Governor Calls Legislature Into Special Session

Thursday, October 18, 2007 8:36 AM CDT

Joan Sanstadt, News Editor

This is another of those weeks when what is written today (Monday) may be moot by the time it gets into the hands of readers on Thursday.

Of course, the topic of concern is the special session of the Wisconsin Legislature that convenes on Monday.

Governor Jim Doyle announced the special session last week and, predictably, reaction of the Democrat-led State Senate was positive, but the Republican-led Assembly reacted with disapproval.

The general public seems to be getting fed up with the blame game and ready for lawmakers of both parties to look for common ground and when that can’t be found to compromise.

One farmer’s reaction went beyond agreement on the budget. He’d like to see the governor’s line item veto powers “completely eliminated. Unless we do that we might as well make the governor a czar,” was his conclusion.

“We, in good faith, elected the people to the legislature we thought were the best,” he added.

Now he’s having second thoughts. “Maybe n just maybe,” he said, “it is time to think seriously about the one-house (unicameral) legislature that Nebraska has.”

Another view

George Lightbourn, who served as secretary of the Department of Administration during the last 17 months of the Thompson Administration, had some harsh words for lawmakers and their leaders over the lack of a budget.

Lightbourn, now a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, wonders if “the inability of our elected leaders to deliver a budget is a symptom of a profound problem. We used to be better than Illinois or Michigan and certainly better than Washington D.C.,” he noted.

Chiding state leaders for “standing by as Wisconsin state government’s record of accomplishment fades into history,” Lightbourn believes, “we are witnessing the emergence of palpable partisan gridlock.”

“The political insiders have all chosen sides as to who is responsible for the gridlock. The rhetoric is flying. Finger-pointing has been elevated to high art. What the leadership in Madison seems not to understand is what their inaction is doing to the institution of the Legislature.

“They apparently cannot see that the concern of the public goes well beyond the inability to pass this particular budget. The public assumes that a budget will eventually emerge; it always does. No, the deeper concern is that the public is unsure that state government leaders have the capacity to get anything of significance accomplished,” Lightbourn warned.

Some of the most troublesome issues on Lightbourn’s list are:

- Restoring the economic heft to Milwaukee, the state’s key economic engine.

- Getting control of runaway health care costs.

- Retooling the state’s tax structure to better reflect current economic realities.

- Getting urban kids back into the classroom so they can do the economic heavy lifting when the baby boomers retire.

While the former DOA secretary acknowledges “decision makers in the Capitol look a lot like us n they hold strong beliefs ranging from the far left to the far right,” he doesn’t think their job ends there.

“The public expects its leaders to see the big picture n to take action and to move Wisconsin forward. The sad fact is that the ranks of those who expect the leadership in Madison to move the state forward are diminishing,” Lightbourn said.

The danger of budget gridlock is real and what it does is serve “to reinforce a growing skepticism that government can actually get things done,” he said.

But the most alarming thing the former DOA secretary pointed out n at least to this writer is: “The public has increasingly shown a willingness to expect and accept a lower standard of accomplishment from Wisconsin state government.”

Those are harsh words and they are thought provoking.

DATCP and budget

Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), sounded a dire warning of how the department would be affected unless a budget agreement comes soon.

Speaking to members of the DATCP Board, Nilsestuen said two divisions at DATCP that interact the most with the public n food safety and animal health - are the ones most affected by the budget gridlock.

“Regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on, passing the budget is the biggest single item on the legislature’s biennial calendar,” Nilsestuen said. “A week ago it looked like they were making progress. But there is at least a dozen members of the assembly that have pledged not to vote for any budget that will mean tax increases. It does not appear that caucus (Republican) will be able to have a majority vote.

“We’re the delegated state agency to do food inspections in partnership with the federal government. We inspect 90 percent of the cheese that goes out of state,” he said.

Food recalls are another big part of the Food Safety division’s job and last year the department dealt with 18 such recalls, Nilsestuen said, adding “most of them never made the press.”

Had the Animal Health division not reacted promptly, “pseudorabies in Clark County could have resulted in the state’s losing its accreditation. Animal Health is the most stretched division in this agency and yet they are looking in a 17.5 percent cut in existing staff n that would mean five positions.

“These are unmanageable cuts n and it is very important for people in agriculture and rural Wisconsin to understand the implications,” Nilsestuen emphasized.

Editor’s Note: Please read the letter board members signed and sent to the legislature that appears in this week’s paper. This letter details the impact the budget impasse could have on the DATCP.

Disaster assistance deadline

Wisconsin residents and business owner who sustained damage from the severe storms and flooding that occurred in the state from Aug. 18 to 31 must apply for disaster assistance by the Oct. 25 deadline.

