Representative Krug rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 1 to assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 5, January 1991 Spec.Sess., [relating to dangerous weapons and providing penalties] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
187 [Note:] The original bill eliminated the court's discretion to substitute probation for the statutory minimum sentences for crimes committed while using or threatening the use of a dangerous weapon, resulting in mandatory minimum imprisonment, and provided for a minimum imprisonment on conviction for misdemeanors involving a dangerous weapon.
A.Sub.Amdt-1 accomplished the same purpose as the proposal by making more specific the conditions for mandatory imprisonment, and by limiting to certain specified conditions the court's discretion to substitute probation.
A.Amdt-1 to A.Sub.Amdt-1 attempted to expand the proposal by applying mandatory minimum sentences not only to offenses involving dangerous weapons, but also to crimes and misdemeanors committed with the help of a motor vehicle operated after revocation or suspension of the defendant's drivers license. An amendment that substantially expands the scope of the proposal is not germane; A.Rule 54 (3) (f).
A.Sub.Amdt-4 further refined the conditions for mandatory imprisonment and continued the limited court discretion for substituting probation.
A.Amdt-2 to A.Sub.Amdt-4, requiring notification of all victims in case probation was substituted, attempted to address a different individual proposition; A.Rule 54 (3) (a).
A.Amdt-3 to A.Sub.Amdt-4, a hand-written floor amendment requiring the court to publish its reasons in each case of substituting probation for mandatory minimum incarceration "in the county newspaper of record", might have been considered frivolous and inadmissible under A.Rule 54 (2).
Point of order:
Representative Travis rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 2 to assembly substitute amendment 4 to Assembly Bill 5, January 1991 Spec.Sess., was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
The chair ruled the point of order well taken.
Point of order:
Representative Travis rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 3 to assembly substitute amendment 4 to Assembly Bill 5, January 1991 Spec.Sess., was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
The chair ruled the point of order well taken.
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Senate Journal of June 2, 1992 .......... Page: 1006
[Point of order:]
Senator Van Sistine raised the point of order that Senate amendment 1 [to Assembly Bill 6, April 1992 Spec.Sess., relating to restricting gambling conducted by the state to the forms of gambling that the state is currently conducting, creating a council on charitable gaming, and the forms of gambling that may be conducted by Indians on tribal lands] was not germane.
[Note:] The purpose of the bill was limited to defining the types of gambling permitted in this state as part of the "state lottery" and to enumerate the types of gambling that remained prohibited.
S.Amdt-1, which was adopted (rejection had failed 13 to 20) and enacted as part of 1991 WisAct 321, restricts the legislature's law-making power by prohibiting the consideration by either house of any bill to legalize one of the prohibited forms of gambling unless: 1) the legislature first enacts a bill for a statewide advisory referendum on that form of gambling; and 2) the people, by voting on the question, authorize legislative consideration of legalizing that form of gambling.
For a contrary ruling, see Ably.Jour. of 5/5/92 at p. 1175.
The Chair [President Risser] ruled the point not well taken.
Senate Journal of March 25, 1992 .......... Page: 795
[Point of order:]
188 Senator Van Sistine raised the point of order that Senate amendment 13 to Senate substitute amendment 2 to Senate Bill 308 [relating to the alcohol concentration of vehicle operators] is not germane.
[Note:] 1991 Senate Bill 308 proposed to establish 2 levels of "prohibited alcohol concentration" for motor vehicle operators: for a first or 2nd offense,
retain the existing .10% level, but for any 3rd or subsequent offense, anything over .08% would be evidence of drunkenness.
S.Amdt-13 was a floor amendment that tried to change the threshold after the first offense during a 10-year period, but that managed to wipe out the .10% threshold for a first offense and appeared to require a person to maintain a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more "for a period of 10 years after the first offense" to demonstrate a prohibited alcohol concentration.
Even if S.Amdt-13 had been properly drafted, its adoption would have been a nongermane expansion of the scope of the proposal because the number of persons who may commit a 2nd drunk driving offense is greater than the number of persons who may commit a 3rd or subsequent drunk driving offense.
The Chair [President Risser] ruled the point well taken.
