Government Relations

Legislative Update

November 16, 2007

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STATE UPDATE

State Legislation Update

Recent Legislative Activity

November 6 – The Law Revision Committee, a Joint Legislative Committee chaired by Sen. Tim Carpenter and Rep. Scott Suder, held a public hearing and took action on several bills requested by UW System (usually requested each year).  Unlike most committees, bills that are adopted by this committee must be done unanimously.  UW System received unanimous approval for Committee introduction of LRB 3031, which corrects the partial veto of the BadgerNet language passed in the budget (p.531 of WI Act 20).  Additionally, Co-Chairs Suder and Carpenter agreed to introduce separately as legislation LRB 0919 which would change from annual to continuing the appropriations for laboratory modernization and master’s level business programs.              

November 8 – By a vote of 31-0 the Senate passed AB 280 relating to health insurance coverage of a full-time student on medical leave.  With concurrence by the Assembly, the bill now goes to the Governor for action.

November 13 – Sen. Julie Lassa, Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development held an informational hearing on “how investments in education impact economic development.”   Invited speakers included higher education officials nationally, and from in Wisconsin. For a complete list of the speakers, please see the posted hearing notice.

November 14 – An informational and public hearing was held by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education related to veteran’s tuition remission.  UW System was represented by Regent David Walsh, a veteran and member of the Regents’ Working Group on Veteran’s Tuition Remission. Walsh testified along with Associate Vice President Freda Harris and Budget and Policy Analyst Leslie Perelman from UW System’s Budget and Planning Office. 

The public portion of the hearing covered three bills:  SB 100, related to eligibility for tuition fee remissions for certain veterans and their spouses; SB 291, requested by UW System as trailer legislation for the tuition gift certificate program. UW System Associate Vice President Doug Hendrix testified on behalf on the UW.  Also on the agenda was SB 155 relating to a loan program for veterinary medicine students who agree to provide veterinary medical services to food-producing animals in this state.  UW-Madison Dean of Veterinary Medicine Daryl Buss testified in support of this legislation.    

November 14 – The Assembly Committee on Ways and Means held a public hearing and executive session on AB 559, related to an income and franchise tax credit for sales tax paid for the right to purchase season tickets to athletic events.   UW-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez testified in support.  The bill was amended by Substitute Amendment 1 which changes the tax credit to a tax exemption.  The bill was passed unanimously and now goes to the Assembly for action. 

Upcoming Legislative Activity

November 20 – The Assembly Health and Healthcare Reform Committee has scheduled a hearing at 10:00 a.m. in room 417 North on AB 570.  The legislation updates and modernizes organ donation methods and procedures and attempts to make them more uniform with other states across the country.  The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) was originally created in 1968 and was updated in 1987.

Legislation Introduced or Added Since Last Update

November 8 – Sen. Kanavas has introduced LRB 0117/3 regarding expansion of the NanoSTEM Initiative.  View his co-sponsorship notice to the legislature.  

November 12 ­– Rep. Ballweg has introduced AB 577 relating to the appointment of student members of the UW Board of Regents.  The bill has been referred to the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee.

*Please note that several new UW System legislative bill positions that have been approved by the UW System Board of Regents, and are now posted on the web.  View bill positions.

FEDERAL UPDATE

College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007

November 14 – The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee scheduled a mark up of “The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007”.  Chairman George Miller, D-California, made the 747-page bill available on Friday in advance of the markup session. 

The higher education national associations are expressing two major concerns about the legislation in its current form:  1) the bill examines tuition increases solely in terms of percentages and does not take into account other kinds of information, such as actual dollars; and 2) the bill creates a host of new unfunded mandates (in total, there are 176 new regulatory requirements that the bill will impose on colleges and universities).

Overall, the bill is more moderate than what we have seen introduced in the House in the past and, unlike previous versions, provides incentives for change, rather than uses a stick approach.  It appears that the bill has earned bipartisan support from the Senior Republican Member of the Committee, Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, who welcomed the legislation that establishes a higher education cost index and a watch list.

Summary of Major Provisions:

Cost

The bill examines tuition increases solely in terms of percentages, as opposed to changes in actual dollars.  The bill would place institutions on an affordability “watch” list based on tuition increases in terms of percentages.  It would be in the interest of public universities to report both percentages and actual dollars.  If you report both, it would show a 7 percent increase at a public school means less out-of-pocket costs to families than a 4 percent increase at a private school, for example.  As the bill stands, it would impact public universities disproportionately.

The “watch” list does not take into consideration the impact of state funding and state control on the tuition levels of public universities.  Institutions that must increase tuition because of state budget cuts could be placed on the watch list for action out of their control.

It should be noted that states are asked to do their share to make college affordable.  The legislation contains “maintenance of effort” provisions for states. 

Textbook Information

The bill includes provisions related to college textbooks and supplemental materials.  There is a provision that when a publisher sells a college textbook and supplemental materials as a single bundled item that it also be made available separately and unbundled. 

Institutions of higher education will also be required to disclose the International Standard Book Number and retail price information in the institution’s course schedule used for pre-registration and registration purposes.  This is problematic because it requires institutions to provide information well in advance of when they have it.  Importantly, it marks the first time that the federal government has imposed a regulation on colleges and universities that would affect each course taught on campus, so it is viewed as a new (and unwelcome) expansion in federal regulatory authority. 

