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Governor Jim Doyle Signs AB328, Improves Outlook for Historic Sites
Gov. Jim Doyle signed Assembly Bill 328 on Wednesday, December 3, legislation that provides the Wisconsin Historical Society with greater flexibility to work with private-sector partners to support the educational mission of the Society's statewide network of historic sites. The legislation grew out of the 2002 Governor's Commission on Historic Sites, and was approved unanimously by both houses of the Legislature before going to the governor's desk.
 Governor Jim Doyle signs AB328 on Wednesday, December 3, at the state Capitol. Doyle is flanked by Rep. Steve Kestell, one of the bill's authors, on the left, and by Society President Patricia A. Boge on the right. "We are grateful to the Governor and the Legislature for creating new opportunities to diversify the way we fund the operation of our historic sites," said Society Director Bob Thomasgard. "The Society can be a better steward of these state treasures as a result of this legislation."
The legislation addresses the unique challenges the Society faces in operating and promoting the historic sites in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and it includes several provisions to make the sites' business model more competitive. These include establishing partnerships with local support groups and friends organizations, and providing opportunities for investment in the infrastructure of the publicly owned sites by private, nonprofit organizations.
The bill was authored by Rep. Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake) and Sen. Joseph Leibham (R-Sheboygan) and co-authored by Rep. Greg Huber (D-Wausau) and Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison). Their efforts were joined by more than 40 legislators who signed on as sponsors of the bill.
The legislation calls on several state agencies to bring their influence to bear in improving the historic sites' long-term sustainability. One provision addresses the unique challenges of staffing seasonal historic sites and authorizes the state Department of Employment Relations to study seasonal workforce issues for heritage tourism operations and to make recommendations for establishing more competitive civil service classifications and compensation ranges.
The new law provides a mechanism for the Society to work more closely with the state Department of Tourism to bring more leverage to bear on marketing and promoting the historic sites. It also calls for the state Department of Administration to conduct a needs assessment survey of the historic sites in order to create a long-term plan for the sustainability of the historic sites.
The 11-member Governor's Commission on Historic Sites, chaired by former Department of Administration Secretary Mark Bugher, conducted public hearings throughout Wisconsin during 2002, seeking recommendations from tourism industry representatives, public relations experts, legislators, historic sites friends organizations, and members of the public. The commission's final report contained a series of recommendations now embodied in AB328.
:: Posted December 12, 2003
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