Report correctly enrolled on 11-7-2011.

Bill Number Act Number Publication Date

Read first time and referred:

The Honorable, The Legislature:

I am pleased to share with you this copy of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection biennial report for the 2009 - 2011 biennium.

The report is an overview of the department's diverse mission, which includes agriculture, animal health, food safety, consumer protection, farmland preservation, and soil conservation. Details on these programs are available from our website, at datcp.wi.gov.

The Honorable, The Legislature:

Wisconsin Act 36 restructured the administration of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs to provide that the head of the agency is now the Secretary instead of the Board of Veterans Affairs. In addition, it elevated the Department to a cabinet level agency whose Secretary is appointed by the Governor. You will notice the organizational chart and the agency description contained herein are outdated due to changes made by Act 36. The Act was published into law on July 27th and the end date for the information covered in this report was June 30th. For the sake of consistency, we kept the WDVA organizational structure and description in effect as of June 30th.

I am extremely proud to be the first ever cabinet level appointed Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and look forward to my team and I being able to utilize the new tools available to the Secretary's office to ensure the critical needs of Wisconsin's veterans and their dependents are met now and into the future. In pursuit of our mission, it is important to identify priorities so the Department can focus our efforts. Those three priorities are jobs, solvency and modernizing our outreach efforts to assist the 21st Century veteran. In order to provide the best possible service to our men and women who have served in uniform, these areas need to be addressed first and foremost. If a veteran is unemployed, we need to help him or her find a job; if in need of certain benefits, we need the program money to make sure they are taken care of. And, of course, in order to assist them with receiving the rightful benefits and help they need, we must find them. In order to accomplish these missions, we need to work hand in hand with key stakeholders, advocates, non-profits and veterans service organizations in a non-partisan and fiscally responsible manner.

Moving forward we will be taking a re-look at every program we administer, review all expenses we incur, and apply intense scrutiny to every decision we make. Through this process we will be able to find savings, improve efficiency, and eliminate waste which will ultimately serve our veterans better and help ease the burden on our state's strained budget.

Our vision is to improve our veterans' lives by focusing our efforts on being excellent in a few strategically pinpoint areas, rather than just be average at everything. When we achieve this vision, I am confident the drastically improved way services are delivered will be recognized by other agencies, the Governor's office, and the state legislature in such a way that it will become a model for the nation.

The Honorable, The Legislature:

In compliance with Wisconsin Statute 16.548, enclosed, please find the Wisconsin Office of Federal/State Relations quarterly report, to be submitted to the Legislature for the third quarter of 2011. This report provides information on the activities of the Office and the status of federal legislation of concern to the State of Wisconsin.

Please contact me if you have any questions about this material.

I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Higgins, Tim, of Appleton, as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, to serve for the term ending May 1, 2018.

I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Roberts, Gary, of Onalaska, as member of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, to serve for the term ending May 1, 2014.