Upcoming Committee Hearings

The Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 10 a.m. in room 225-NW. The following bills will be heard:
AB-406. Requires colleges and universities to reenroll a student who was called into active duty military service in the semester following discharge or the next succeeding semester.
AB-422. Increases maximum amount of Indian student assistance grants.
AB-497. Permits certain UW student orientation information to be given electronically.
AB-540. Establishes a statutory code of ethics governing unclassified personnel of the UW System.

A vote will likely be held on the following bills, which have already had a hearing:
AB-366. Mandating the transfer of credits between and within the UW System and technical college system. An amendment has been introduced.
AB-403. Regulates athlete agents.
AB-543. Expands the statutory notice of public meetings of certain bodies within the UW System.
AB-558. Requires UW System Board of Regents to vote by roll call.

Election results

Rep. Spencer Coggs won the recall election of Sen. Gary George on Nov. 18. Rep. Shirley Krug of Milwaukee will succeed Coggs on the Joint Finance Committee. Gov. Jim Doyle has called the special election needed to fill the vacancy created by Coggs in the 17th Assembly District.

Executive Vetoes

Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed AB-503, a proposal to increase the number of students enrolled in the charter school established by UW-Parkside (Racine), along with four other charter school-related bills. Doyle said AB-503 “has some merit, but” could only be considered as part of a larger reform effort.

New Legislation Introduced

AB-683. EdVest VENDORS (Montgomery) Permits DOA to select more than one vendor for EdVest; expands definition of “vendor.” To Colleges and Universities.

AB-686. Technical statutory changes requested by the UW System (introduced by the Law Revision Committee). Changes the membership of the State Laboratory of Hygiene Board; amends nonresident tuition exemption for veterans; amends the transfer program at the UW Medical School. Referred to Colleges and Universities.

New Legislation Circulating

Administrators—Rep. Stone is circulating LRB-3636, which would prohibit University of Wisconsin System administrators from serving on the board of directors of corporations where a conflict of interest might exist.

Chancellors/Deans—Sen. Hansen is circulating LRB-3571/2, which would require the president and chancellors (including deans of the two-year UW Colleges campuses) of the UW System to obtain the approval of the Ethics Board before accepting compensation for serving on a corporation’s board of directors.

EdVest—Rep. Hubler is circulating LRB 3671/1, which would allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to any section 529 college tuition program. This draft is similar to AB-667.

Governor calls for summit on local government

Gov. Jim Doyle announced that a summit on local government issues, such as property taxes and efficiency, will be held at UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 10. UW-Madison Professor Don Kettl and Tim Sheehy of Milwaukee will co-host the session.

Information on the Web

New bill positions approved by the Board of Regents are posted on the web site above.

UW System Government Relations:
http://www.uwsa.edu/govrel/

UW System Budget:
http://www.uwsa.edu/budplan/

Wisconsin Legislature on the Web:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/

For further information, contact Margaret Lewis at (608) 262-4464 or David Miller at (608) 262-4463.