FRAMEWORK OF WISCONSIN GOVERNMENT


composite amendment approved by the majority party caucuses before passage.
When passed, it
is submitted to the governor for approval. He may either sign the measure,
veto it in its entirety
(this would probably not happen in the case of a budget bill), or - since
this is an appropriation
bill - veto it in part (partial veto). The budget covers the 2-year period
starting July 1 of the
odd-numbered year to June 30. In January 1988, only the Governor is directed
to submit a
budget bill incorporating any needed changes in appropriations or revenues
for the current bien-
nium. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1989, however, the budget message
will be delivered
and the budget bill or bills will be introduced in January of each odd-numbered
year, that is,
biennially. The change from a biennial to an annual budget for 1988 was enacted
by the 1987
Legislature.
  Increasing Services. Wisconsin has been a state for over 130 years. In
1848, the needs for state
government services were relatively simple in his annual report of 1849,
the Secretary of State
reported payments to only 14 people (including the 6 constitutional officers)
performing func-
tions for the State of Wisconsin comparable to today's executive branch.
In December 1986 full-
time employes numbered almost 54,000 with another 10,600 plus serving in
part-time, seasonal,
project, and graduate assistance positions.
  This growth is not necessarily inherent in government - even though it
is often alleged that
any bureaucracy will grow as long as it is permitted to grow - this growth
is primarily the result
of the ever-increasing size, development and complexity of the society in
which we live. Time
was when many did not have the opportunity to learn the "3Rs";
today, over 200,000 students
are enrolled full time or part time in the public and private universities
and colleges in Wisconsin
and almost 440,000 are enrolled in all types of vocational school programs
(over 75,000 opening
fall enrollment in diploma/Associate degree programs). Time was when the
"Watertown Plank
Road" constituted an unequaled technological advancement over the muddy
wagon trails of the
day - in 1985, the State of Wisconsin contained 97 publicly operated airports
and 108,370
thousand miles of highways and streets, of which 75% was paved with bituminous
or higher,
while its railroad mileage totaled 4,480. As recently as 1900, the average
U.S. life expectancy at
birth was 47.3 years - by 1985 (preliminary) it had reached 74.7 (71.2 years
for males and 78.2
for females) and is likely to go higher. As the population increases and
lives longer, the need for
governmental services may increase rather than diminish. We are faced with
the problems of
educational improvement, mature industries and economic development, revenue
distribution,
transportation needs, health care, and environmental pollution - there cannot
be a complete
catalog because each succeeding day brings new problems and every new generation
has to face
up to them.
  Factors have entered the picture, however, that may indicate a countertrend.
With the end of
the postwar baby boom, enrollments declined on the elementary school level.
At the same time,
there appears to be a protest against ever-increasing taxes and fear of the
effect of taxes on
attracting and keeping industry, forcing governments to examine their services
more closely.
Services may decline instead of increase or may increase less rapidly than
in recent years.
   Structural Changes. Although the framework of Wisconsin government remains
substantially
as provided by the Constitution, the size of government has vastly increased
with the develop-
ment of the state. Obviously, the principle of the division of power among
the 3 branches within
the state government is a concept firmly rooted in the American system. Within
the framework,
however, change is constantly occurring in the allocation of functions among
the agencies of the
executive branch of the state government, in the organization and operation
of agencies of the
legislative branch, and in the number and functions of courts in the judicial
branch.
                                 Local Units of Government
   In order to carry out its numerous responsibilities, every state has created
subordinate units.
These subordinate units are the creation of state law and may be abolished
by state law, or
changed, or given increased powers and duties. In Wisconsin, these subordinate
units of govern-
ment consist of counties, towns, villages, cities, school districts, and
special districts. Each unit,
within the limits established by state law, has the power to tax and to make
legally binding rules
for the government of its own affairs.
   Counties. Wisconsin has 72 counties. Together, they comprise the entire
territory of the state.
The government of each county is located in a municipality in the county
called the county seat
and in a building called the county courthouse. Although our state constitution
does not invest


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