ANOTHER CONFLICT FOR SEN. OLSEN

SENATOR OLSEN, INSURANCE COMPANY BOARD MEMBER, VOTES PRO-INSURANCE IN APPARENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST

[a milwaukeeworld scoop]

By Michael Horne

Although Senator Luther Olsen (R-Berlin) has recused himself from voting on ethanol issues due to his family and financial connections that range from selling seed corn to farmers to distilling alcohol from their crops, he has not responded to a milwaukeeworld request regarding another conflict of interest that looms over him.

As was mentioned here before, Olsen is a member of the board of directors of Manitowoc Mutual Insurance Company of Reedsville, which is listed by Weiss Ratings, Inc. as one of America’s 20 weakest insurance companies, with a rating of D-, or somewhere between “weak” and “very weak.”

Olsen is also a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Insurance, which votes on insurance issues.

He was the swing vote on two 4-3 decisions on insurance issues rendered by the committee at the end of 2005. The two bills under consideration were AB764 and AB766, both of which attempted to place caps on damages in medical malpractice cases. Olsen, in committee, voted in favor of the caps as the swing vote. This helped propel these bills through the system, where they were ultimately vetoed by Governor James Doyle.

Would you imagine that a director of an insurance company who is also a legislator would vote against caps in liability cases? Of course not, and these two bills are excellent arguments why Olsen, who was also a sponsor of one of the bills (AB764), should recuse himself.

I called Olsen’s office with a question, asking whether the Senator ought to recuse himself from voting on insurance issues due to this evident conflict of interest. The senator has not responded.

I also contacted the office of R. Roth Judd, who polices ethics for the state, to see if he had investigated this conflict. I have not received a response to that call.

Olsen Recuses Self from Ethanol Vote

-- “Republican Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Berlin, said today he made the decision a while ago to recuse himself from voting on the pending ethanol bill due to business ties. ‘I had decided to do that a long time ago. We're just too close to it,’ Olsen told WisPolitics.com in an interview.” – [Source: www.wispolitics.com ]

Milwaukeeworld was happy to break the news of the Luther Olsen – Ethanol connection some months ago, and the news that Olsen has recused himself from voting on SB15 is welcome, and was probably prompted, in part, by the publicity generated by the posting, which was widely viewed, particularly after wispolitics.com linked to it.

When Olsen said, “we’re just too close to it,” he was referring to his family connections to the ethanol industry. These connections range from Olsen’s Mill, Inc., to Berlin Feed, Inc., both owned, in part, by Olsen, to Utica Energy, an ethanol plant run by Olsen’s brother.

The plan to require 10 per cent ethanol in nearly all automotive fuel sold in Wisconsin, as proposed in SB15, would be a boon to Utica Energy, without question.

Utica Energy has participated for at least three years in the United States Department of Agriculture Bioenergy Program, according to documents I researched.

In the program, “payments were made to bioenergy producers who increased their purchases of eligible agricultural commodities and converted that commodity into increased bioenergy production, as compared to the corresponding period in the prior fiscal year.”

Payments to Utica Energy from this program are in the millions, and should be studied when one considers the enormous subsidies in the ethanol racket.

For the Fiscal Year 2003, as of December 12, 2003, Utica Energy received $2,396,752 from the program. In 2004, the firm netted a subsidy of $4,050,003, and in 2005 Utica Energy received $2,393,504 from the program. Total program funding for all ethanol producers participating over the three-year period was $326 million.

--Michael Horne

MORE UNANSWERED CALLS

Schreiber - Adelman - Doyle connection pondered.

By Michael Horne

Several months ago when the travelgate story first broke, I called Craig Adelman, whose Adelman Travel Group had just been awarded the now-controversial contract for state travel arrangements. I left a message for Adelman asking if he had had any conversations, of a formal or informal nature with Martin Schreiber, the former acting governor and lobbyist who is close to Governor Jim Doyle.

I never heard back from him, and let the matter drop. I have also called Atty. Schreiber with the same question, leaving a message with his office, and have not heard back from him.

I think it is a reasonable question, based on the closeness of Schreiber and Doyle, and considering the circumstances of the travel contract, including Adelman's $10,000 contribution to the governor's campaign. I have a feeling, though, that the question will remain unanswered until such time as it is asked by somebody with subpoena powers.