The Joint Finance Committee unanimously rejected a proposal by the DOT to eliminate a $33.2 million fund deficit for 2008-09.

The DOT's plan included reducing the 2008-09 major highway development appropriation by $15 million in segregated funds and the 2008-09 highway rehabilitation appropriation by $18.3 million in segregated funds. The hole in the fund's budget is largely due to lower than expected collections for car and light truck registration fees and fuel taxes.

Rep. Mark Pocan, the Madison Dem who co-chairs the committee, said he wanted to wait until the full impact of federal stimulus funding on the state's transportation spending is known before approving a plan to cut back on projects.

So far, of the $400 million in Recovery Act money sent to Wisconsin, $22 million in savings has been seen as bids have been coming in below projections, Pocan said.

"It just didn't make sense to stop any jobs right now," he said. "Rather than cutting back now, we'll see what the future will bring us."

If the fund develops a deficit of greater than $30 million in the current biennium, the DOT will have to propose another plan, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau said.

-- By Greg Bump

The Joint Finance Committee will hold a 13.10 meeting at 2 p.m. today. Among the agenda items is the Department of Transportation's plan to eliminate a $33.2 million fund deficit for 2008-09.

The department had requested passive review of the deficit elimination plan, but the proposal is up for committee approval due to an objection.

A Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo on the request says that the shortfall is due to falling revenues at the DOT, particularly in motor vehicle fuel taxes and registration fees for automobiles and light trucks.

The DOT's request includes reducing the 2008-09 major highway development appropriation by $15 million in segregated funds and the 2008-09 highway rehabilitation appropriation by $18.3 million in segregated funds. If approved, the plan would leave the transportation fund with an $81,900 balance for the end of 2007-09. The biennium ended June 30.

Also on today's agenda are a handful of requests to spend federal recovery act funds.

See the agenda here.

See the LFB papers on the 13.10 meeting here.



-- By Greg Bump

A budget provision in which Gov. Jim Doyle violated the so-called Frankenstein veto ban has been republished with corrected language.

Members of the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization this voted unanimously to do the redrafting. The budget provision Doyle partially vetoed offered guidelines for a Department of Health Services study of facilities for the mentally retarded.

Doyle said earlier that the veto that combined parts of three sentences into one was inadvertent and the result of a short time frame to get the budget finished before the end of the fiscal year.

-- By Greg Bump

Members of the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization voted unanimously to have the budget redrafted minus a veto by Gov. Jim Doyle that violated the so-called Frankenstein veto ban.

The budget provision Doyle partially vetoed offered guidelines for a Department of Health Services study of facilities for the mentally retarded.

As passed by the Legislature, the provision required the DHS secretary to appoint a committee to study the need for and preservation of the care facilities. The Legislature's version required the study be submitted to the JFC by Dec. 1. Doyle's partial veto narrowed the scope of the study, eliminated the committee and deleted the Dec. 1 reporting date.

But the veto violated a constitutional amendment passed in 2008 because Doyle struck parts of three sentences to create a new one. Doyle has said the violation was inadvertent and won't oppose having the study carried out as the Legislature intended.

The JCLO vote requires the bill to be republished with the modification so there's an official document of what the language should be on the record.

-- By Greg Bump

The Joint Finance Committee approved the purchase of two sets of trains from Spanish manufacturer Talgo, but did not allocate all the money requested by Gov. Jim Doyle.

The governor requested $48 million, but the JFC approved just $47.5 million, excluding $500,000 in contingency funds requested by Doyle.

The motion to adopt alternative 2 was approved 11-4, with all the committee Dems voting for it and the four GOP members against it.

-- By Greg Bump

Rep. Mark Pocan scolded the DOT and Doyle administration from not informing the JFC about the agreement to purchase trains from Spanish company Talgo until a month before the panel had to act on the purchase.

Pocan pointedly asked DOT general counsel Bob Jambois when the agreement was signed by Secretary Frank Busalacchi. Jambois said a letter of intent was signed on May 11.

Pocan said the JFC members didn't hear about the deal until July 17, the day Gov. Doyle held a press conference to tout the purchase from Talgo.

"As a co-equal branch of government we should have been informed earlier than just a little over two weeks ago about this," Pocan said.

Busalacchi said there were still details of the deal to be worked out, particularly if the state would buy or lease the trains.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, called the process "a sham" and said it was "an embarrassment" that there wasn't a competitive bidding process. He alleged that Doyle is buying the trains from Talgo because the company paid for his trip to Spain.