Student Lenders and Institution Requirements

The bill incorporates a number of provisions related to student loan lenders and institutions, requiring institutions and lenders to adopt codes of conduct.  The bill also contains provisions related to preferred lender arrangements, annual reporting for each lender with a preferred arrangement, website disclosures and publication of a code of conduct by institutions, policy regarding solicitation of gifts, bans on revenue sharing, opportunity pools and participation on advisory councils. 

Pell Grant

The bill would authorize the Federal Pell Grant at $9,000 for each of the academic years 2009-2010 through 2013-14.  The bill authorizes year-round Pell Grant scholarships.

TRIO/Student Support Services

Language sought by the UW System is incorporated in the bill that would define the terms “different campus” and “different population” of students.  The goal of this amendment is to ensure that all UW campuses are eligible to apply for and receive a Student Support Services grant, which has been problematic in the past because of the unique organizational structure of the two-year campuses.  The language is identical to the Senate bill language.

TRIO/Upward Bound

The bill prohibits the Secretary from implementing or enforcing, and shall rescind, the absolute priority for Upward Bound Program participant selection and evaluation published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register in September 2006.

Loan Forgiveness for Service in Areas of National Need

The bill authorizes loan forgiveness for individuals employed in areas of national need, as follows:  early childhood educators, nurses, foreign language specialists, librarians, highly qualified teachers, child welfare workers, speech-language pathologists, national service, school counselors, public sector employees, nutrition professionals, medical specialists, and mental health professionals.

The bill also authorizes grants to institutions of higher education to create additional capacity for R.N. students or graduate-level nursing students, with the goal of expanding nursing faculty.

Workforce and Competitiveness

The bill creates programs to spur student interest in science, technology and critical foreign languages; improve teacher training and development through recruitment of teachers into high demand science and technology fields; and authorizes up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for public defenders, prosecutors, firefighters, military service members, first responders, law enforcement officers, educators, nurses, and others serving the public interest.

Copyright Infringement

Section 485(a)(1) requires institutions to report to their students annually on their policies and practices with respect to copyright infringement on campus networks.  This provision was included in the Senate HEA bill, and the higher education community supports this provision.

Section 494(A) requires a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrent to prevent such illegal activity.  The higher education community opposes this provision and urges that it be eliminated.  This requirement would also be costly to students.

Transfer of Credit

The bill contains provisions regarding transfer of credit and public disclosure of the transfer of credit policies of institutions.  The bill also requires the Secretary of Education, or the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, to require particular policies, procedures, or practices by institutions of higher education with respect to transfer of credit. 

The bill contains a program to encourage articulation agreements, whereby the Secretary would develop, in conjunction with states and institutions of higher education, comprehensive articulation agreements.  The Secretary is also authorized to conduct a study to review the articulation agreements at state-based college and university systems.

Comprehensive Foreign Language and International Studies

The bill would mandate that institutions that receive Title VI (international and foreign language studies) track and report any gift (foreign or domestic) in excess of $1 million through a complicated mechanism, even when the gift is completely unrelated to

Title VI (currently law already requires the reporting of foreign gifts in excess of $250,000).

Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management

The bill authorizes funds to award grants on a competitive basis to institutions or consortia of institutions to develop and implement state-of-the-art emergency communications systems.  The legislation also contains guidance on mental health disclosures for student safety.  The bill would require reporting on four new categories of campus crime.  Currently, campuses are required to report on nine categories. 

Support for Veterans

The bill creates a new scholarship program for active duty military personnel and family members, including children and spouses of active duty military service members or veterans and establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and graduate.

Support for Students with Disabilities

The bill establishes a national center to provide support services and best practices for colleges, students with disabilities and their families.  The bill has provisions for institutions of higher education to recruit, retain and graduate students with disabilities and improve educational materials and facilities.  The bill also contains provisions for students with intellectual disabilities that would allow them to become eligible for Pell Grant scholarships and other need-based aid.

University Sustainability Programs

The legislation authorizes a new grant program that will support high visibility/high value sustainability projects in higher education.  This is an opportunity to help institutions of higher education make progress on sustainability efforts by supporting the establishment of administrative and academic sustainability programs, promoting and enhancing research by faculty and students, and support colleges and universities to work with community partners.

The legislation also expresses a sense of Congress that encourages colleges and universities to “go green.”

Conversion to Income-Contingent Repayment

This is an initiative that Congressmen Petri and Kind have followed.  The legislation expresses a sense of Congress that provides borrowers of Federal student loans with the option of converting their loans to income-contingent repayment by providing direct IDEA loans, that the Secretaries of Education and Treasury work together to develop a process by which the borrower will make payments using the income tax withholding system.

UPCOMING EVENTS     

November  
16

Special Regent Committee on Regent Response to the Legislative Audit Bureau Audit on UW System Personnel Policies and Practices, Van Hise Hall, Madison 9:00 a.m. | View agenda
16 KnowHow2GoWisconsin launched at a Boys and Girls Club, in Fitchburg.  KnowHow2Go is a partnership with educational organizations and institutions, youth-serving organizations, local schools, elected officials, places of worship and the business community to amplify statewide college access efforts.  Details for the event, and the program, can be found at:  www.KnowHow2Go.org. | Read news release
19 UW-Whitewater Chancellor Search and Screen Committee 9:30 a.m. | View agenda
27 Advantage Wisconsin Statewide Videoconference 2-4 p.m..  For more information visit:  http://advantage.wisconsin.edu/.
December  
6-7 UW System Board of Regents Meeting in Madison  

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