Bearing Down on the Budget: The Upcoming Biennium at a Glance

By Jennifer Boese

Feb. 12, 1997, marked the official unveiling of Gov. Thompson's 1997-98 budget. Traditionally thought of as a finance bill, this 2,000-plus page document continues the recent trend of incorporating more and more substantive policy items in with the dollars and cents of running state government.

Last biennium the fierce debate over some policy initiatives resulted in their removal from the budget and introduction as separate pieces of legislation. This budget again contains policy items ranging from agriculture to veterans affairs that will require legislative and public scrutiny. Here's a look at a few of the most significant policy items in the 1997-98 budget.

Crime and corrections

Among the most obvious changes in the governor's budget are the broad reforms made concerning crime. Coined as the Truth-in-Sentencing initiative, considerable alterations are made to current sentencing, probation and parole procedures in Wisconsin.

An idea that has been growing in popularity over the last several years, Truth-in-Sentencing is a direct outgrowth of political and practical realities of the crime dilemma. At the federal level, the demand for action resulted in enacting the "Crime Bill of 1994," which included federal grants for states seeking to initiate Truth-in-Sentencing programs. States such as Arizona, Missouri and North Carolina have already adopted variations of Truth-in-Sentencing, with Wisconsin about to do the same.

Under the governor's plan, Wisconsin's Truth-in-Sentencing initiative would include a "bifurcated" sentence: a sentence including an actual prison term followed by a period of community supervision (equaling at least 25 percent of the prison term but not longer than the maximum term allowable under law). Additionally, if an offender violates the conditions of community supervision, that individual may be returned to prison to serve more time (again, not longer than the maximum prison term allowable under the law). The budget also proposes significant increases in the maximum term of imprisonment in a series of felony classes:

• Class B felony - increase from 40 to 60 years
• Class BC felony - increase from 20 to 30 years
• Class C felony - increase from 10 to 15 years
• Class D felony - increase from 5 to 10 years
• Class E felony - increase from 2 to 5 years
• controlled substances - increases maximum term of sentences by 50 percent or one year, whichever is greater
• increases threshold for making crime of theft a felony from $1,000 to $1,500 (also provides for forgery, if under the new amount, to be a misdemeanor).

Finally, the budget provides that under a life imprisonment sentence, a judge must do one of three things: provide for community supervision upon serving 20 years, set a future date for eligibility sometime after serving 20 years or deny a community supervision option altogether.

Child support

The second important initiative in the governor's budget increases child support and maintenance collections in Wisconsin. To increase collections and comply with federal law, the budget establishes a system under which occupational, drivers, recreational and professional licenses or permits are withheld, nonrenewed, restricted or suspended for failure to make court-ordered payments.

Although Wisconsin already has established itself as a national leader in such collections, under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 states are required to nonrenew, revoke or suspend licenses for failure to comply with court-ordered payments. The individual is, however, allowed 20 days in which to request a hearing on the matter.

The budget also provides for the enforcement of a lien upon all property of a person in arrears. Again, the individual has 20 days in which a court hearing may be requested. Furthermore, the budget provides for a levy against the property of the obligor for enforcing these liens. The levy may be against the obligor's financial accounts, personal property or real property, with the levy extending to any property held jointly by third parties.

Additional child support provisions:

• change the presumption of paternity, voluntary acknowledgment of paternity and probable cause paternity provisions;
• allow for support intercept from retirement plans; and
• create a segregated support collections trust fund to be the depository of all support collected.

Education

From interdistrict choice, charter school and school-to-work programs to creating a standards development council within the governor's office, the focus on education is evident.

The desire to prepare Wisconsin schools and students for the 21st century led to the proposed board on technology for educational achievement in Wisconsin, whose goal is to promote the implementation, installation and maintenance of educational technology in schools. The budget includes funding for these technology projects through allocations of state money and a subsidized educational technology infrastructure loan program.

Additional education provisions:

• school aid formula to go sum certain for biennium; and
• authorizes the U.W. Board of Regents to exceed previously set salaries of certain university positions.

Other notable provisions:

• Creates a $20 delinquency victim and witness assistance surcharge on juveniles adjudicated delinquent (similar to what is currently imposed in adult court);
• increases justice information system fee: currently at $5 with 80 percent going to automated justice information systems. Will increase to $7 with approximately 57 percent to go to automated justice systems;
• removes requirement that Director of State Courts must establish and charge fees to certain court-related agencies for providing data processing services;
• creates four assistant DA positions - one each in Brown, Dane, Marathon and Milwaukee counties, to work on sexually violent person commitment law;
• allows in jointly held or Payable-on-Death (P.O.D.) accounts that state may collect for Medical Assistance (MA) paid on behalf of decedent by a transfer of affidavit process rather than through probate (limitations apply);
• lifts monthly limit for MA reimbursement for home health care, personal care and private-duty nursing services;
• creates new appeal process under MA program;
• creates right to review by patients (mental illness) if not found incompetent;
• provides for the Milwaukee County child welfare system to be administered by the Department of Health and Family Services;
• hanges Milwaukee County police arbitration laws;
• increases the cigarette tax by 5 cents per pack;
• extends sales tax to coin-operated laundry services and certain telecommunications services, among others; and
• initiates $20 million in fund grants for "brownfields," property currently contaminated where owner finds cost too prohibitive for immediate clean-up; creates a "brownfield" loan guarantee program within the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Association.

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