Senate Journal of February 27, 1992 .......... Page: 686
[Point of order:]
Senator Moen raised the point of order that Senate substitute amendment 2 [to Assembly Bill 655, relating to establishing a group health insurance plan for employes of small employers, creating a board to oversee the plan, creating a fund for catastrophic claims and a catastrophic claims fund board, creating an individual income tax deduction for certain medical care insurance costs paid by certain self-employed persons, granting rule-making authority and making an appropriation] was not germane.
[Note:] S.Sub.Amdt-2 to 1991 AB 655, which substituted a universal health plan affecting all residents of Wisconsin for the limited "health insurance plan for employes of small employers" of the original proposal, was a nongermane expansion of the proposal's scope and altered the nature of the proposal.
The Chair [President Risser] ruled the point well taken.
Senate Journal of February 25, 1992 .......... Page: 665
[Point of order:]
Senator Chvala raised the point of order that Senate amendment 2 [to Assembly Bill 388, relating to limits on wrongful death actions for loss of society and companionship] was not germane.
The Chair [President Risser] ruled the point of order well taken.
189 [Note:] S.Amdt-2 attempted to expand the scope of the proposal by including, under the wrongful death award ceiling of section 895.04, any medical malpractice award "recoverable under ch. 655 for wrongful death".
S.Amdt-3 attempted to impose a $16,500 ceiling on attorneys' fees in "any settlement or award for loss of society and companionship".
S.Amdt-4 required that the amount of any damages for loss of society and companionship be deducted from "any other awards made to that person for economic or noneconomic damages arising out of the wrongful death action".
[Point of order:]
Senator Chvala raised the point of order that Senate amendment 3 [to Assembly Bill 388] was not germane.
The Chair ruled the point of order well taken.
[Point of order:]
Senator Chvala raised the point of order that Senate amendment 4 [to Assembly Bill 388] was not germane.
The Chair ruled the point of order well taken.
Senate Journal of February 6, 1992 .......... Page: 618
[Point of order:]
Senator Burke raised the point of order that Senate amendment 1 to Senate substitute amendment 1 [to Senate Bill 401, relating to duties of the regional transportation authority concerning public transit security] was not germane.
The Chair [President Risser] ruled the point well taken.
[Note:] 1991 WisAct 39, the biennial budget, directed the counties of Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha to create a regional transportation authority. The authority was required to submit its recommendations on certain issues to the governor and legislature in November 1992.
While original 1991 SB 401 proposed to include in the authority's responsibilities "transit security and other public safety considerations of transit programs", S.Sub.Amdt-1 reduced the scope so that the creation of a transit security force would be just one of the issues on which the authority was to submit its November 1992 recommendations.
S.Amdt-1 expanded the scope of the proposal as contained in the substitute by mandating annual budgets for the regional transportation authority, to take effect only if approved in a region-wide referendum at annual November elections.
S.Amdt-2 expanded the scope of the proposal as contained in the substitute by mandating 2 referenda to be held in each county within the authority at the November 1992 election. The first referendum was to require a county board to withdraw from the authority unless a majority of the votes on that issue, within the county, authorized continued participation. The 2nd referendum prohibited the creation of a transit security force unless a majority of the votes cast, within all the counties of the authority, authorized the creation of a transit security force.
[Point of order:]
Senator Burke raised the point of order that Senate amendment 2 to Senate substitute amendment 1 [to Senate Bill 401] was not germane.
190 The Chair ruled the point well taken.
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Assembly Journal of March 20, 1990 .......... Page: 941
Point of order:
Representative Duff rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 24, Oct. 1989 Spec. Sess., [relating to eliminating the sunset of the limit on medical malpractice noneconomic damages] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f) [substantial expansion of scope].
The speaker [Loftus] ruled the point of order well taken.
[Note:] Oc9-AB 24 was limited to the elimination of a sunset date from 2 statutes restricting medical malpractice noneconomic damage awards to $1,000,000. Eliminating the sunset made the maximum permanent.
A.Sub-1 removed the sunset date from the same 2 statutes and, in addition, reduced the maximum amount to $250,000.
Under existing law, the maximum amount was to be adjusted annually by the director of state courts to reflect changes in the consumer price index for a probable increase in the dollar figure. A.Sub-2 also removed the sunset date from the same 2 statutes and, beginning with the act's effective date, held the maximum amount to $1,000,000 so that the actual value of the maximum was reduced over time by the rate of inflation.