Busalacchi responded that the trip to Spain last year was paid for by the Spanish government, not Talgo, and that it was a "trade mission." He also said all state statutes have been followed in this process.

-- By Greg Bump

DOT general counsel Bob Jambois said that Talgo was the only company that responded to a request for information for companies interested selling trains to Wisconsin.

He said that invitations for the RFI were sent to six or seven manufacturers, and those manufacturers must have known that Wisconsin was taking part in the Midwest rail initiative and was in the market for trains. He said that those who didn't submit information made a poor business decision.

DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi said those companies who were not chosen were are engaging in "sour grapes."

-- By Greg Bump

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, had the first crack. She wanted to know why, with the state facing high unemployment, this is the right time to make a $48 million investment in two trains.

DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi said the trains are needed because the current Amtrak stock is "dark and dingy" and people have to stand on the train between Chicago and Milwaukee. Train travel reduces the state's cost to maintain roads and saves energy, and high-speed rail is "the wave of the future."

Darling responded that "lighter and brighter trains to ride form Chicago is not a compelling enough reason to spend the money now."

-- By Greg Bump

The committee approved using $2.1 million in ARRA money for immunication programs.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia, had stalled the vote after questioning whether HPV vaccinations would be offered to women under 18. The DHS says that the program will be for uninsured or under-insured women between the ages of 18 to 26.

-- By Greg Bump

A request to allocate $318,500 in ARRA funding through grants to arts programs is being challenged by Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, who is asking why the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra was left out of the loot.

Robson offered a motion that $15,000 go to the symphony orchestra. She said the community has been hard hit by unemployment, and that the criteria assigned for the grants by the Arts Board was "loosey goosey" and didn't go to communities in the greatest distress.

She said things are so bad that the orchestra had to cancel it's July 4th concert.

UPDATE: Robson's motion fails 4-11. Voting with Robson were Sens. Darling and Taylor, and Rep. Vos.

The governor's request was the approved 14-1, with Rep. Vos the lone no vote.

Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, is absent and excused from today's meeting.

-- By Greg Bump

The governor's request for $5.4 million in ARRA funds for Energy Star rebates was cut to $540,000 by the JFC. (Alternative 2 in the LFB paper)

-- By Greg Bump

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, warned Gov. Jim Doyle not to take legislators for granted.

The governor has scheduled a press conference this afternoon in Milwaukee to tout $6.4 million in federal stimulus funds to cleanup up underground storage tank contamination. The catch is the expenditure had yet to be approved by the JFC.

Pocan said though he knows the approval of such requests is "rather routine," he was not happy.

"It's probably not a good idea to schedule a press conference when we still may be voting," he said. He said Doyle was "assuming a rubber stamp."

Pocan also lamented that Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, won't be able to attend the press conference in her district because she has to be in Madison to vote on the request.

The JFC did approve Doyle's request, but amended it to if the DNR or Dept. of Comerce proposes to spend ARRA funding for sites other than those listed in the April 2009 application to the EPA, Doyle must submit a request to the JFC.

-- By Greg Bump

The committee voted to grant less than half of what the governor had requested for lead hazard control grants.

The governor was looking to spend $3 million in ARRA money, but just $1.34 million was approved. The motion from the committee instructs the governor to submit a request for the remaining $1.65 million when grant recipients are identified.

-- By Greg Bump

Got a bit of a late start though.

The first request taken up was to allocate federal stimulus cash of $3.8 million in 2009-10 and $3.1 million in 2010-11 for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities. The committee voted for alternative 2, which approves $3.9 million but requires the administration to resubmit the request of the remaining $3 million.

The committee approved the governor's request to allocate $524,238 in ARRA funds to supplement the WIC program.

The third request, for $2.1 million to support immunization activities, is being held up because Rep. Vos has concerns about whether HPV vaccinations will be included.

-- By Greg Bump

It's just been announced that the meeting, which had been scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., will start at 10:15.

The most contentious of the requests will be the DOT's appeal for $48 million in bonding authority to purchase two trains from Spanish manufacturer Talgo.

Rep. Mark Pocan, the JFC's co-chair, said Monday that expects both Democrats and Republicans to have concerns over the request in light of reports that the train purchase wasn't subject to a competitive bidding process.

"I'm going to review it a little more before I make that decision(on how I will vote)," Pocan said.

See Legislative Fiscal Bureau papers on the 13.10 requests.

-- By Greg Bump