Legislative Watch
Wisconsin's Biennial Budget Bill Pending
Laws in the Making
Here's a look at the State Bar of Wisconsin's
legislative priorities.
by Jenny Boese
GOV. SCOTT MCCALLUM INTROduced his first-ever budget bill on Feb. 20,
and the Legislature was quickly thrown into its budget season.
Introduced as companion legislation under Assembly Bill 144 and Senate
Bill 55, the budget bill immediately was referred to the State
Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance, arguably the most powerful
legislative committee due to its budget writing powers. Cochaired by
Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo), the
Finance Committee is charged with reviewing the budget and then voting
on each budget provision. After the Finance Committee crafts a budget,
the bill is sent to both houses of the Legislature for their action and,
in turn, to the governor.
State Bar Priorities
The State Bar will work with legislators throughout the budget
process on num-erous issues. Of those issues, the Bar's priority
positions include support of state funding for civil legal services, the
Office of the State Public Defender, and for establishing a court
interpreter program.
Civil Legal Services. The State Bar strongly
supports state funding of civil legal services for low-income
individuals and will work with legislators to include this funding in
the budget. During the development of last session's budget bill, the
Finance Committee provided $200,000 from the federal welfare block grant
and directed that that money be used for civil legal services. With the
influx of money, poverty firms across the state were able to serve 700
families' legal needs. A continuation of that appropriation was not
included in the 2001-02 budget.
To provide access to justice for all individuals regardless of
income, the State Bar is asking for $500,000 General Purpose Revenue for
civil legal services. Wisconsin is one of only a handful of states that
does not provide any state revenue for this purpose. Funding for civil
legal services is needed and will be used to help prevent homelessness,
to remove women and children from violent family situations, and to
protect senior citizens from fraud.
Office of the State Public Defender. The State Bar
and its Criminal Law Section strongly support funding of the Office of
the State Public Defender (SPD). The budget reduces the appropriation
for the SPD by $3.2 million (a 5 percent cut), which will mean the
elimination of SPD attorney positions, lengthy delays in payments, and
possibly a further reduction of the assigned counsel rate. All Americans
are afforded the right to counsel under the 6th Amend-ment to the U.S.
Constitution and the state cannot abrogate its constitutional duty to
provide for this representation.
The budget also excludes the requested, and long overdue, increase in
the private bar rate from the current $40 per hour to $70. This is the
rate held to be reasonable by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and codified
in Supreme Court Rule 81.02. This rate has received only a minimal
increase in 22 years.
Court Interpreters. The State Bar strongly supports
providing funding for court interpreters in the court system. This is a
priority for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In its budget request, the
court asked for $2 million to establish a court interpreter program and
increase the state reimbursement to counties for interpreter services.
The governor's budget bill only provided $50,000 to the interpreter
reimbursement fund and did not establish the program as requested by the
supreme court. The goal of the court interpreter program is to increase
funding and rates for interpreters, create a certification program for
court interpreters, and establish an educational program so that
interpreters understand court procedures, terms, and processes.
The State Bar and its practice sections have an interest in other
budget provisions. To learn more, contact Jenny Boese at the State Bar
at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6045, direct at (608) 250-6045, or email at jboese@wisbar.org.
Wisconsin Lawyer
