March 11, 2016


Honoring Iowa County Judge Bill Dyke for his years of Judicial Service


 

On Friday, March 4, I presented a legislative citation along with Senator Howard Marklein to Iowa County Judge William (Bill) Dyke for his years of judicial service. Sadly, Judge Dyke passed away Thursday night and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

I’ve known Bill Dyke since he came to Iowa County in 1978 and he has not only been a good friend, but a great Judge for Iowa County. It was a special honor, to recognize such a great man for his service to not only Iowa County but the State of Wisconsin.

Judge Dyke served Iowa County for 19 years as a circuit court judge. Judge Dyke also served a two-term as Mayor of the City of Madison from 1969-1973. Dyke was first appointed Iowa County Circuit Court Judge in 1996, and has also been elected to serve as the Chief Judge of the 7th Judicial District, which encompasses Buffalo, Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, Trempealeau, and Vernon Counties.

Judge Dyke was also elected Chief of the Chief Judges and awarded the 2015 Lifetime Jurist Achievement Award from the Bench Bar Committee of the State Bar Association for demonstrating outstanding, long-term judicial service as a sitting judge.

Some of Judge Dyke’s accomplishments include adding mediation as part of the home foreclosure process in Iowa County during the 2008 economic crisis and founding Iowa County’s Teen Court program, which is now the second oldest in the state. Both programs now serve as models for programs in other counties around the state.

 

 


 

Governor Signs SB440 Into Law

 



The Governor signed another one of my bills into law last week, AB595/SB440. The legislation makes several technical changes to current law regarding tax administration, and provides the Secretary of the Department of Revenue (DOR) the power to suspend an assessor’s certification.

 

 

 


 

Reducing Waste, Fraud, & Abuse in Wisconsin

 


Office of Inspector General finds nearly $50 million in overpayments.


A necessary function of government is to care for those less fortunate. Along with this duty comes the task of ensuring that programs designed to help our citizens in need are utilized in their intended manner. A recent report by the Department of Health Services, shows that the Office of Inspector General has found millions of dollars in Medicaid overpayments, among other things, since its inception in 2011
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is charged with protecting the taxpayers of Wisconsin by preventing and detecting waste, fraud, and abuse of public assistance programs such as Medicaid, FoodShare, and FamilyCare.


The Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was established in October 2011. The OIG consolidates all Department of Health Services program integrity, audit and fraud investigation activities within one office. Staff within the OIG work closely with other state and local partners in identifying misuses of public assistance funds, and where appropriate, forward fraud cases to federal, state and local officials for prosecution.

Providing an overview of the office between 2011 and 2015, the report shows the OIG has identified almost $50 million in Medicaid provider overpayments. Additionally, nearly $40 million in overpayments to medical providers has been recovered by the office, according to the report.

 

Also found in the report:

  • An increase in the number of FoodShare suspensions for violations from 200 in 2012 to more than 1,300 in 2015;

  • The creation of a fraud-reporting hotline. The hotline received more than 13,000 complaints; and

  • An increase to the the number of staff members investigating recipient fraud among public benefits programs from one staffer up to 24.


 

What's Been Happening

 



Recently, I've had the pleasure of attending some local events, in addition to meeting with people at the Capitol in Madison.

 

Last week, I had the opportunity of meeting with Bob Ward, Angela Thomas, Sophie Thompson, Ethan O’Rourke, and Ryan Krenke of the Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol on their legislative day. The Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol consists of over 900 volunteers with 33 units spread throughout the state that perform missions for America in Emergency Services, Aerospace Education and Cadet Programs. Some of these missions include working with local organizations and schools, as well as supporting disaster relief and cost-effective search and rescue teams. It was a pleasure sitting down to discuss issues that were important to them.

Additionally, I met with members of the Wisconsin Bankers Association this week. I was able to sit down with Joe and Brian Gorman, Kurt Schaefer, Nancy Maxwell, Ron Schaaf, Quinn Huebner, and Amber McPhail during their Legislative day. We discussed issues and policies important to them.

 

(L-R) Bob Ward, Angela Thomas, Sophie Thompson, Rep. Novak, Ethan O’Rourke, and Ryan Krenke of the Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol Wisconsin Bankers Association. (L to R) Joe Gorman, Brian Gorman, Kurt Schaefer, Nancy Maxwell, Ron Schaaf, Quinn Huebner, Rep. Novak, & Amber McPhail.
 

Sincerely,

 
     

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State Capitol Room 304 North - PO Box 8953, Madison, WI 53708
(608) 266-7502
Email: Rep.Novak@legis.wisconsin.gov