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Cullen to serve on special committees

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Tim Cullen

MADISON — The uproar over placements of two sexual offenders in Hanover will be on the table of an upcoming legislative study committee.

Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, has been appointed to two such study committees.

Cullen will serve on the Special Committee on Improving Educational Opportunities in High School and the Special Committee on Supervised Release and Discharge of Sexually Violent Persons.

Cullen is a former member of the Janesville School Board. His 15th District includes the tiny community of Hanover, where in May residents objected to the placement of two sexual offenders.

Cullen said he has concerns about the Hanover placements in a community with no municipal police department and will raise those concerns with the committee.

Study committees are appointed every other year to examine issues identified by the Legislature. The committees comprise legislators and citizens interested in or knowledgeable about the study topic. They develop legislation that, if approved by the Joint Legislative Council, would be introduced in the legislative session that starts in January.

The high school committee will evaluate existing options for career and technical education here and in other states, according to a news release from Cullen's office.

The committee will recommend ways to improve coordination between high schools, technical colleges, universities and employers to ensure high school graduates have skills necessary to meet workforce needs.

Robert Hein, a math professor at UW-Rock County, also was appointed to serve on the committee.

The committee addressing sexually violent offenders will determine how much judicial input should be required to grant supervised release or discharge from a civil commitment.

The committee also will determine whether the criteria for supervised release or discharge should be modified.

Neither of the committees had scheduled any meetings as of Wednesday.