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WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1989-1990


Mailing Address: Senator George, Room 115 South, State Capitol, P.O. Box
7882, Madison
   53707-7882; Representative Kunicki, Room 127 South, State Capitol, P.O.
Box 8952, Madi-
   son 53708-8952.
Telephone: Senator George, (608) 266-2500; Representative Kunicki, (608)
267-7669.
Statutory Reference: Section 13.09.
   History: The Joint Committee on Finance was created by Chapter 6, Laws
of 1911. Its prede-
cessor, the Joint Committee on Claims, dates back to 1857 (Chapter 59). Subsequent
to its
creation, membership changes occurred in 1975 (Chapter 224) and 1985 (Wisconsin
Act 2).
Chapter 39, Laws of 1975, transferred the authority and appropriations of
the Board on Govern-
ment Operations to the committee.
   Organization: The committee is a joint standing committee composed of
8 senators and 8
representatives appointed as are standing committees. A Senate member and
an Assembly mem-
ber are designated as cochairpersons of the committee.
   Functions: Any bill introduced in either house of the legislature appropriating
money, provid-
ing for revenue or relating to taxation must be referred to the Joint Committee
on Finance before
being passed. Further, the biennial budget bill, which is recommended by
the governor, is intro-
duced by the Joint Committee on Finance and then referred to the committee
for detailed con-
sideration. After a series of public hearings, the committee considers it
in a number of executive
sessions culminating in the committee-recommended version of the bill. The
committee-recom-
mended version is then considered by the 2 houses of the legislature in the
course of adopting the
budget.
   In addition to these major responsibilities, the committee also has a
number of other related
responsibilities, including the following:
1. The committee is required to hold regular quarterly meetings for consideration
of agency
    requests for supplementation of their budgets- such supplementation is
to be conditioned
    on a finding that: a) an emergency exists, b) no funds are available
for such purposes, and c)
    the purposes for which the supplemental appropriation is requested have
been authorized or
    directed by the legislature.
2. The committee may also transfer funds between existing appropriations
and may increase or
    decrease personnel positions from the number authorized by the legislature
in the budget or
    through separate legislation.
3. The committee is also empowered to reduce certain state agency appropriations
as an emer-
    gency measure when necessitated by a decrease in state revenues.
4. The committee introduces, when required, the necessary legislation to
provide for: a) the
    payment of claims against the state, b) the resolution of uncollectible
shortages, or c) fund-
    ing sufficient to restore any of the Housing and Economic Development
Authority's capital
    reserve funds to the required level when such appropriation is certified
as being necessary by
    the chairperson of the authority.
5. The committee is also responsible for the final approval of a variety
of fiscal or fiscally-
    related items, including: a) rental rates for state-owned employe housing;
b) budgets for
    special and executive committees created by statute or executive order;
c) general gifts,
    grants and bequests to the state, including specifying the state agency
to carry out the pur-
    poses of the conveyance, if none is so designated; d) Higher Educational
Aids Board sale,
    conveyance or repurchase of student loans; e) interstate agreements regarding
remission of
    nonresident tuition at institutions of higher education; f) level of
state supplemental pay-
    ments for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients; g) agreements
between the state
    and the federal government for federal administration of state supplemental
payments to
    SSI; h) reimbursement formula for medical assistance payments to nursing
homes; i) guide-
    lines and annual allocations for payments for the municipal services
program; j) annual
    assessment rate for recovery of administrative expenses of state worker's
compensation pro-
    gram; k) budget for nonincumbent, newly elected governor for staff and
office expenses prior
    to inauguration; L) transfer of federal monies between block grants;
m) State Building Com-
    mission's proposed sale or transfer of any surplus land having a fair
market value of $20,000
    or more; n) requests from the Department of Administration (DOA) for
issuance of operat-
    ing notes by the State Building Commission; o) agency plans to correct
program revenue or