WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1987-1988


he is visiting in your city. An association to which you belong may send
a lobbyist to Madison to
persuade a legislator to introduce a bill and to explain the matter at legislative
hearings.
   The state agencies, while administering current programs established by
law, become another
 primary source of ideas for public policy. In the normal course of their
activities, departments
 are in a natural position to see how the policies are working and whether
they need to be
 changed, expanded or abandoned altogether. As they experience the problems
involved in ad-
 ministering a program, departments can also see the effects of that program.
As a result, the
 governor may hold cabinet meetings for discussion of the problems of the
state departments, and
 department heads are frequently invited to contribute expert information
at legislative hearings.
   When the Legislature is faced with a complex - and probably controversial
- problem, it
 frequently decides to make an interim research study in an effort to find
a solution to the prob-
 lem. Therefore, even when the Legislature is not in actual floor session
many legislative commit-
 tees are hard at work gathering information, exploring available alternatives,
and reaching a
 decision on the best way of solving the problem. Such committees may also
have public mem-
 bers who are experts in the area under study. The governor may also appoint
task forces to study
 various problems and make recommendations for new legislation.
   Other useful sources of information on possible solutions to current issues
are contemporary
 legislation of other states, ideas developed by the Federal Government -
either by federal de-
 partments, Congress or special study commissions - and by private foundations
or associations
 which conduct research on particular problems. Through studies issued by
the legislative service
 agencies, through relevant publications, and by attendance at interstate
conferences, legislators
 learn about innovations developed in other jurisdictions that might be emulated
by this state.
 New ideas spread rapidly, and every state likes to come up with a unique
problem solution that
 might serve as a model for other states.
   The Budget Process. When we know what the public policy is in a particular
field, we still have
 to ask "how much", or "how extensive", or "how
often". Here we enter the field of dollars and
 cents, and frequently the amount of funds available will serve to establish
a limit on the extent of
 the program which, as a matter of public policy, we have already decided
to undertake. This is
 the field of the budget.
   The budget constitutes the most detailed review that public policy is
regularly subjected to.
 Here, the governor and the Legislature assess the effectiveness of past
performance. Here, state
 government makes the detailed plans for its future. The budget process is
an example of how
 many people must cooperate and of how much information is required before
public policy can
 be firmly established.
   The State of Wisconsin employs a budget method called program budgeting.
Instead of allo-
 cating specific sums for personnel, supplies, and capital equipment, program
budgeting tries to
 determine how much is being spent for the various functions - or programs
- of state govern-
 ment. The budget, as enacted, contains an itemized listing of appropriations
allocated for each
 program carried on by a department or other state agency.
   The budget procedure for the past several years has been as follows. Each
biennium in Octo-
ber of the even-numbered year the departments of state government submit
to the Department
of Administration estimates of how much it will cost to continue their existing
programs in the
next 2 years. They also compile information to show how existing programs
could be improved.
The department's Division of State Executive Budget and Planning compiles
this data for the
state budget report and gives it to the governor or to the governor-elect
not later than November
20. Following a gubernatorial election, and also in the fall of any other
even-numbered year, the
governor or governor-elect reviews these estimates and may hold a hearing
on any department's
budget request, at which department heads and interested citizens may be
heard. The division
assists the governor in this process. The new legislature convenes the following
January. On or
before the last Tuesday in January, the governor delivers the budget message
to the Legislature,
together with the state budget report and the biennial executive budget bill
or bills (5 in 1987),
which are introduced by the Joint Committee on Finance at his request.
  The bill is then referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, which holds
its own hearings on
departmental requests. When its hearings are completed, the committee reports
the bill out in
the form of a substitute amendment, and from then on the bill follows the
normal legislative
procedure through both houses of the Legislature. Since it is usually the
longest and most com-
plex bill of the session, the budget bill may be amended many times during
its course through the
2 houses. In recent sessions, many amendments have usually been incorporated
into a final


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