Under current law if a domestic or child abuser poses a “significant threat” by the court they are required to give up their firearms, according to Office of Justice Assistance spokesperson Tami Jackson. OJA announced four counties will receive $250,000 in federal stimulus funding to implement a new protocol developed by prosecutors, law enforcement and victims’ rights groups.

Until recently counties had no streamlined process to monitor and enforce the gun surrender according to Jackson.

Tami Jackson (:19)

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Jackson says the mandatory surrender law is meant to protect victims from harassment or harm by use of the weapon.

Outagamie, Sauk, Winnebago and Waushara counties will be taking part in the pilot program.

The Fond du Lac County Board Tuesday night voted unanimously to repeal a half percent sales tax at the end of 2021. That’s when the tax essentially created to fund incentives for Mercury Marine is expected to have accomplished its purpose.

County Executive Al Buechel says 61 other counties in the state have a sales tax, but Fond du Lac may be the first to actually go through with sun setting the tax.

Al Buechel (:17)

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County Supervisors Jim Kiser and Tom Dornbrook had tried to set a sunset date when the tax was approved last September, but couldn’t at the time. Kiser says with a 16-to-nothing vote in favor of repealing the tax it’s obvious some supervisors, even a “staunch” opponent of the idea, changed their mind.

The Board also approved using excess revenue from the tax that’s not used by Mercury Marine or economic development for tax relief.

Contributed by Bob Nelson-KFIZ

State lawmakers have freed up more money to combat drunk driving, but will it be enough? The Joint Finance Committee signed off Tuesday on $1.4 million to pay district attorneys’ costs to enforce the tougher drunk driving measures passed by the Legislature. Some members of the committee questioned whether that’s enough. “We are asking them to come to work because we’re going to dump more cases on you, and we want you to prosecute them,” said Senator Luther Olson (R-Berlin). Senator Judy Robson (D-Beloit) said the tougher drunk driving laws will increase the workload of prosecutors who are already understaffed.

District attorneys around the state claim it’s going to cost much more – at least $2.5 million a year – to handle the increased DUI workloads. The budget panel rejected additional money to fund more assistant district attorneys, and district attorneys say their offices will continue to be understaffed.

Bob Hague (1:10 MP3)  AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (1:10 MP3)

Government in Wisconsin isn’t as large as in many other states. Todd Berry with the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says there’s nothing particularly new about the finding: Wisconsin had 8.2 percent fewer state and local government employees per capita than the national average in 2008. “Wisconsin has, for a long time, had fewer government workers relative to other states in the national average, and this shows that that continues to be the case,” said Barry.

“On the other hand, and this has also long been the case, we tend especially at the state level as opposed to the local level, to have salary and benefit levels that are somewhat above average,” Barry said. The average salary for a Wisconsin state employee was $53,700, a little over four percent higher than the national average. In keeping with the state’s tradition of providing most services locally, over three-quarters of Wisconsin’s more than 283,000 public employees worked in local government.

How does this play out politically? “It certainly does suggest, given that we have fewer employees but in some cases tend to pay them more . . . I think it points to the complexity of any debate over side and scope of government,” said Barry.

Bob Hague interview (6:45 MP3) AUDIO: Bob Hague interview (6:45 MP3)

Some Janesville city employees are working to save taxpayers some “green,” while being environmentally friendly. The twenty workers are teaming up to find ways to make their jobs more energy efficient according the Management Analyst Al Hulick.

Al Hulick (:17)

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Hulick says it may be a while until community members see cost savings from the program but there are “intangible” benefits in the conservation practices.

The Green Team is separated into four subcommittees to address different aspects of city government, from policies to facilities. The new group meets with the Sustainable Janesville Committee today to brainstorm. Unlike the Sustainable Janesville Committee, the Green Team focuses on internal changes and doesn’t answer to the city council.

Contributed by Beth Wheelock-WCLO

Wisconsin honey producers will get new protections under a bill being signed into law today by Governor Doyle. The new law requires the state Ag Department to establish “honey standards,” and prohibits products from being labeled as Wisconsin honey if they fail to comply. State Representative Phil Garthwaite (D-Dickeyville) is the author of the measure.

