101 days after the budget was due, the legislature
passed our 2007-09 budget. We are happy to report that the budget
includes a 10-year reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship
Fund at $86 million in 2011.
For more information on the new funding level
for Stewardship, see
the Oct. 25 Stewardship Alert here.
See
here for the budget bill history »
Read more about how the budget
process works »
How the Budget Bill Unfolded...
Governor Doyle's proposal to renew the state
Stewardship Fund at $105 million remains with the stalled budget...now
three months overdue.
The Conference
Committee is responsible for reconciling the wildly different
budgets that were passed by the Senate and Assembly to create
a compromise budget. See
this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article that describes the
many differences in the budgets.
With Wisconsin the last state in the nation
to pass their biennial budget, Governor Doyle is stepping in to
offer a compriomise budget. See an Oct. 8 Wisconsin
State Journal article for more information.
After the Conference Committee reconciles the
House and Senate versions of the budget, it goes back to each
house for approval. Finally, the budget goes to Governor Doyle
for his vetoes and approval.
Learn
what you can do to help protect the Stewardship Fund »
The Governor has said that he wants to see the
Legislature complete their budget deliberations by August 1. Initial
reactions from members of the conference committee is that it
will take longer than three weeks to reach a compromise budget.
On July 10, the Assembly passed their version
of the state budget that cuts Stewardship to $25 million per year
and removes much of the budget for other conservation measures.
The eight members of the powerful Conference Committee have been chosen. They include Joint Finance Committee chairs Senator Russ Decker (D-Weston) and Representative Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson), Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), and Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson (D-Beloit), Assembly Majority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon), Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser (D-Kenosha), Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), and Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar).
On June 26, the Senate passed a budget with no major alterations to Stewardship.
On June 8 the Joint Finance Committee took up Stewardship Fund reauthorization. Senator Alberta Darling broke ranks with other Republicans on the committee and joined with Democrats in opposing a motion that would have, among other things, frozen Stewardship at $60 million a year and allowed the program to sunset in 2010. Please thank JFC members for their pro-conservation vote on Stewardship. Click here to find out how »
Details on the Joint Finance Committee's Stewardship votes
Paper 555. Stewardship Reauthorization
Rep. Meyer (R-Eagle River) proposed alternatives A-6, B-1, C-3, D-1,2,3, (amended to include trapping) E-1-D, 2-D. These alternatives would have deleted the Governor’s request for Stewardship reauthorization. The motion failed, 7-9 (Republicans supporting; Democrats + Senator Darling opposing). Because the motion failed, the Governor's proposal stands.
Motion 371. (Decker/Hansen) Public Access to Stewardship Lands. The motion failed, 8-8 with Democrats supporting; Republicans opposing.
Paper 556. Stewardship earmark for boat access on Mirror Lake. No vote was taken, so the Governor’s request stands.
Motion 569. (Vos, Colon, Kestell, Stone) Stewardship earmarks for Jersey Valley Lake Dam, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District Greenseams flood management program and acquisition in Green Bay for a recreational trail. Adopted, 16-0.
Paper 557. Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program review (legislative oversight). Alternatives 1-a-2, b1, c-1, d-2, 2-c (Meyer/Stone) Not adopted, 8-8 (Republicans supporting; Democrats opposing). Alternative 2-A (Decker/Hansen) Not adopted, 8-8. (Democrats supporting; Republicans opposing)
Paper 558. Aids in lieu of property tax formula. Alternative 3 (Decker/Rhoades) Adopted, 16-0. This option retains current law.
Motion 567. (Suder/Meyer) Specifies that no more than 10% of Stewardship Funds can be spent to purchase parcels less than 10 acres in size. The motion failed, 7-9 (Republicans supporting; Democrats + Senator Darling opposing).
Motion 568. (Suder/Meyer) Stewardship land management. Adopted, 16-0. This authorizes the DNR to contract with non-profits, land trusts and private companies for land management.
On June 5, the Joint Finance Committee voted on paper #587, which deals with the Water Resources Account. A good-sized chunk of Gathering Waters' $150,000 state grant comes from this account. The Water Resources Account revenue comes from a tax on motorboat fuel, and this account balance has been decreasing since the repeal of gas tax indexing two years ago. In 2005-06, Gathering Waters' grant was decreased by $3,800 due to the low Water Resources Account balance.
Paper #587 examines ways to deal with the lapses in the Water Resources Account. The Committee chose Alternative 3, which decreases Gathering Waters' grant by a couple thousand dollars annually. This alternative also decreases the Lake Protection and Aquatic Invasive Grants by $279,800 in '07-'08 but by $0 in '08-'09.
On April 26, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau issued paper#576 on the Managed Forest Law Grants program (also called the Outdoor
Recreational Activities Land Acquisition Grant Program). The JFC
unanimously approved option #2 which creates the grant program,
removes $800,000 of funding for 2007-08, and keeps 2008-09 funding
at $1,000,000. Rep. Suder added a motion (#34) that requires all
lands purchased through the program to be open to hunting, fishing,
and trapping and only 10% of the property purchased could be in
parcels 10 acres or less. This motion passed 15-1. Motion #37,
also introduced by Suder would add JFC oversight to land purchases
made through this program. This motion was tabled.
On April 20, Senator Decker and Representative
Rhoades, the Joint Finance Committee co-chairs released an announcement
that they will work off the Governor's budget for the Department
of Natural Resources rather than from the status quo budget. This
is a tremendous boon for conservation issues as it means that
in order for a measure (like Stewardship Fund reauthorization)
to be changed from the Governor's recommendation, a majority
vote from members of the
Joint Finance Committee must vote against it. See the announcement here »
The Joint Finance Committee held hearings throughout
the state from March 20 through April 12 (click
here for a listing of hearing dates and locations). Many land
trusts attended these meetings or submitted written testimony.
Governor Doyle introduced his 2007-09 Biennial
Budget to the legislature on February 14. Reauthorization of the
Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund to 2020 at $105 million per year
is one of the items in his budget. Click
here for a summary of the land conservation initiatives in Governor
Doyle's budget »
