Friday Update July 30, 2004

TABOR Dead for Now, Inaction Delays TABOR Until January 2005

Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer announced at last Wednesday that the Senate did not have the necessary 17 votes to pass SJR-76 the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), therefore she cancelled the extraordinary legislative session.  Since the deadline for passing legislation was also Wednesday – canceling the vote essentially kills TABOR for this session.  However, we should all be cautious and be mindful that TABOR is not truly dead.  The legislature will return in January 2005 to begin the new 2005-07 biennial session and the mood among the majority of Republicans, who currently control both houses of the legislature, is that some type of spending\taxing reform or TABOR-like proposal needs to pass in 2005.  Even those state senators and assembly legislators that did not support the current TABOR Constitutional Amendment have stated that want to see some type of spending and tax reform proposal pass in 2005.


Important Dates to Remember

Wisconsin Council on Long-Term Care
August 13, 2004
September 10, 2004
October 8, 2004
November 12, 2004
December 10, 2004

Wisconsin Council on Long-Term Care
Residential Options Task Force
August 20, 2004
September 17, 2004
October 15, 2004
November 19, 2004
December TBA, 2004

2004 Wisconsin Elections
September 14, 2004: Partisan Primary (state elections)
November 2, 2004: Presidential and General Elections (federal and state-wide elections)


Long-Term Care in the News

Appleton Post Crescent (July 30, 2004)
Court: Sexual contact laws don’t apply to VA
State laws prohibiting medical workers from having sexual contact with patients don’t apply to employees at a federal veterans’ hospital, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled Thursday.  Medical facilities must be licensed or approved by the state Department of Health and Family Services for those statutes to apply, the 4th District Court of Appeals ruled in dismissing a sexual assault charge against John F. Powers. The court reversed La Crosse County Circuit Judge Dennis Montabon’s ruling.
http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_17116808.shtml

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 29, 2004)
Board votes to keep county in charge of Family Care program
Walker's push to involve private agency rejected
Flexing its muscle again, the Milwaukee County Board moved Thursday to keep the county at the helm of the financially troubled Family Care program for the elderly.  The board voted 18-1 to submit a bid to the state that, if accepted, would allow the county's Department on Aging to retain sole control of the program. In doing so, the board rejected County Executive Scott Walker's plan to have the county and a private agency jointly oversee the program.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jul04/247398.asp

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 29, 2004)
Group home for mentally ill is canceled: Finances, neighbors' opposition cited
Town of Cedarburg - The plan to operate a group home for people with chronic mental illnesses in a farmhouse on Highway NN has been dropped, and the house is for sale.  Gerard Baumgartner, a psychiatric nurse at Columbia St. Mary's, Ozaukee Campus, said a number of obstacles, including finances and neighbor opposition, forced his dream for the non-profit home from becoming reality.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/jul04/247388.asp

Wausau Daily Herald (July 29, 2004)
Nursing school options expand for students
Central Wisconsin nurses who want to stay close to home find the increasing number of educational options a blessing.   The array of programs, from two-year associate's degrees to bachelor's and master's degree programs, is nearly as diverse as the jobs nurses find in hospitals, clinics, the public sector and private enterprises.  Additional options soon could exist in Wausau. The University of Wisconsin Marathon County last week proposed a program that would offer a four-year bachelor's degree in nursing in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/281094355640626.shtml

Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter (July 29, 2004)
$20 Mil. building projects launched: Holy Family expansion set at center, Harbor Town
Holy Family Memorial officials said Wednesday the health network is going to create a larger “Harbor Town Campus” than first envisioned last fall. A medically-based fitness center will be part of an 86,000-square-foot building on the west side of Manitowoc, on land that that once included the county nursing home.
http://www.wisinfo.com/heraldtimes/news/archive/local_17099517.shtml

Milwaukee Business Journal (July 25, 2004)
Health care bonds reach record highs: Hospitals issue $930 million in 2004
Wisconsin hospitals and health care organizations issued a record level of bonds totaling $930 million during the current fiscal year, meaning construction and development activity will be strong for the foreseeable future.  Of those issues, about $707 million constitutes new debt to support construction, while $223 million was used to refinance existing, higher-priced debt for the fiscal year that ends June 30, said Larry Nines, executive director of the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority, Brookfield.
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/06/28/story3.html