Subject: CWM
From: Tracy Heron <[email-masked]>
To: Char Olson <[email-masked]>, Kay Price <[email-masked]>, "Grant, Kenneth" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:30:35 +0000

In today's Milwaukee Journal..

Politics
Lawmakers likely won't approve state takeover of Baraboo Circus World Museum
By Patrick Marley<mailto:[email-masked]> of the Journal Sentinel
April 30, 2013 11:22 a.m.

Madison - Lawmakers likely will not approve having the state take over operations of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, the heads of the Legislature's budget committee said Tuesday.

The state owns the property, facilities and artifacts of the museum - including 220 historic circus wagons - but for its 53 years the facility has been run by a private foundation. In the face of long-running financial problems at the museum, Gov. Scott Walker proposed that the state take over running the museum as part of his state budget.

But Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), who run the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, told reporters Tuesday they did not believe the committee would go along with Walker's plan. The committee is now meeting and expected to take up the issue later Tuesday.

The committee is also to consider parts of the transportation budget, which lawmakers recently learned is in more difficult straits<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-employee-raises-are-minimal-under-scott-walkers-budget-proposal-a09oi1k-205256931.html> than previously realized. Those votes will deal with freight rail and harbors; road funding and a projected transportation shortfall won't be dealt with until later.

Also on the docket is dealing with whether to provide $245 million in raises for state employees and using taxpayer money to shore up a trust fund for veterans.