March 16, 2007
Volume #29, Issue #9
STATE BUDGET HEARING SET TO KICK OFF - Next week the Joint
Committee on Finance will begin
taking public testimony on the Governor's Budget. In the majority of areas this is a very
good budget for
public employees. AFSCME members are encouraged to attend these hearings and let members
of the
JFC know that they should follow the Governor's lead and protect public services. Some
important
measures in the Governor's budget AFSCME members should advocate for are:
Protect increased aid to local governments - In an effort to provide
extended property tax relief, the
budget has significant increases for Shared Revenue, Local Transportation Aids, K-12
School Funding,
Community Aids, Youth Aids, Nursing Homes, and more. All of these increases are vital for
providing
county and municipal public services, and need to be preserved in the state budget.
Preserve state employee Compensation Reserves - The budget contains
funding for increases in state
employee wage and benefit compensation. Any reductions in this funding would undermine our
ability to
bargain fair state contracts.
Support the Milwaukee Initiative - Governor Doyle made several key
funding decisions to aid Milwaukee
County. Just as importantly, he proposed language that would change state law and allow
Milwaukee
County to refinance the debt in the county's retirement system.
Adopt State Employee Initiatives - The budget contains several provisions
beneficial for state
employees. It allows collective bargaining right for UW faculty and academic staff,
reduces from six
months to two months the waiting period for new hires to receive health insurance,
protects state workers
who blow the whistle on contractors who knowingly fail to deliver services or products to
the state and
extends domestic partner benefits to all state workers.
Approve new sources of revenue - From the $1.25 increase in the cigarette
tax to the 2.5% assessment
on oil companies to the increases in the real estate transfer fee and the 1% assessment on
hospital
revenue, this budget finds nearly $1.7 billion in new revenue. After recent bare bones
budgets that put
public services and those of us who provide them at risk, it is a refreshing change to see
the state investing
in Wisconsin again. Maintaining these new revenue streams is critical to this effort.
CHILD CARE PROVIDERS - AFSCME's newest addition to the family,
child care providers, face some
difficulties in the current budget, most of which are caused by a growing deficit in the
Wisconsin Shares
program. As part of the solution, DWD has proposed moving to attendance based pay for
licensed
providers, which could severely impact hundreds of providers across the state. Urge your
state legislator
to fully fund the Wisconsin Shares program.
There are other areas of the budget that need our support, and there are some areas where
we will need
to see improvement. So, please attend the JFC Hearing that will be in your area. The
schedule for the
JFC hearings is:
Milwaukee - March 20 (10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Union, 2200
E. Kenwood Blvd.
Arlington - March 21 (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) Arlington Agricultural
Research Station Public Events
Facility, N695 Hopkins Road
Chippewa Falls - March 27 (12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.) Chippewa Falls County
Courthouse, 711 N. Bridge
Street
Prairie du Chien - April 4 (12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.) Prairie du Chien
High School, 800 E. Crawford Street
Rhinelander - April 11 (12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.)
Green Bay - April 12 (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
BUDGET REPAIR BILL PASSES - POWER PLANT POSITIONS IN TACT - The
Governor's budget
repair bill that, among other things, restored 271 state power plant positions, passed
both houses of the
legislature and is on the way to the Governor's desk for his signature. Thanks again to
the 40 plus Council
24 members who came to Madison to lobby for restoration of these positions.
CREDITABLE MILITARY SERVICE BILL MOVES FORWARD - Assembly Bill 43,
legislation that allows
up to four years of military service to count toward retirement for Wisconsin Retirement
System
participants, was passed by the Assembly Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. The bill
will still
need approval from the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems as well as both houses
of the
legislature.
HEALTH CARE REFORM - The Senate Committee on Health and Human
Services continues its
hearings next week on health care reform in Eau Claire. AFSCME members are encouraged to
testify at
these hearings about the importance of Comprehensive Health Care Reform. Our first hand
knowledge of
the impacts of rising health care costs have on working families, public services, and
wages and benefits
in the collective bargaining process is a very valuable perspective for this committee.
The details for the
Eau Claire hearing are:
Senate Health and Human Services Committee
Thursday, March 22, at 4:00 p.m.
Chippewa Valley Technical College
Business Education Center Auditorium, Room 103
620 W. Clairemont Avenue
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