Individuals who have already applied do not need to worry. “Their cases will continue to be processed, Michael Bolch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promised. “We want people to understand that Oct. 25 is merely the end of the application period, which started Aug. 26 when President Bush issued the major disaster declaration,” he added.

Loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for disaster-related losses to real and personal property and businesses of all sizes must also be submitted by Oct. 25. SBA officials are encouraging anyone who has received a disaster loan application to turn it in as soon as possible.

“Even those who have insurance should apply by Oct. 25 if their home or business suffered damage in the August flooding,” Diane Kleiboer of Wisconsin Emergency Management said. “People may find they still have needs after the insurance settlement and may qualify for financial assistance in the form of a low-interest disaster loan or grant.”

Federal and state disaster recovery officials urge those who have not done so to apply as soon as possible. There are two ways to begin the application process. Residents may call FEMA’s special toll-free number, 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585 for those with speech or hearing impairment. Both numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

People with Internet access have the option to apply anytime on the agency’s website at http://www.fema.gov. Valuable information is also available on that website.

Residents waiting for a final insurance settlement should contact the FEMA Helpline at the same numbers in the above paragraph if their claim is paid or for any other updates to their claim information, disaster officials said.

If there have been changes to contact information, applicants should call the Helpline right away to ensure they receive their assistance as quickly as possible.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

For more information about Wisconsin recovery, please visit http://www.fema.gov, http://www.floodsmart.gov, http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance, and http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov.

Siting issue

On Oct. 16 the planning commission of the Town of Byron in Fond du Lac County was planning to conduct a hearing on a proposed ordinance that would impose a temporary stay on the town’s acceptance, review and approval of applications for new or expanded livestock facilities. Upon completion of the planning commission meeting the town board is expected to convene to review the plan commission’s recommendation, receive additional public input and take action on the proposed ordinance.

Laurie Fischer, executive director of the Dairy Business Association (DBA), said the Town of Byron is not observing the legislature’s goal of statewide uniformity according to the siting law.

“Instead the Town of Byron seems to be proposing requirements and restrictions on livestock facilities that are significantly more stringent than the state standards. The statute mandates that local governments act upon complete and compliant applications for approval within 90 days.

“Despite that, Fischer continued, “it seems the town of Byron is proposing a moratorium on the construction or expansion of livestock facilities. Such a moratorium is clearly a more stringent local requirement than the state standards allow. The siting law does not authorize local governmental units to create a local scheme that precludes review of and action upon properly filed applications for approval.”

Fish kill

Bill Pielsticker, legislative chair for the Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited, reacted to a Sept. 22 manure spill from a livestock operation in Monroe County that flowed into Dutch Creek.

“As the manure followed the creek into La Crosse County, it killed thousands of trout in this coldwater stream. This incident illustrates the crying need for new funds in the state budget to cost-share nutrient management implementation,” Pielsticker said in a news release.

“The operation in question apparently had no manure storage despite feeding a herd of 600 heifers,” Pielsticker continued, adding “had the operators been offered cost-share money for nutrient management planning they may have discovered their need to reduce their herd size until they could install adequate manure storage even while implementing a plan to distribute the manure in an environmentally sound manner.”

When the nonpoint law was passed in 1997, it authorized rules to be written but required cost share money be available to affected producers before counties could enforce the law.

In the past two biennial budgets only a “bare minimum” amount of money was directed toward implementing these nutrient management rules. The current state budget (still in limbo) has added money for nutrient management but the proposals (the governor’s, the state senate’s and the assembly’s) each propose a different amount.

Pielsticker noted “the $6 or $7 million increase said to be included in the governor’s compromise budget is almost half of his original proposal but a good start given the circumstances.

“Let’s be clear, we can’t afford to wait any longer to provide farmers with the funds they need to implement the most cost-effective solution we have for polluted runoff,” Pielsticker emphasized.

“If Wisconsin cannot begin ramping up funding now, five years after the runoff rules were adopted, we may be forced to reconsider the 1997 compromise that authorized the rules but required cost-sharing before enforcement could being. One way or another, we need to move ahead with implementing these rules in order to finally make real strides against the largest threat to the health of our lakes and streams n polluted runoff,” Pielsticker warned.

Capitol Notes:

- Former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize last week for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it. Gore said he would donate his share of the $1.5 million that accompanies the prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan nonprofit organization devoted to conveying the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson last week received the 2007 Wisconsin Counties Association Friend of County Government Award, the association’s highest honor. “The chief justice understands the integral relationship between the courts and counties, with a vision and commitment that is unparalleled in this state,” WCA Executive Director Mark O’Connell said.

- For the first time in almost 30 years, a U.S. utility has filed an application to build a new nuclear plant. Filing the application was NRG Energy, based in Princeton, N.J. The company wants to add two new units to an existing nuclear plant site in Matagorda County, Texas.

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