Legislators Looking to Take Next Step to Eliminate State Treasurer

Legislators Looking to Take Next Step to Eliminate State Treasurer  

During the 2015-16 session, the Legislature passed Assembly Joint Resolution 5 which starts the process of amending the state constitution to eliminate the office of the state treasurer.  AJR 5 adds the lieutenant governor to the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which administers the Common School Fund, as a replacement for the state treasurer. To complete the process of amending the state constitution, an identical resolution must be passed during the 2017-18 legislative session and then approved by voters in a statewide referendum.

Representative Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh) and Senator Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) are circulating a co-sponsorship memo to formally introduce the resolution this session and schedule a referendum vote for the April 2018 election.

The question posed to voters would read:

QUESTION 1:  “Elimination of state treasurer.  Shall sections 1 and 3 of

article VI and sections 7 and 8 of article X of the constitution be amended, and section

17 of article XIV of the constitution be created, to eliminate the office of state

treasurer from the constitution and to replace the state treasurer with the lieutenant

governor as a member of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands?"

The deadline for legislators to sign on to the bill as co-sponsors is January 23, 2017.

You can read the memo here and a copy of the resolution draft here.

Bill Would Add Proceeds from Selling Forfeited Property to the Common School Fund

Senator David Craig (R-Big Bend) is circulating a bill for co-sponsorship that would makes changes to Wisconsin’s forfeiture laws. One of the proposed changes is to place all proceeds from the sale of forfeited property in the Common School Fund.

Under current law, the agency that seized the property may retain a set percentage of the proceeds of selling the property to cover administrative and other costs and the remainder goes into the state school fund.