Government Relations
Legislative Update
January 10, 2003
Four Regent Appointments Withdrawn
Gov. Doyle late Monday withdrew the appointments Regents James Klauser, Phyllis Krutsch, Gerard Randall, Jr. and Lolita Schneiders.
Governor Doyle Inaugurated
Governor Jim Doyle was sworn in at the State Capitol on Monday, January 6, 2003 at noon.
The state legislators were inaugurated at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2003 in the State Capitol. The most current legislative office and staff directories are available here:
Assembly http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/acc/images/PDFs/2003-04DirectoryD.pdf
Senate http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sosd.pdf
Doyle Asks for Budget Message Delay
Governor Doyle asked legislative leaders today to present his budget message to the Legislature on Tuesday, February 18, 2003. State statutes say the message should be presented on or before the last Tuesday in January, but may be delayed upon request of the governor to the Legislature.
Budget Overhaul Requested of Cabinet Secretaries
Governor Doyle has requested that cabinet secretaries to redo their budgets "and resubmit a significantly lower budget request than those submitted by the outgoing administration." The budget requests should be lower in terms of GPR spending. Doyle indicated that freezing spending and making cuts are two options the administration may take to balance the budget. Doyle also suggested that job cuts were planned and that the UW System will be part of the process.
Doyle Names Commerce Secretary
Governor Doyle announced the appointment of Cory Nettles, 32, an attorney at Quarles and Brady, as the secretary of the Dept of Commerce. At Quarles and Brady, he specialized in product liability and commercial litigation.
Senate Committee Members Named
Majority Leader Mary Panzer named Republican Senators Dale Schultz (Richland Center) and Rob Cowles (Green Bay) and Minority Leader Jon Erpenbach named Senators Roger Breske (Eland) and Chuck Chvala (Madison) to the Senate Higher Education and Tourism Committee.
Also named were members of the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. They include: Chair John Gard (Peshtigo), Dean Kaufert (Neenah), Steve Foti (Oconomowoc), Jim Kreuser (Kenosha), Mary Panzer (West Bend), Bob Welch (Redgranite), Alberta Darling (River Hills) and Jon Erpenbach (Middleton).
Information on the Web
UW System Government Relations:
http://www.uwsa.edu/govrel/
UW System Budget:
http://www.uwsa.edu/budplan/
Wisconsin Legislature on the Web
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
Prepared by Kerry Niemcek. For further information contact Margaret Lewis (608) 262-4464 or David Miller (608) 262-4463