Governor Scott McCallum's Summary of Wisconsin Terrorism Preparedness Efforts for this Week

 
Responding to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks:
Wisconsin's Terrorism Preparedness Efforts
February 15, 2002 Report

This week, Attorney General John Ashcroft called on "all Americans to be on
the highest state of alert" after an FBI warning of a possible terrorist
attack.  The FBI requested law enforcement and the public to be on the
lookout for a man from Yemen and his associates who may be planning an
attack on the U.S. or Yemen.  The warning reminds us that the threat of
terrorism is still real and we must remain vigilant and prepared at all
times. 

Protecting Water Systems in Wisconsin
Protecting our water systems to ensure safe drinking water remains a high
priority. Officials with the Department of Natural Resources, Department of
Health and Family Services and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection plan to meet on Tuesday, February 19 to address the threat
vulnerability to the state's water systems.  

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Directs Nuclear Plants to Further Enhance
Security/Nuclear Plans Exercised
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued orders this week to all
commercial nuclear power plants to implement additional security measures at
our nation's nuclear power plants.  The details of the plans are sensitive,
but they include such things as additional access controls, enhanced
requirements for guards, increased standoff distances for vehicle searches
and heightened coordination with local, state and federal authorities.

Coordination among all levels of government was also evident this week as
Kewaunee and Manitowoc Counties and state government participated in an
exercise involving Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. The series of exercises
conducted this week will strengthen our collective response capabilities in
the event of an incident at a nuclear plant.

Preparing for a Massive Flu Outbreak
How would health facilities, businesses and government officials respond to
a deadly, fast spreading flu outbreak was discussed at a tabletop exercise
in Racine on February 11.  Over 100 participants from various private,
nonprofit and governmental agencies participated in the flu pandemic
exercise.  A flu pandemic differs from other influenza because it is a new
"strain" of the flu and there is little or no immunity to it.  Many people
become infected and die.  In the last 100 years, there have been three
outbreaks of a flu pandemic, with the last one documented in 1968, with the
spread of the Hong Kong Flu that lead to the deaths of 34,000 people in the
United States.  The exercise gave participants an insight about how to
respond to any fast spreading disease or health threat. This type exercise
further strengthens our collective terrorism preparedness efforts as it
brings response disciplines together and promotes community cooperation.
Legislative Efforts to Advance Terrorism Preparedness. 
Here is a brief summary of the bills regarding terrorism that have been
introduced (or are about to be introduced). This summary is not intended to
be an all-inclusive report on every nuance in every bill.  Instead, this
summary is intended to give a brief overview of current state legislative
efforts:

        *       Model Health Legislation  - Referred to as Public Health
Preparedness Act --LRB 4715/2 (Rosenzweig, Underheim)  This bill delineates
authorities and responsibilities when and if the Governor declares a state
of emergency.  For example, it provides procedures on the handling and
burial of human remains, permits the Department of Health and Family
Services (DHFS) to designate a local public health department as its agent,
authorizes the purchase, storage and distribution of antitoxins, serums,
vaccines, immunizing agents and medical supplies and authorizes other
emergency measures necessary to control communicable diseases and order
vaccine/isolation/quarantine. 
         
        *       Open Meeting Law Exception (Lasee)  This proposal provides
for an exception to the open meeting law when a government body is
considering any matter affecting the protection of the public from terrorism
or other organized criminal activity which, if considered in open session,
would compromise public security interest or threaten public security.

        *       SB 421 (Cowles, Burke, Darling) Requires DHFS to maintain a
registry of biological agents in the state, allows that record to be not a
public record, and creates an advisory committee.

        *       SB 328 (Welch, Zien, S. Fitzgerald, Huelsman) Increases
penalties for felonies with intent to terrorize, including threats,
soliciting funds for or supporting terrorists.  Allows for capital
punishment and permits the county sheriff to issue licenses to carry
concealed weapons.

        *       AB608 (Walker, LaFave, Albers) Prohibits soliciting or
collecting material support for international terrorists, and registers
fundraisers with the Department of Regulation & Licensing. 

        *       AB743 (Johnsrude, Urban, Rhoades) Extends the trauma
advisory council to 7-1-04, directs DHFS to develop regional advisory
councils and moves money from Department of Transportation for payment of
the trauma system.  

Next Terrorism Preparedness Task Force Meeting
The Task Force on Terrorism Preparedness will meet on Tuesday, February 19
at 1:00 at the Department of Military Affairs (Room 230), 2400 Wright
Street, Madison. Bioterrorism planning, Model Health legislation, cyber
threat and possible creation of a weapons of mass destruction training
facility at Volk Field for police and fire departments will be discussed at
the meeting.

 Scott McCallum
 Governor of the State of Wisconsin