Capitol Commentary
by James L. Palmer, II
WPPA Assistant Executive Director & Director of Governmental Affairs

As the April issue of the Wisconsin Police Journal reaches each of our members, there is a flurry of legislative activity occurring at the State Capitol in Madison. The legislature began its two-year session in January, and lawmakers are busy introducing a wide variety of bills affecting the WPPA membership. Most prominent among them is Wisconsin’s two-year $58 billion state budget.

The WPPA’s Preliminary State Budget Review

Introduced on February 13 by Governor Jim Doyle, the proposed budget attempts to increase the state’s commitment to local governments while continuing to be sensitive to the need to control property taxes.

Among the initiatives included in the proposed 2007-2009 budget are:

• An increase in shared revenue funding to local governments by $15 million;

• An increase in the allowable local government levy limit from 2 to 4 percent;

• An expansion of statistical analysis efforts in support of cost-effective criminal sentencing;

• An increase in funding for monitoring serious child sex offenders;

• An increase in funding to address the backlog of processing DNA evidence at the state crime labs;

• An increase in resources for better sentencing, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders; and An increase in staffing for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The Governor’s budget will be modified by the Joint Committee on Finance before receiving consideration in each house of the legislature. With the State Senate controlled by Democrats, and the State Assembly controlled by Republicans, the budget process will likely result in a conference committee, whereby members from each house come together to resolve their differences. This process will probably take much longer than it has in recent years, and may very well not conclude until sometime in the early fall of this year.

Despite the fact that the budget will dominate the next several months, numerous WPPA bills are already seeing some legislative action.

Military Service Credits Bill

On March 7, the Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs approved Assembly Bill 43 to provide employees participating in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) with credit for military service served at any time. Current law only provides WRS credit for service that occurred prior to 1974. During the committee hearing on AB 43, several legislators commented that they had been contacted by our members. After listening to testimony, all of the committee members present voted to approve this bill. Special thanks go out to Captain Dale Weiss of the Wauwatosa Police Department, who personally traveled to Madison to testify on behalf of this important piece of legislation.

If you took the time to contact a state lawmaker, then your efforts paid off. If you did not get an opportunity to contact a legislator on this bill, then I encourage you do so today. AB 43 will now be referred to the Joint Committee on Retirement Systems, which is led by State Senator Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) and State Representative Suzanne Jeskewitz (R-Menomonee Falls). In order for this bill to be granted a hearing so that it can be considered on the floor of the legislature, the committee co-chairs must hear from you. Contact information for Senator Wirch and Representative Jeskewitz, as well as more information about AB 43, is available on the WPPA website.

Arbitration of Discipline Bill

On April 5, 2007, the Assembly Committee on Corrections and the Courts will vote on legislation to allow town, village, and city police officers to negotiate for the right to appeal Police and Fire Commission (PFC) disciplinary decisions to an arbitrator. Current law only allows appeals to a circuit court. This process can be very lengthy and costly for both the employer and the officer.

Introduced by State Representative Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay), Assembly Bill 57 would provide municipal law enforcement officers with the opportunity to appeal the decision of a PFC to an arbitrator, rather than to a circuit court, if permitted in the officers' collective bargaining agreement.

Arbitration of discipline is already permitted for other public employees, including county law enforcement officers. The labor rights afforded the men and women of Wisconsin’s law enforcement community should not depend upon the color of the uniform they wear. Current law allows for this illogical and inequitable result.

Last session, this bill was overwhelmingly passed by the State Assembly, after which it was stonewalled by two State Senate committee chairmen, Senators Tom Reynolds and Ron Brown. While both of those lawmakers lost their bids for reelection in 2006, this bill must start from the beginning in this new session. In order for AB 57 to get a vote on the Assembly floor, it must first win the approval of this committee. WPPA members must again get involved and contact the members of this committee. As with the military service credits legislation, contact information for the Assembly committee members, along with background information on AB 57, is available on the WPPA website. Please take a minute to learn how you can help us secure this bill’s passage into law, which is long overdue.

Promoting the State’s “Move-Over” Law

Along with several other law enforcement representatives, State Senator Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) and I gathered in late February at a Milwaukee press event to announce the beginning of a new public service billboard campaign in Milwaukee County to promote Wisconsin’s “Move-Over” Law.

The “Move-Over” Law requires drivers to move over a lane or reduce their speed if a lane change is not safe when passing any emergency or maintenance vehicle stopped on the side of the road or in traffic. Two outdoor advertising companies, Lamar Advertising and Clear Channel, agreed to be a part of the project, even designing and displaying the warning signs for free.

The public awareness campaign is the result of recent events, like the tragic accident that injured [Milwaukee County] Deputy Timothy Johnson, which demonstrated that drivers need to be reminded that Wisconsin law requires them to slow down and move over when they see emergency vehicles.

According to Law Enforcement Memorial Fund statistics, 151 law enforcement officers were killed on the job last year, with traffic-related incidents claiming more lives than any other cause of death.

Ziegler for Supreme Court

On February 14, the WPPA announced its endorsement of Washington County Circuit Court Judge Annette Ziegler in her bid for the Supreme Court. The WPPA made its endorsement after soliciting the input of its membership and interviewing the candidates. Judge Ziegler went on to handily win the February 20 primary election, and faced Madison attorney Linda Clifford in the April 3 general election. The winner will fill the vacancy on the Court created with the retirement of Justice Jon Wilcox. Supreme Court justices serve ten-year terms.

While this election features some very qualified candidates, the WPPA Political Action Committee (PAC) found Judge Ziegler’s knowledge of the law to be second to none. Having served as a circuit court judge for almost ten years, Ziegler is the only candidate with experience as a state and federal prosecutor, in addition to having worked in private practice.

Pension Increases Announced

In February, the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) announced that the 137,000 retired state and local government employees covered under the WRS will receive a pension increase this year. As reported in greater detail on page 37 of the April issue of the Wisconsin Police Journal, the rate increases are effective May 1. You may not know that the WPPA is a member of the Wisconsin Coalition of Annuitants (WCOA), which is a group of employee organizations that monitors the WRS. As the only statewide law enforcement organization to belong to this body, the WPPA closely follows the decisions of the DETF and SWIB so as to gauge their impact on the WPPA membership.

In Closing . . .

The Wisconsin Ethics Board recently reported that the most lobbied issue of the 2005-2006 legislative session was a draconian proposal to limit the ability of local governments to fund the services their citizens expect and deserve. Had this become law, public employees all across Wisconsin would have suffered layoffs and lower wages. The Ethics Board reported that the three leading opponents of that measure, which was ultimately unsuccessful, were the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the AARP, and the WPPA.

With nearly 11,000 members from more than 375 local associations, the WPPA is a leading advocate for those dedicated men and women who serve their communities. When the WPPA beats back legislative efforts to allow employers to unilaterally modify your health insurance or gets the law changed to protect you and your family’s financial interests should you be subjected to an inquest, WPPA membership doesn’t cost, it pays. As a WPPA member, you have the ability to maintain an identity and presence that extends beyond the limits of your community. We encourage you to check us out on the web at www.wppa.com for frequent updates as to how we are working to represent you in matters at the State Capitol. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. In order for the WPPA to continue to strengthen its ability to influence legislation affecting you, we will need members willing to play a more active role in the matters confronting their interests. In that vein, I encourage you to stay safe, stay informed, and stay in touch.