Point of order:
Representative Hauke rose to the point of order that assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 24, Oct. 1989 Spec. Sess. was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The speaker ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of November 1, 1989 .......... Page: 427
Point of order:
Representative Wood rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 588 [relating to unauthorized release of animals and providing a penalty] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3).
[Note:] The bill imposed penalties for the unauthorized release of animals "lawfully confined for farming, commercial or exhibition purposes".
A.Amdt-1 expanded the proposal's scope by prohibiting also the release of animals lawfully confined for scientific or educational purposes.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of October 31, 1989 .......... Page: 417
Point of order:
191 Representative Hubler rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 3 to assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 429 [relating to establishing an
emergency medical services fee to be collected by the department of transportation, creating an emergency medical services assistance board, funding local emergency medical services, training and administrative support and technical assistance for emergency medical services, revising regulation of emergency medical services personnel, granting rule-making authority and making appropriations] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3).
[Note:] A.Amdt-3 to A.Sub.Amdt-1 expanded the scope - nongermane under A.Rule 54 (3) (f) - of the proposal by proposing to add the creation of "an injury prevention program" to the bill which was limited to changes in emergency medical services.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of June 27, 1989 .......... Page: 255
Point of order:
Representative Krug rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 15 to Senate Bill 65 [relating to the authority of a metropolitan sewerage district established by a 1st class city to recover capital costs and to expand its boundaries] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
[Note:] The purpose of 1989 SB 65 was to remedy "procedural defects in the enactment of 1983 WisAct 27 and 1985 WisAct 29, and thereby validate the authority of the Milw. metropolitan sewerage district (MMSD) to recover capital costs and expand its boundaries.
A.Amdt-15 proposed to divert $22,323,900 of the moneys recovered by MMSD to provide point source pollution abatement grants to 26 cities, towns, villages, Indian tribes, town sanitary districts and metropolitan sewerage districts throughout the state.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of June 27, 1989 .......... Page: 249
Point of order:
Representative Krusick rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 112 [relating to pay and benefits to deputy sheriffs suspended or dismissed in populous counties] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
[Note:] The bill, limited to Milwaukee county, prohibited suspension or dismissal of a deputy sheriff, without pay or benefits, until the matter was disposed of by the civil service commission and the time for beginning an appeal expired.
A.Amdt-2 removed the Milwaukee county limitation and proposed to make similar procedures available statewide.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
192Assembly Journal of May 25, 1989 .......... Page: 186
Point of order:
Representative Fortis rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 6 to Assembly Bill 129 [relating to the coverage and enforcement of the clean indoor air law and providing a penalty] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
[Note:] The bill added private offices and prisons to the list of places where smoking is prohibited. It also created a $25 fine for violation of the no-smoking law.
A.Amdt-6 proposed to add "use or nonuse of tobacco for smoking" to the statutory listing of unfair discrimination in employment practices.
The chair [Rep. Clarenbach, speaker pro tem] ruled the point of order well taken.
Assembly Journal of April 26, 1989 .......... Page: 132
Point of order:
Representative Radtke rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 2 to Assembly Bill 95 [relating to passenger capacity of vessels eligible for alcohol beverages permits] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f) [expansion of scope].
The speaker [Loftus] ruled the point of order well taken.
[Note:] The bill proposed to reduce, from 100 passengers to 50 passengers, the minimum size of vessels for which the department of revenue may issue alcohol beverage permits.
A.Amdt-2 proposed to move the venue, for alcohol related crimes committed on passenger vessels, from the place of occurrence to the vessel's regular place of mooring.
A.Amdt-3 (below) was considered a matter of particularized detail. It provided that if the passenger vessel's regular place of mooring was a municipality in which bartenders are licensed, then bartenders working on that vessel have to obtain bartender's licenses from the municipality.
Point of order:
Representative Radtke rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 3 to Assembly Bill 95 was not germane under Assembly Rule 54 (3) (f).
The speaker ruled the point of order not well taken.
Assembly Journal of March 14, 1989 .......... Page: 87
Point of order:
Representative Prosser rose to the point of order that assembly amendment 2 to Senate Bill 6 [relating to increasing payment for certain facilities that provide care to medical assistance recipients with respect to certain direct care costs, active treatment and operating deficits and making an appropriation] was not germane under Assembly Rule 54.
