Government Relations

Legislative Update

March 26, 2007

Legislative Update Archive | Search Legislative Update

In this issue:

STATE UPDATE

Recent State Capitol Activity

Governor Signs Budget Adjustment Bill

On Friday, March 16, the Governor signed into law ACT 5 (Budget Adjustment Bill).  One provision of the bill approves restoration of 270.92 FTE power and waste water treatment plant positions.  The restoration of these positions means that the UW System, along with other state agencies, will not have to remove power plant positions on April 1, 2007, as previously required by 2005 Wisconsin Act 25.

Biennial Budget

UW System Testifies Before the Joint Finance Committee

The Joint Committee on Finance completed agency testimony on the 2007-09 budget proposed by Governor Jim Doyle.  On March 22, President Reilly and Regent President Walsh testified on behalf of UW System Administration.  Their testimony may be found at:

President Reilly’s testimony
Regent President Walsh’s testimony

Joint Finance Statewide Budget Hearings

The Joint Finance Committee continues its statewide public hearings across the state on Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget bill.  The remaining hearing schedule is as follows: 

  • Tuesday, March 27. Noon-5. Chippewa County Courthouse Assembly Room,
    711 N. Bridge St., Chippewa Falls.
  • Wednesday, April 4.  Prairie du Chien High School Auditorium, 800 E. Crawford St., Prairie du Chien.
  • Wednesday, April 11.  Nicolet College Learning Resource Center Theatre,
    5634 College Dr., Rhinelander.
  • Thursday, April 12.  National Railroad Museum Lenfestey Center, 2285 South Broadway, Green Bay.

Budget Tools/Resources

LFB Summary of Governor’s Budget
LFB Informational Paper on the UW System [PDF]

State Legislation Update

Legislative Activity

March 7 -- The Assembly Veterans and Military Affairs Committee held a public hearing on AB 132 (Schneider/Lassa), which expands the tuition remission to include the spouse or child of any veteran who is a resident of this state and was a resident of this state for at least 15 continuous years before the student registers.  No executive action was taken on the bill.  Because the bill as drafted would cover dependents of approximately 448,000 Wisconsin veterans, Rep. Schneider, the principal author of the bill, will be working with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs to draft a substitute amendment to narrow the scope of the bill.

March 14 -- The Assembly Public Health Committee held a public hearing on AB 90 (Mursau/lLassa), which creates a loan forgiveness program for resident UW-Madison medical school students who agree to practice medicine for minimum of two years in rural areas of the state. The bill has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Public Health.  No action was taken on the bill.  See additional sponsors and full text of AB 90.

On March 16 UW System staff, David Giroux, Grant Huber, and Jess Tormey were invited to make a presentation, “UW System 101” for Senate democratic legislative staff, hosted by Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson. The hour-long presentation also covered the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin and strategies for constituent communications.  The presentation was part of a series of informational presentations by state agency representatives.

Upcoming Legislative Committee Hearings

March 27 -- The Assembly Committee on Education has scheduled a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. in room 417 North, State Capitol on AB 83 (A. Ott/Vinehout), which creates an agricultural education and workforce development council and AB 30 (Petrowski/Darling), which would permit an educational agency to refuse to employ or to terminate from employment an unpardoned felon.

March 28 -- The Assembly Jobs and Economy Committee has scheduled a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. in room 328 Northwest, State Capitol on AB 67 (Zipperer/Darling), which creates an income tax and franchise tax credit for businesses that pay tuition for an individual to attend a university, college, or technical college.

April 10 -- The Assembly Colleges and Universities committee has scheduled a public hearing on at 10:00 a.m. in room 225 Northwest on AB 65 (Wieckert/Plale), which creates a non-refundable and corporate income tax credit based on interest received from bonds or notes issues by the Wisconsin Health and Education Facilities Authority for educational facilities, authorizes WHEFA bonds for a WAICU education facilitiy; and AB 151 (Hahn/Leibham), which makes a college student who is convicted of possessing, with intent to manufacture, distribute, or deliver, a controlled substance ineligible for state student financial aid.

May/June -- The Special Committee on Affirmative Action is planning to meet two more times before the end of June.  The first meeting will be held in Milwaukee on either May 1 or May 7.  The second meeting is scheduled for June 1 at 10:00 in the state Capitol.  Agendas for these meetings have not yet been finalized, except for the appearance of Prof. Frank. H. Wu, Dean of Wayne State University Law School.  Dean Wu is the author of Yellow:  Race in America Beyond Black and White and also co-author of Race, Rights and Reparation:  Law and the Japanese American Internment.

Legislation Introduced

Rep. Murtha/Harsdorf has introduced AB 194 which would require the appointment to the UW System Board of Regents of at least one citizen member who resides in each of Wisconsin’s congressional districts.  The bill has been referred to the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee.  Additional sponsors and full text of AB 194.

Sen. Leibham/Bies has introduced SB 100 which would provide eligibility for tuition remission for a veteran, and for the spouse, surviving spouse, or child of a disabled or deceased veteran, if the veteran was a resident of this state for at least ten continuous years after entering service and before the student registers for college.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education.  Additional sponsors and full text of SB 100. 

FEDERAL UPDATE

No federal update this issue.

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 27
Wisconsin Associated County Extension Committees (WACEC) 2007 Conference
Capitol Connections -- Legislative visits, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

April 3
“Central Wisconsin Days” Legislative Reception
Contact: Tom Miller (715) 346-3014;
5:00-6:30 p.m., Olive Lounge, Hilton Hotel, Madison, $7/per person          

April 18 
Posters in the Rotunda (undergraduate research display in Capitol Rotunda)
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Formal program at noon (Contact Laurie Dies at ldies@uwsa.edu)

Posters in the Rotunda
  Spirit Day (community, alumni, legislator visits), 2:00-4:30 p.m.
  Legislative Reception, 5:00-7:30 p.m., Inn on the Park, $8/per person

May 8 “Door County Legislative Day” with evening reception and authentic Door County fish boil.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Are elected officials coming to your institution?  Please contact Grant, Jessica, or Kris.

Growth Agenda for Wisconsin

Your participation in supporting the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin is a must. We strongly encourage UW System institutions to contact area legislators to secure their endorsement for this important budget initiative to ensure reinvestment by the state Legislature.  See full details of the Growth Agenda.

 

Web Resources

Contact

State Relations: 

Federal Relations:

Legislative Update Archive | Search Legislative Update