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Government Relations

Legislative Update

January 20, 2006

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In this issue:

State Update
Federal Update
Web Resources
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STATE UPDATE

Concealed Carry

On Jan. 17, the Senate passed:

SB 403. Concurring in Assembly Amendment 15, regarding the carrying of concealed weapons by a vote of 28-5. The Governor indicated on Jan. 20 that he will veto the bill. A vote to override the veto is expected to pass the Senate, but be very close in the Assembly as it was last session (sustained by one vote).

SB 414. Fee remissions for children and surviving spouses of ambulance drives, correction officers, EMS technicians, fire fighters and law enforcement officers was passed on a voice vote. The bill now goes to the Assembly for committee action.

Legislative Committee Action

On Wednesday, The Senate Higher Education and Tourism Committee held a public hearing on several bills that affect the UW System. The UW System provided testimony on two of the bills. Associate Vice President Al Crist provided testimony, for information only, on SB 452 that would allow collective bargaining for UW System faculty and academic staff. Please see his testimony at: http://www.uwsa.edu/execvp/govrel/pending/testimon/t_sb452.htm

Also testifying at the hearing was Interim Associate Vice President Sharon Wilhelm who testified in favor of SB 481 which would increase the maximum amount of a Wisconsin Higher Education Grant. Please see her testimony at: http://www.uwsa.edu/execvp/govrel/pending/testimon/t_sb481.htm

UW-Madison Nursing Dean Katharyn May testified in support of AB 387 to expand the nursing loan program to nurse educators.

The Committee took swift action on all but one of the bill the next day on the following:

SB 345 Increases authorized enrollment of UW-Parkside charter school. Passed 4-1

SB 370 Eligibility of a student in a two-year, full-time vocational diploma program at a technical college for an academic excellence higher education scholarship. Passed 5-0

SB 452 Collective bargaining for UW System faculty and academic staff. No action taken

SB 481 Maximum amount of a Wisconsin higher education grant. Passed 5-0

AB 387 Eligibility of a person enrolled in a program that confers a master’s degree in nursing for a loan under the Nursing Student Loan Program. Passed 5-0

AB 698 Increases authorized enrollment of UW-Parkside charter school. Passed 4-1

The bills that passed are now available for Senate floor action.

Assembly Calendar

The Assembly calendar for Tuesday, Jan. 24 includes AB 297 which provides education tax credits for busineses.

Joint Finance Executive Session

On Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Joint Finance has scheduled executive action on a number of bills. One of bills scheduled for action that affects the UW System is SB 351 which extends to a divorced or legally separated parent of a child, without regard to whether the child is his or her dependent, a nonrefundable income tax credit for contributions to a college savings account or tuition and expenses program.

Legislative Introduced: Tuition Remission of Veterans Dependents

Rep. Schneider has introduced AB 916 which adds fee remission eligibility to dependents of veterans if the veteran is a resident of the state and was a resident of the state for at least 15 continuous years before the student registers. Please see full text of bill at:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/AB-916.pdf

FEDERAL UPDATE

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was in Milwaukee and addressed a seminar on Water Quality Challenges and Opportunities. The seminar was sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, UW-Madison and UW-Extension. Land-grant experts and key stakeholders from the North Central region of the United States discussed topics ranging from agriculture management and farming systems, water supply, conservation and sustainability, to the importance of partnerships and collaboration, and urban water quality and environmental challenges. Kudos to Deans Leholm and Hogg, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Fitzsimmons, Assistant Dean Robin Shepard and many others for their leadership on these issues.

AAU is reporting that the Office of Science at the Department of Energy has published, “Maintaining U.S. Preeminence in Science: University Support,” a 14-page brochure that details the Office of Science’s role in research and education at the nation’s colleges and universities. The document includes a state-by-state breakdown of the Office’s spending at colleges and universities, as well as summaries of the Office’s major research and education programs and the numbers of researchers, graduate students, and others they help support.

Please share this information with campus research administrators, faculty and staff. Link to the brochures