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12/11/2007
Down with fund transfers
Assembly Joint Resolution 34 would prevent those lousy budget fund transfers, and is among the many items placed on the docket for action today by the Assembly. Introduced in March by Rep. “Doc” Hines (R-Oxford), it’s brilliant and needs to be passed.
You know all that slight-of-hand stuff used by the governor and the legislature as funny money to balance the budget. Like money raised from tipping fees for the Recycling Fund – that then gets handed over for General Fund spending. Or the granddaddy of all fund transfers – gas taxes piling up in the Transportation Fund are just too much to resist a raid by the governor and the legislature. So the fund gets raided to put money into the General Fund – and then the state needs to borrow to get the money it needs to build the roads that are supposed to be built using the Transportation Fund. Grrrr again. And all that borrowing has put us in one of the worst debt positions in the country.
And another big one this time around– the $200 million stolen from the Patients’ Compensation Fund – which is most likely illegal. Docs are already suing to get their money back.
All because politicians can’t resist a pile of money sitting around – no matter that the pile might have a purpose.
So here’s the important part of the legislation – per the Leg. Reference Bureau’s analysis: …a state fund…may not be lapsed, transferred, or expended in any manner that would conflict with the purpose of the fund or account.”
Amazingly logical. Nevertheless the City of Milwaukee is objecting because of a $4M transfer to libraries that might be prevented by this legislation. Yes, money for libraries is important – but $4M in the scheme of a $billion worth of errant transfers is a red herring.
Representatives supporting AJR 34 or SJR 24 – and good government - include: Hines, Albers, Ballweg, Bies, Gunderson, Hahn, Jeskewitz, Kerkman, F. Lasee, Mursau, Musser, Suder, Townsend, Van Roy and Vukmir (all Republicans).
Senators sponsoring both pieces of legislation are Senators Breske, Harsdorf, Darling, Kapanke, Olsen, Plale, Roessler, Schultz and Wirch (A bipartisan group, Roger Breske, Jeff Plale and . Bob Wirch are Democrats.)
As a proposed constitutional amendment, AJR 34 requires adoption by two successive legislatures, and ratification by a vote of the people before it can become effective. Sad to say, the identical bill in the Senate (SJR 24) has gone nowhere since referred to Joint Finance in mid-March. Geez.
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