The Special Committee on Emergency Management and Continuity of Government met today to further their agenda in preparation for the new legislative session. On the agenda was testimony by Brian Litza, Chief of the Emergency Medical Services Section at the Department of Health Services. Litza’s testimony was on EMS services after which he took questions from the committee. Other agenda items were the review and discussion of draft legislation pertaining to issues such as an interstate pest control compact, plant industry penalties, disposal of animal carcasses, the computation of school days and community levy limits.

Continued.

The Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations, chaired by Representative Jeffrey Mursau met on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, for discussions on the following: the treatment of tribal schools and tribal school pupils and staff in the Wisconsin statutes; liability for actions of tribal police officers when enforcing state law; the County-Tribal Cooperative Law Enforcement Program; and briefings on mutual assistance between tribal and county or municipal law enforcement agencies, Department of Children and Families and tribal work groups on codification of the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act in the Wisconsin statutes and on alternative funding for tribal child welfare programs, state funding for high-cost out-of-home placements of American Indian children by a tribal court, and the Wisconsin Indian Business Alliance.

Continued.

The Special Committee on School Safety, chaired by Senator John Lehman met on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, for committee discussion and consideration of possible recommendations regarding pupil information sharing, school safety plans, bullying, revenue caps, and other school safety issues.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Enhancing Recreational Trails for Non-Motorized Use, chaired by Senator Jim Sullivan met on Friday, December 5, 2008, for presentations by invited speakers from Departments of Tourism and Natural Resources; opportunity for public testimony regarding non-motorized trails and the use of those trails; opportunity for public testimony regarding draft legislation prepared for the Special Committee, including suggestions for additional legislation; discussion by Special Committee members of proposed draft legislation and modifications to the draft legislation, and potential votes to make final recommendations for legislation.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Strengthening Wisconsin Families, co-chaired by
Senator Lena Taylor and Representative Steve Kestell met on Thursday, December 4, 2008, for discussion of committee assignment, including: review of bill draft, relating to home visitation; WLC: 0125/2, relating to children who are involved in multiple systems of care and their families, and making an appropriation; other states' laws relating to relatives and the child welfare system; and an update from the Department of Children and Families.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Performance-Based Disease Management Programs for Large Population, chaired by Representative Steve Wieckert, met on Friday, November 21, 2008, for discussion and development of possible legislative recommendations on various topics related to the committee's charge, including the following: school and preschool nutrition and physical education policies and standards; a public awareness; health information technology; tax incentives for wellness programs; the primary care provider shortage; and walkable communties. They also discussed committee assignment.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce, chaired by Representative Patricia Strachota, met on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, for testimony on the audit process by representatives from the Legislative Audit Bureau; discussion of committee assignment, including: WLC: 0126/2, relating to requiring an additional credit in mathematics for a high school diploma; WLC: 0203/1, relating to an annual report to the legislature regarding the transfer of credits between educational institutions; bill draft relating to the collection of data by the Department of Regulation and Licensing; bill draft relating to Lifelong Learning Accounts.

Continued.

Continued.

Continued.

The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources held a public hearing on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, on Clearinghouse Rule 06-108, relating to regulation of fishing tournaments in inland, outlying, and boundary waters of Wisconsin.

The Special Committee on Domestic Biofuels, chaired by Senator Pat Kreitlow met on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, for presentations on forestry-related policy considerations; Paul DeLong, Department of Natural Resources, Forestry Division Administration; Intermediate Ethanol Blends, American Coalition for Ethanol. They also discussed policy options and committee assignment.

Continued.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Strengthening Wisconsin Families, co-chaired by Senator Lena Taylor and Representative Steve Kestell, met on Friday, November 14, 2008, for presentations on home visitation by invited speakers, including: Jack Tweedie, Group Director, Children and Families Program, National Conference of State Legislatures; and Audrey Laszewski, Project Director, The Early Years Home Visitation Outcomes Project of Wisconsin. They also discussed Committee Assignment; WLC: 0125/2, relating to Children with Severe Disabilities or Who Are Involved in Multiple Systems of Care, or Both, and Their Families; Memo No. 4, WLC: 0125/2, relating to Children with Severe Disabilities or Who Are Involved in Multiple Systems of Care, or Both, and Their Families.

