February 15, 2008
Volume #30, Issue #4
BUDGET HOLE PIGEONHOLED - This week state budget officials
reported that tax collections are lower
than expected, leaving Wisconsin short some $652 million before the two-year
budget cycle ends on
June 30, 2009. When lawmakers created the 2007-09 state budget last fall, they
allocated funds based on
the best information available. Since then, revenues have declined, leaving a
hole in the budget that has to
be filled somehow. Governor Doyle has directed agency officials to take
administrative steps which will
reduce the budget deficit to $416 million. However, legislative action will be
required to close the remaining
gap. We’ll keep you posted on news related to this new deficit. We have already
been in contact with
Administration officials to urge them to protect the budget areas affecting
AFSCME members.
RETIREES DUES CHECK-OFF LEGISLATION TO GET HEARING - Senate Bill
282, which would allow
participants in the Wisconsin Retirement System to have union dues automatically
deducted from their
pensions, is likely to be scheduled to receive a public hearing in the Senate
Committee on Labor next week
Thursday. Details of the hearing have not been finalized, nor made public.
AFSCME will notify members as
soon as details are available. This legislation has been an AFSCME priority for
some time, so please plan
on coming to Madison on Thursday to testify at the hearing if you are available.
BILLS INCREASING PENALTIES FOR BATTERY AGAINST PUBLIC EMPLOYEES MOVE
FORWARD
Assembly Bill 525 and Senate Bill 278, two bills originally drafted to
increase penalties for people assaulting
Milwaukee public employees, are moving through the legislature.
AB-525 was passed by the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice on an 8-3 vote.
AB-525 was amended
by the committee to expand the bill beyond Milwaukee, and apply to assaults
against local employees of
every city, village, town and county in Wisconsin. AB-525 was also amended to
only apply to situations where
the victim is enforcing or conducting an inspection for zoning ordinance,
building code, or other construction
law. SB-278 received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections
and Housing on
Thursday, February 14. It appears that there is a chance that both houses could
take action on these bills
before the end of session.
PRIVATIZATION BILL RECEIVES HEARING - Assembly Bill 650 was
offered by Brown County area
legislators in response to a Court of Appeals ruling upholding AFSCME’s position
that a sheriff’s decision to
privatize jail food services was a violation of the Municipal Employment
Relations Act (MERA). The bill would
make the decision about privatizing food service a prohibited subject of
bargaining. AB-650 is before the
Assembly Committee on Urban and Local Affairs, which may vote on the issue
before the legislative session
ends, but if this bill is sent to the Senate, it is sure to die. AFSCME opposes
AB-650.
FAMILY CARE LEGISLATION INTRODUCED - Assembly Bill 764 relates to
protecting workers whose
jobs may be shifted to new Family Care or Long Term Care districts. It will
ensure that county human service
workers, public health nurses and others who become employed by new Long Term
Care districts remain
covered under the Wisconsin Retirement System. We support AB-764.
AB-746/SB-401: RETURNING 17-YEAR-OLDS TO THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM -
This bill would
allow teenage offenders to be treated in the juvenile correctional system. It
would be funded (in part) by a $1
surcharge on video games. AFSCME is working with other organizations, such as
the Wisconsin Counties
Association and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, to advance this
bill.
HEALTH CARE DEBATES CONTINUE - Assembly Bill 47, legislation that
would create a tax deduction for
Health Savings Accounts, received a public hearing this week in the Assembly
Committee on Health and
Health Care Reform. It appears that this is the only significant policy issue
that the Assembly Republicans are
looking at for health care reform in what is left in the spring session.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats continue to discuss reintroducing Healthy Wisconsin
in the coming weeks. If
Healthy Wisconsin is offered as a stand alone piece of legislation, AFSCME hopes
that public hearings will
be held to talk about the need for comprehensive health care reform in
Wisconsin.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM RECEIVES SENATE HEARING - The Senate
Committee on Campaign
Finance Reform held a public hearing on several campaign finance reform bills
this week. Among them was
Special Session Senate Bill 1. SB-1 was the version of campaign finance reform
introduced by Governor
Doyle when he called the legislature into special session in December. No
executive action was taken on any
of the bills, and at this time it does not appear that comprehensive campaign
finance reform is on the fast
track this legislative session.
TEACHING LABOR HISTORY IN SCHOOLS MOVING THROUGH SENATE - Senate
Bill 108, authored
by Senator Dave Hansen, requires schools to teach labor history. SB-108 is
slated for a vote in the full State
Senate next week. AFSCME strongly supports SB 108.
IMPROVING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM - The Governor’s Commission on
Reducing Racial Disparities in the
Justice System last week issued a report showing that Wisconsin leads the nation
in racial disparities in the
justice system. The Commission announced strategies for improving the justice
system. The report can be
found at www.EqualJustice.wi.gov.
AFSCME member Senator Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) served as
co-chair of the Commission.
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