April 4, 2008
Volume #30, Issue #10
STATE BUDGET UPDATE - Leadership
from the Assembly and Senate continue to meet informally over
the budget adjustment bill. The two houses took very different paths to resolve
the $400 million plus shortfall
with the Assembly making $250 million in unspecified cuts and the Senate finding
new sources of revenue,
including the hospital assessment and the closing of corporate loopholes, to
fill the deficit. This round of
budget negotiations is taking place primarily behind closed doors with only a
few select legislators involved
in talks. AFSCME continues to lobby legislative leaders to protect services and
find new revenue sources.
EMERGENCY RULES IMPACT AFSCME CHILD CARE PROVIDERS -
On March 30 the Department
of Workforce Development issued emergency rule changes that balanced the $18.6
million shortfall in the
Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program on the backs of child care
providers. These changes were
identical to changes DWD implemented to deal with the shortfall during last
summer’s state budget talks.
At that time, the Legislature chose to fund the shortfall rather than impose
these harmful rules on providers.
All administrative rule changes are subject to review by the Legislature's Joint
Committee on Review of
Administrative Rules (JCRAR). At a meeting prior to implementation of the DWD
rules, the co-chairs of
the committee publicly discussed their concerns with DWD reintroducing these
changes, and stated they
intended to hold a public hearing on the rule in the near future. Since that
time JCRAR Co-Chair Rep. Dan
LeMahieu (R-Cascade) has refused to hold a public hearing on the emergency rule,
despite repeated
attempts by Co-Chair Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) to get a meeting scheduled.
AFSCME child care
providers have been contacting Rep. LeMahieu's office urging him to hold a
hearing so the Legislature can
gain a full understanding of the punitive nature of these rule changes on the
people providing care for some
of Wisconsin's more vulnerable children.
On a positive note, the Democratic-controlled Senate included an additional
$18.6 million in the budget to
cover the Wisconsin Shares shortfall. AFSCME is lobbying members of the
legislature to preserve this
funding in the final version of the budget.
LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON TEEN OFFENDERS -
The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet
Thursday, April 10, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 411 South at the
State Capitol to hear testimony on
a
comprehensive audit of how best to address teen offenders in the correctional
system. AFSCME supports
legislation to return 17-year-olds to the juvenile system (SB 401 and AB 746).
TREATING ADULTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES IN THE WISCONSIN
CORRECTIONS SYSTEM –
HEARING APRIL 10 - A legislative
committee will take testimony next week on the need to do an in-depth
examination of the incidence of mental illness in the adult correctional system.
The Joint Legislative Audit
Committee will hold a hearing on this topic next Thursday,
April 10, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 411 South at
the State Capitol.
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