Government Relations

Legislative Update

April 21, 2006

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STATE UPDATE

General Business Floor Sessions to end May 4

The Legislature will begin its final two week push to pass legislation (April 25-27, May 2-4). Lawmakers will return to Madison May 16-18 which is limited to floor action on revisor’s bills, reconciliation bills, and employee contracts. They may also return May 30-31 if they decide to vote to override any of the Governor’s vetoes. On the last day of the general business floor period (May 4), bills that have not passed both houses of the Legislature will die for the session, unless the floor period is extended for specific proposals. The state legislature will not be back until after the November elections and new members sworn in next January except o act on administrative rules or hold committee work sessions.

Taxpayers Protection Amendment

The Assembly has scheduled floor action on a substitute amendment to the Taxpayers Protection Amendment AJR 77 on Thursday, April 27.

Meanwhile, Sens. Harsdorf and Brown have proposed legislation to hold down government spending without amending the state constitution. See news release describing their plan at: http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/April06/April19/0419harsdorftaxplan.pdf. They have subsequently released a statement further supporting their view that statutory limits on spending will allow more flexibility when unforeseen circumstances appear. See statement at: http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/April06/April20/0420harsdorfstatutorylimits.pdf

Rep. Gottlieb has also indicated that he will be offering an alternative constitutional amendment next week that would limit growth in state and local government revenue to 90 percent of the growth in personal income.

Governor Signs Bills Into Law: Criminal Background Checks, Nursing Student Loan Program, Wisconsin Higher Education Grant Maximum, UW-Milwaukee Parking, Re-enrollment of Persons Called to Active Duty

AB 383. Requires criminal history background investigations of applicants for state government positions with fiduciary responsibilities. Act 350. See full text at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/acts/05Act350.pdf

AB 387. Expands nursing loan program to those seeking master’s or Ph.D. degree in nursing. Act 368. Text of Act not available at time of publication.

SB 481. Increases the maximum amount of a Wisconsin Higher Education Grant to $3,000 from $2,500. Act 367. See full text at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/acts/05Act367.pdf

SB 329. Allows local governments to restrict parking in front of residences located near the UW-Milwaukee campus. Act 326. See full text at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/acts/05Act326.pdf

AB 378. Requires colleges to re-enroll persons called into active military service. Act 324. See full text at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/acts/05Act324.pdf

Governor Vetoes Charter Schools Bill

AB 730. Expands the number of UW institutions who could charter K-12 schools. See veto message at: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=6733

Legislative Action: Alcohol Defined as an Intoxicant in Instances of Sexual Assault
College Savings Programs,

An Assembly Substitute Amendment to AB 953/SB 526 was passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 20 by a vote of 7-0. See text at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/SB526-ASA1.pdf The bill does not allow sexual contact if a person is so under the influence of alcohol that they are incapable of giving consent and the defendant has the purpose to have sex with the person while the person is incapable of giving consent.

On April 19 the Assembly Financial Institutions Committee passed AB 1153 by a vote of 13-0. The bill establishes a college savings program bank deposit trust fund and a college savings program credit union deposit trust fund which would provide more options to encourage savings for college. The bill is now available for a vote by the full Assembly.

Board of Regents Confirmation Hearing April 26

Senate Committee on Higher Education and Tourism will hold a hearing on Wednesday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m. in room 330 Southwest.

Hearing on Appointments:

  • Jeffrey Bartell, Middleton, UW Board of Regents (May 1, 2013).
  • Thomas Shields, Oshkosh, UW Board of Regents (May 1, 2008).
  • Brent Smith, La Crosse, UW Board of Regents (May 1, 2013).

AB 835. Fee remission for children and surviving spouses of ambulance drivers, correctional officers, EMTs, fire fighters and law enforcement officers.

An executive session may be held.

May 2 Informational Session on Status of APBS System, UW-Waukesha/UW-Milwaukee Merger, Disciplinary Procedures for Convicted Felons; Hearing on Instructional Materials for Students with Disabilities, Employment of Felons

The Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee will hold an informational session and public hearing on Tuesday, May 2 at 9:30 a.m. in room 225 Northwest.

The committee will invite university officials to provide information on the following three issues:

  • Status of the Appointment, Payroll, Benefits System (APBS) software contract
  • Progress of the proposed UW-Waukesha and UW-Milwaukee merger
  • Disciplinary procedures for convicted felons

Following the information session, the committee will hold a public hearing on the following bills:

AB 1142. Instructional materials for students with disabilities enrolled in higher education institutions
AB 1147. Permitting the UW System Board of Regents, the Technical College System board, or a technical
college district board to refuse to employ or to terminate unpardoned felons.

FEDERAL UPDATE

Congress will return from the spring district work period the week of April 24. It is anticipated that the focus will be on economic, health care, and social issues that conservative members believe will motivate the conservative base going into the November elections. On tap in the House will be a vote on the budget resolution, tax reconciliation, and possibly lobbying reform. In the Senate, they are expected to take up a supplemental spending bill which funds hurricane relief efforts on the Gulf Coast and war efforts. The Senate will also take up a cap on medical liability lawsuits and legislation to help small businesses purchase health insurance.

UW-La Crosse Receives First Patent

Many campuses had visits by their members of Congress this week. Congressman Kind was on the UW-La Crosse campus to pay tribute to chemistry professor Monte, microbiology professor Rott and former student DeFoe who filed a patent, which was approved, for discovering anti-infective agents in a plant used by the Ojibwas. Kind presented The 2005-06 Innovation Scholar Award from the WiSys Technology Foundation award to the trio. Also on hand was Maliyakal John, the WiSys General Manager. For more about the ceremony and award, go to the following link: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2006/04/21/news/z07pat.txt

Online Forum on College Affordability

Congressman Kind is also encouraging college students and parents to submit online testimony on making college more affordable. Over the next ten days, he and other lawmakers are inviting e-testimony regarding financing a college education and what Congress can do to improve college access and affordability. To learn more about how to participate and participation criteria, please go to the following link: http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/April06/April20/0420kindcollegestudents.pdf

Congressman Obey Earth Day Tour

Congressman Dave Obey was on a seven stop Earth Day tour of the 7th Congressional District. His seven stops included a trip to UW-Stevens Point where he spoke to students taking Natural Resources 473 in the College of Natural Resources. His talk focused on current federal environmental policy, as well as the conservation legacy of the late Gaylord Nelson, father of Earth Day.

AAU Update

Finally, AAU has completed a comparison of select provisions in the House and Senate Higher Education Reauthorization legislation. Please see the attached link for further details: http://www.aau.edu/education/HEA_Side_by_Side_4-11-06.pdf

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