Continued.

The Joint Committee on Audit held a public hearing on Thursday, November 13, 2008, on the following: Annual Economic Development Programs Report (October 2008). The Committee will receive testimony from invited speakers only on this item. Interested persons may view the report from the Department of Commerce at www.commerce.wi.gov/BDdocs/BD-Act125-2008.pdf. The Committee may also discuss provisions of 2007 Wisconsin Act 125 and information contained in Audit Report 06-9, State Economic Development Programs. Interested persons may view the audit report at www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lab/reports/06-9Full.pdf. The committee will also receive public testimony on Best Practices Review of Truancy Reduction Efforts (September 2008).

The Senate Committee on Tax Fairness and Family Prosperity, held an informational hearing on Thursday, November 13, 2008, on the following: Indian Child Welfare Act, relating to Indian child welfare and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority.

The Special Committee on School Safety, chaired by Senator John Lehman, met on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, for invited testimony on school safety conference activities; and committee discussion and consideration of possible recommendations relating to school safety, including information sharing, school safety plans, bullying, revenue caps, and school safety grants.

Continued.

Continued.

The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules held a public hearing on Tuesday, November 11, 2008, on the following: RL 161.04 Emergency Rule Extension, relating to examinations for substance abuse professionals; DWD 40 Emergency Extension Request, relating to the Establishment of Birth Cost Orders Based on the Child Support Guidelines; Comm 108.07 Emergency Extension Request, relating to enabling the Department to use any available Community Development Block Grant funds for emergency assistance with repairing or replacing public infrastructure and facilities, and with repairing or replacing homes damaged by the severe storms and flooding.

The Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation, held an executive session on Friday, October 31, 2008, on Clearinghouse Rule 08-036, relating to the training and certification of individuals performing regulated asbestos abatement activities, the certification of companies providing regulated asbestos activities, the accreditation of asbestos training courses, the approval of asbestos training instructors, and the responsibilities of designated school asbestos coordinators, and affecting small businesses.

The Assembly Committee on Elections and Constitutional Law held an
informational hearing on Thursday, October 23, 2008, on the following items: at the time specified below: Kevin Kennedy, General Counsel, Government Accountability Board will provide a status report to the committee on Wisconsin's Election preparedness, the Statewide Voter Registration List, and the status of the Van Hollen v. GAB et. al., 08 CV 4085. This presentation is for the information of the committee.

The Special Committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce, chaired by Representative Patricia Strachota, met on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, for testimony on the 2009-11 budget requests and programs and initiatives of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) regarding workforce development by Deborah Mahaffey, Assistant State Superintendent, Division of Academic Excellence, DPI; presentation on Lifelong Learning Accounts by Amy Sherman, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning; discussion of committee assignment, including a Discussion of Memo No. 1, Potential Recommendations Submitted for Consideration by Committee Members (September 23, 2008); discussion of bill drafts, including those relating to an annual report to the Legislature on credit transfer between the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Technical College System; and requiring an additional credit in mathematics for a high school diploma.

Continued.

The Special Committee on High-Risk Juvenile Offenders, chaired by Senator Tim Carpenter, met on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, for testimony by Vincent Schiraldi, Director, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, District of Columbia; review of drafts relating to waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction, age of delinquency, reverse waiver from adult court, and the daily rate for juvenile correctional institutions; and discussion of the "Missouri Model" for juvenile justice.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Performance-Based Disease Management Programs for Large Population. chaired by Representative Steve Wieckert, met on Friday, October 17, 2008, for presentations by invited speakers, including James Galloway, Assistant Surgeon General, Region V, Chicago, IL, Elaine Mischler, CEO, Mischler Consultants, and Denise Webb, Program Manager, eHealth Care Quality and Patient Safety Board, Department of Health Services; and discussion of committee assignment.

Continued.