Rep. Garthwaite (:13)

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The Assembly passed the bill in January and the Senate concurred on a voice vote. The honey industry has been working on a national level to implement standards.

Contributed by John Colbert-WIBA

A month long netting operation has turned up no Asian carp on Chicago’s main shipping canal near Lake Michigan. The search is part of the federal government’s $78.5 million plan to stop the invasive fish with the huge appetite from taking over the Great Lakes. The netting was ordered after DNA tests showed evidence of the bloated carp at several spots beyond the electronic barrier on Chicago’s main canal that’s meant to keep the fish at bay.

Charlie Wooley of the US Fish and Wildlife Service says they’d like to see actual Asian carp before acknowledging that any are there. But Duane Chapman of the US Geological Survey says the fish are hard to catch when there are only a few on such a massive waterway. As a result, he says it means nothing that the first netting came up empty.

Tom Marks of the Great Lakes Sport Council says the netting is a waste of time and money. He’s afraid the federal government will ease up on its promise to fight the carp, the longer an actual fish doesn’t show up.

The netting result was good news for Chicago business interests which are fighting proposals to close the canals to keep the fish out. It’s part of a lawsuit by Michigan to try and get Chicago to reverse its sewage flows, so Lake Michigan is no longer link to the carp-infested Mississippi River. The suit is backed by Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states outside of Illinois.

President Obama has challenged the US to lead the world in college graduates by 2020. A non-profit group that handles federal education programs says to make that possible thousands of low, income first-generation and disabled students will have to seek higher learning.

Kimberly Jones, Director of Congressional Affairs for the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), says their program TRIO does just that, but has been level funded in the President’s proposed budget for 2011. She equates this to a funding cut because it costs more to do business every year. This means there aren’t as many slots available to applicants who qualify.

At its peak the program served roughly 870,000 students nationally in 2006, compared to the most recent figures of 830,000 students; of these 14,000 are from Wisconsin.

TRIO provides financial assistance, but also focuses on tutoring and advising for students.

Kimberly Jones (:17)

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Jones applauds the Obama administration for making “great strides in Pell grant program,” which benefits their students, however she is encouraging Wisconsinites to ask their Congressional representatives to boost funding for TRIO. One of whom is a former participant in the program, US House member Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee).

New legislation would prohibit the Milwaukee Public Schools from requiring, as a condition of employment, that a teacher reside within the school district.

The bill’s sponsor, Waterford Republican Scott Gunderson, says government should not be able to tell people where they can or cannot live. He says this requirement could be very damaging to a family unit.

Chris Thiel, with government relations at MPS, opposes the bill. He says the residency requirement of the teacher’s contract took effect in 1978, and the very next year the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA) proposed legislation prohibiting such requirements.

Thiel says they went into the bargaining discussions in good faith and everyone agreed to the deal with the condition of residency requirement. If the legislature gets involved, he says it will diminish their negotiating leverage.

Gunderson argued that Milwaukee and Chicago are the only two school districts of the nation’s top 50 that have such a requirement.

If passed, the bill (AB 89) would take effect beginning July 1, 2011.

The Assembly Committee on Labor held a public hearing on the issue on Wednesday.

Jackie Johnson report 1:27

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Wisconsin companies fared much better than the national average last year, when it comes to the number of complaints to the Better Business Bureau. State director Ran Hoth says Badger State businesses says while complaints were up almost nine percent across the country last year saw a nearly eight percent drop in complaints.

Ran Hoth (:22)

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Complaints about new car dealers were the most common to come into the state’s office last year. Nationally cell phone companies topped the list.

Meanwhile Wisconsin DATCP reported violations of the Do Not Call list was the #1 consumer complaint for 2009 with 2,187 complaints. Landlord/Tenant issues were second on the agency’s list with Telecommunications complaints coming in third. 

The state Department of Justice has announced National Consumer Protection Week from March 7-13. In a statement, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says, “The goal of this coordinated consumer education campaign is to encourage individuals across the country to take full advantage of their consumer rights.”

Mike Kemmeter-WHBY contributed to this report