McCallum may kill off caucuses
8:16 PM 8/04/01
Scott Milfred State government reporter
Gov. Scott McCallum is considering a veto or partial veto of the $4 million-a-year legislative caucus system, he told the Wisconsin State Journal late last week.
McCallum also addressed touchy budget issues including a "no-call" list for telemarketers, a partial split of the Department of Natural Resources and extra state aid for Lafayette County.
McCallum said he'll finish his veto work by the end of the month, trimming spending, tinkering with budget language and perhaps revealing a few surprises.
"I'm going to go through the budget with a fine-tooth comb, look at every spot, including some things that haven't had as much attention," McCallum said Friday. "I'm going to look at the caucuses. I'm going to look at every possibility that I can."
Critics say McCallum is dawdling with his veto pen to maximize publicity and improve his chances of winning the 2002 gubernatorial election. McCallum plans to travel the state in the coming weeks announcing vetoes as well as sections of the budget he'll keep in tact.
"It's politics," said Steve Kean, executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "He's selectively traveling the state doing stump speeches."
McCallum, who can slice out individual words, sentences or entire sections of the budget as well as cross out and reduce the size of numbers, said he's moving through the veto process as fast as he can. Department of Administration officials are still analyzing details of the $47 billion, two-year state spending plan approved by the Legislature last week, he said. By law, the governor also must draft a message to accompany each veto explaining his intent.
"This is not a simple process where you say: 'Here it is, we're done,'" the governor said. "This is a laborious process. And again, there are very important issues. The public deserves to be heard."
Since getting the budget, the governor's office has been flooded with 500 to 600 telephone calls a day, 200 to 800 daily e-mails and hundreds of letters and faxes hoping to sway his opinion. Many community leaders, legislators and lobbyists also jockey for office visits.
"There are a lot of specifics in the budget, and he could make friends and influence people or lose a lot of potential support by how he exercises his veto authority," said Dennis Dresang, a UW-Madison political science professor.
McCallum, as a state senator in 1981, briefly made headlines by calling for an end to the legislative caucus system. He couldn't do much about it then. But as governor, he now has the power to eliminate or shrink the caucus system that several lawmakers and former staffers say is corrupt.
Four caucus offices - one each for the Democrats and Republicans in both the Assembly and Senate - were created decades ago to help legislative leaders research issues. But a Wisconsin State Journal investigation in May found the caucus staffs routinely engage in campaign activity on state time and with state resources, in possible violation of state ethics and campaign finance laws.
Without being asked about the caucuses Friday, McCallum volunteered that they were an area being "looked at" for possible vetoes. He wouldn't elaborate on the seriousness or scope of his intentions.
McCallum acknowledged that the creation of a "no-call" list for people who don't want to be bothered by telemarketers has generated public interest. Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, pushed to create the state list as part of the budget. It would bar telemarketers from calling anyone who registered their name and phone number with the state.
Insurance companies and other business interests, many of them key Republican backers, are urging a veto.
"I'm going to listen to all sides of this to protect consumers," the governor said Friday. "At the same time, I'm going to make sure this economy continues to grow. That means our insurance industry is important in Wisconsin and the jobs associated with that. That means jobs in brokerage firms, jobs in small businesses. All of these are very important."
Another tough decision is whether to pluck forestry-related services out of the Department of Natural Resources to create a separate Department of Forestry. Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, lumber companies and some retired state foresters support the idea, but many environmental and outdoor sports groups are opposed.
"I'm going to listen to a number of people," McCallum said. "I will talk again to John Gard and Assembly Republicans, some of whom may have felt strongly about this. (I'll) get their rationale for it and make my decision."
McCallum said he sympathizes with the difficulties Lafayette County is having with its tax base. The county lost more than $40 million in property value last year because of a change in how farmland is assessed.
McCallum hasn't decided if he'll steer an extra $1.2 million in annual state aid to the county, as proposed by Rep. Steve Freese, R-Dodgeville. That would pull dollars away from other parts of the state, especially Milwaukee.
"The tradeoff is, do you help some people and hurt others?" the governor asked.
Democrats plan to scrutinize every slice McCallum makes into the budget, looking for potential campaign issues. They're particularly anxious to see if the Republican governor vetoes the "no-call" list.
"This is something Joe Sixpack is concerned about," Dresang said. "It's something very annoying to a lot of people. He has to be very careful with what he does on this one."
McCallum is probably grateful that he won't have to deal with a proposed ban on stem-cell research, Dresang said. Legislative leaders nixed the idea before the budget reached the governor's desk.
McCallum has pledged not to change a prescription drug plan for people 65 and older that's part of the budget. He also has promised to reduce the student-per-teacher ratio in many kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.