING -
The Senate
Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on
Wednesday, January 16 on SB-366, which
would allow Milwaukee County to refinance
the County’s unfunded pension obligation by issuing bonds on
a one-time basis.
This comes on the heels of the Assembly Urban and Local Affairs Committee
holding a
hearing on the companion legislation, AB-666, last week. AFSCME
Council 48 Director Rich Abelson sat on
a Governor’s task force that forwarded
this recommendation as one tool to allow Milwaukee County to meet
the unfunded
portion of its outstanding pension obligations.
PRISON RIOT PENALTY BILL ADVANCES - Legislation that would impose
harsh penalties on inmates
who participate in or cause riots in correctional
institutions was approved 10-0 by the Assembly Corrections
and Courts Committee.
The bill, AB-92, is now before the full Assembly. We thank those legislators for
supporting AB-92! Now it’s time to pressure legislative leaders to schedule
AB-92 for a vote in the Assembly.
MINIMUM WAGE HIKE EYED BY SENATE DEMOCRATS - This week, Senate
Democrats approved an
increase in the minimum wage from $6.50 to $7.25, along
with a provision to index the wage for inflation.
Senate Bill 130 now goes
before the State Assembly, where it faces steep opposition.
GOVERNOR DOYLE’S ANNUAL “STATE OF THE STATE” ADDRESS IS JANUARY 22 -
Next week,
Governor Doyle will outline his priorities for 2008 in his annual
speech to the Legislature. The speech will be
broadcast live on public
television and online on Wisconsin Eye (www.wiseye.org).
The Governor will talk about the next phase of his “Grow Wisconsin” plan, an
initiative he started when first
elected to invest in our economy, train workers
and stimulate development.
UPDATE ON LEGISLATION GIVING MILITARY SERVICE CREDIT UNDER THE WRS -
For some time
lawmakers have been pushing for a bill that would give those with
military service credit in the Wisconsin
Retirement System. The bills never made
progress because of a lack of funding and staff to do the necessary
actuarial
study that is statutorily required before any bill that has an impact on the WRS
can advance. This
year, however, several legislators decided to set aside
$15,000 to hire an actuarial firm to do the study. The
study has not yet been
commissioned (things take time in the Legislature, unfortunately) but we remain
confident that the study will be done and some action will take place, although
it is likely to be sometime next
year.
LEGISLATIVE WEBSITES. . .For those "online", here are some good info spots:
Wisconsin State Legislature: www.legis.state.wi.us/
"Who Are My Legislators": www.legis.state.wi.us./waml/
State of Wisconsin: www.wisconsin.gov/state/home
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lrb/
Wisconsin Legislative Council: www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/
Wisconsin Ethics Board: http://ethics.state.wi.us