Special Committee on Strengthening Wisconsin Families, co-chaired by Representative Steve Kestell and Senator Lena Taylor met on Thursday, October 16, 2008, for presentations on collaboration and coordination by invited speakers, including Dr. Howard Garber, President, Milwaukee Center for Independence; review of a bill draft relating to coordinated services teams for children with severe disabilities or who are involved in multiple systems of care, or both, and their families; discussion of home visitation, including a description of current law regarding state funding for home visitation programs.

The Special Committee on Domestic Biofuels, chaired by Senator Pat Kreitlow, met on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, for presentations on: assessment of feedstocks in Wisconsin for the production of biofuels; lifecycle analyses of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of transportation fuels; Wisconsin and neighboring states' biofuels policies; and discussion of committee assignment.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Regional Transportation Authority, chaired by Representative Alvin Ott met on Thursday, October 9, 2008, for presentations and committee discussion on taxing methods and economic development associated with public transit services; discussion of preliminary draft committee legislation (WLC: 0063/P1); discussion of Wisconsin transit projects currently proposed for federal funding; and discussion of committee assignment.

Continued.

Continued.

The Special Committee on School Safety, chaired by Senator John Lehman met on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 for presentations by invited speakers on the BadgerCare program and mental health, and other school safety issues. They also met for a discussion of Special Committee assignment with focus on possible Special Committee actions on issues related to school safety and school safety plans.

Continued.

The Special Committee on Differences in Laws Applicable to Cities and Villages, chaired by Representative Mark Gottlieb, met on Monday, October 6, 2008, for consideration and possible approval of draft legislation relating to: Establishing and changing compensation for city and village elective offices; signing village contracts; bidding procedure for village public construction contracts; officer-of-the-peace status of village officers; publication by the city clerk of fund receipts and disbursements; village and fourth class city regulation of political signs; liability of counties and cities for mob damage; means of providing police and fire protection by cities; holdover status of appointed city and village officers; and use of the procedure in s. 32.05 villages for certain housing and urban renewal condemnation; and application of public contract bidder prequalification requirements to first class cities.

The Special Committee on Emergency Management and Continuity of Government, chaired by Senator Robert Jauch met on Wednesday, October 1, 2008, to hold a public hearing at which anyone is welcome to address the committee on issues related to emergency management, including state assistance in emergencies, public works mutual aid, urban search and rescue, the different emergency management needs of urban and rural areas, the financial ability of local units of government to address emergencies, interoperability of communications; and other emergency preparedness issues.

The Special Committee on Continuity of Legislative Operations, chaired by
Senator Robert Jauch, met on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 for a discussion of statutes, constitutional provisions, and rules that affect continuity of legislative operations.

The Special Committee on Strengthening Wisconsin Families, co-chaired by
Senator Lena Taylor and Representative Steve Kestell met on Friday, September 26, 2008, on the following: Presentations by invited speakers: Gerald Huber, Human Services Director, La Crosse County; Dan Naylor, CST Specialist, White Pine Consulting. The committee also discussed committee assignment and 2007 Assembly Bill 700, relating to children with severe disabilities or who are involved in multiple systems of care, or both, and their families and making an appropriation.

Continued.

The Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation held an executive session on September 25, 2008, on the following: Clearinghouse Rule 06-080, relating to certification of outpatient mental health clinics, and affecting small businesses.

The Special Committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce, chaired by Representative Patricia Strachota, met on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, on the following: Presentations by invited speakers, including John Keckhaver, Research Analyst, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families; Jim Golembeski, Executive Director, Bay Area Workforce Development Board; and Robert Borremans, Executive Director, Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board. The committee also discussed committee assignment with a focus on discussing potential legislative recommendations or specific issue areas that the committee should further study.

The Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation held a public hearing on Thursday, September 18, 2008, on the following: Clearinghouse Rule 06-080, relating to certification of outpatient mental health clinics, and affecting small businesses.

The Special Committee on Regional Transportation Authority, chaired by
Representative Alvin Ott met on Wednesday, September 17, 2008
on the following: Testimony by Rod Clark, Director, Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Railroads, and Harbors, Department of Transportation; Testimony by Paul Larrousse, Director, National Transit Institute; Discussion of committee assignment.

Continued.

Continued.