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WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1987-1988


   MILTON MEINKE, KENNETH MEYER, THOMAS P. SOLHEIM (all appointed by secretary
of trans-
   portation); JOSEPH SWEDA (nonvoting, ex officio).
 Council on Aeronautics: ARCHIE BECHER, JR., WANDA CHAPLIN, JACK KIRBY, MYRON
E. PAD-
   DOCK, BEN SILKO.
 Council on Highway Safety: SENATORS LYNN S. ADELMAN, BRIAN D. RUDE; REPRESENTATIVES
   ALVIN OTT, ROBERT THOMPSON, CLETUS VANDERPERREN; HOWARD BJORKLUND, HERBERT
J.
   GROVER, CAROL Z. HEMERSBACH, KATHLEEN MURPHY, JOSEPH SWEDA (state officer
members);
   LAVERNE HOERIG, GERALD F. POWALISZ, JOHN RADCLIFFE, MICKY SADOFF, ROBERT
J. YOUNG
   (citizen members).
 Council on Traffic Law Enforcement: SENATORS LYNN ADELMAN, JOSEPH LEEAN;
REPRESENTA-
   TIVES DAVID BRANDEMUEHL, DONALD HASENOHRL; EUGENE A. ANDREWS, HOWARD L.
ERICK-
   SON, LAWRENCE MALSCH, JAMES MCFARLANE, WALTER OLDHAM, DALE TROWBRIDGE,
JAMES
   W. VAN SISTINE, MARSHA M. WILEY (traffic law enforcement members); ERWIN
BESSLER, DON-
   ALD CHELL, HOWARD N. GOETSCH, ORVILLE PANOSH (alternate traffic law enforcement
mem-
   bers); ROBERT W. CHRISTIAN, MADELYN GLAEDEN, DANIEL HINTZ, RAY NEWBERRY,
ROBERT
   SUMMERS (community leader members).
 Council on Uniformity of Traffic Citations and Complaints: RONALD R. FIEDLER
(secretary of
   transportation), chairperson; 9 additional members.
 Mailing Address: Hill Farms State Transportation Building, 4802 Sheboygan
Avenue, Madison
   53702.
Publications: Biennial Report (departmental); Six-Year Highway Improvement
Program; Man-
   ual for Motorists; Rustic Roads (brochure); Traffic Safety Reporter (bimonthly);
Wisconsin
   Accident Facts (annual); Wisconsin Aeronautical Chart; Wisconsin Airport
Directory; Six-
   Year Airport Improvement Program; Wisconsin Highway Map; Wisconsin Aviation
Bulletin;
   Transit Trends; numerous highway safety films and leaflets (list available);
special reports and
   publications.
Number of Employes: 3,808.12.
Total Budget 1985-87: $1,711,745,200.
Statutory Reference: Section 15.46.
  History: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation was created in 1967
by the executive
branch reorganization act (Chapter 75). The units merged into the department
were the High-
way Commission, originally created by Chapter 337, Laws of 1911, when the
Legislature autho-
rized state aid for road building; the former Aeronautics Commission, established
by Chapter
513, Laws of 1945 (although the state had actively participated in aeronautics
since 1937 through
several predecessor agencies); and the former Motor Vehicle Department, created
in 1939 when
Chapter 410 consolidated functions of several other agencies into one department.
  The 1967 reorganization act also transferred to the department the Governor's
Council on
Traffic Law Enforcement, created by Chapter 232, Laws of 1965, and named
it the Council on
Traffic Law Enforcement.
  Chapter 500, Laws of 1969, defined the lines of authority within the department,
which was
headed by the secretary and consisted of the Division of Aeronautics, the
Division of Highways
under the Highway Commission, and the Division of Motor Vehicles. Under authority
given to
the secretary, the department subsequently organized two additional divisions:
the Division of
Planning and the Division of Business Management, mostly with personnel from
the original
three.
  Chapter 29, Laws of 1977, transferred transportation regulation from the
Public Service Com-
mission to an independent Transportation Commission, reconstituted from the
Highway Com-
mission, which was attached to the department for administrative purposes;
and vested statutory
responsibilities and accountability with the department rather than specific
divisions, thus pro-
viding the secretary with program authority for fulfilling his or her assigned
budgetary
responsibility.
  1977 Chapter 29 also eliminated a statutory requirement for Divisions of
Motor Vehicles and
Aeronautics, although requiring the department to maintain district offices
throughout the state.
It eliminated gubernatorially appointed division heads, giving that authority
to the secretary and
enabling the secretary, with the governor's approval, to organize the department
to promote