Government Relations

Legislative Update

July 25, 2008

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In this issue:

STATE UPDATE

In The News

►Legislators Ask for Review of Sick Leave
Following an audit hearing on overtime costs, lawmakers have asked for a review of sick leave use by early next year.  Read news coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

►Governor Creates Science Advisor Position
Gov. Doyle issued an executive order creating the position of Science Advisor to the Governor and named Dr. James Dahlberg, professor of biomolecular chemistry at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health to the post. The position was created “to keep the Governor and his Administration informed of significant ongoing and developing scientific research and to serve as a liaison to the scientific research community.”

Dr. Dahlberg has been a UW-Madison faculty member since 1969 and is a co-founder of Third Wave Technologies, a publicly-traded biotechnology company that develops and sells tests and reagents for analysis of specific DNA and RNA molecules.

►Wisconsin Economy at Scientific Crossroads, Doyle Says
Gov. Doyle addressed an audience of researchers, entrepreneurs and investors at the Wisconsin Science and Technology Symposium held July 17 at UW-Stout.  See article from Wisconsin Technology Network News.

State Legislation Update

►Campaign Finance Reports – Candidates for the November election had their first major campaign finance report due on July 21.  The State Elections Board (now a part of the Government Accountability Board) publishes electronically all campaign finance reports for public review.

Communications & External Relations Team (CERT) Legislative Contacts – While the election season is underway, CERT continues to talk and meet with legislators to update them on issues important to UW System. Recent contacts include Representatives Huebsch, Nass, Gottlieb, Kerkman, Vos, Steinbrink, Kreuser, Krusick, Jeskewitz and Senators Decker, Vinehout, Kreitlow, Sullivan, Leibham, Grothman, Fitzgerald, Lehman, and Wirch. 

Staff Changes in the Legislature – Staff who campaign for their bosses or other candidates in their party must remove themselves from state employment, leaving legislative offices with less and often temporary staff.  To make sure your contact information is current, see the Assembly Staff Directory and the Senate Staff Directory.

Legislative Committee Activity – While the legislature is not in session, committees and study groups continue to meet. The legislative update will now contain legislative committee activities for current and upcoming weeks.

 

FEDERAL UPDATE

►Appropriations Update
After a stalemate lasting much of July, House leaders have announced that the fiscal 2009 Military Construction-VA spending bill will come to the floor the week of July 28, and House appropriators scheduled a subcommittee markup of Defense appropriations.  Most of the work on earmarks was halted after a markup when Republicans tried to divert the issue to oil and gas drilling, and Democrats have been hesitant to bring any bills to the floor because of promises by GOP conservatives to offer hundreds of amendments dealing with earmarks.  House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey said of scheduling the two appropriations markups, "We'll just put it up, and see if people behave responsibly.  We'll see next week whether this place is populated by adults or juveniles."  It is expected that Congress will not pass the 12 annual spending bills before September 30 when the federal fiscal year ends and the new fiscal year begins, requiring stopgap continuing resolutions funding the government until the next Congress.

►FY08 Supplemental Funding Bill
Congress will consider a second FY08 supplemental funding bill in September.  Campuses are encouraged to ask members of the House and Senate now and through the August recess to include $500 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a final package. 

The NIH funding was included in a manager’s amendment to the FY08 supplemental funding bill that was to be considered in the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 24, before Chairman Byrd postponed the markup.  Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) have led this effort. Congress added $150 million for NIH in the first FY08 supplemental funding package (P.L. 110-252), which was signed into law on June 30. 

►Higher Education Act Reauthorization
The American Council on Education is reporting that final legislative action may be nearing regarding reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  ACE indicates that a deal has been reached among staff negotiators, and that a final meeting among member conferees and floor action could be scheduled as early as next Friday, when Congress adjourns for party nominating conventions, or in September when Congress returns to finish business before adjournment. 

►Campus Safety Toolkit Offered by Department of Justice
The Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has developed a series of materials aimed at helping colleges and universities address campus safety and disorder issues.  The Campus Safety Toolkit is available online and printed copies can be ordered free of charge by calling the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770.

►Student Loan Consumer Guide Published
The Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have published a consumer guide to help students and their families navigate the offers they may face when seeking new student loans or consolidating existing loans to pay for higher education.  The new guide, "Student Loans: Avoiding Deceptive Offers," provides detailed information about the different benefits and terms of federal and private loans, as well as tips on recognizing questionable practices.  The guide also includes several resources for information about student loans and filing a complaint against various types of lenders.

AROUND WISCONSIN

“Around Wisconsin” features items relating to exciting progress on campus or examples of strong relations with the community and policy makers. Please send items of interest to externalrelations@uwsa.edu.

  • UW-Parkside: A ground breaking ceremony was held on July 24 to celebrate the start of construction on the campus’ new residence hall which is slated to be completed prior to the fall semester of the 2009-2010 academic year.
  • UW-Stout: University of Wisconsin-Stout Outreach and Research Services Executive Director Christopher Smith has been named interim president of the Dunn County Economic Development Corporation.  

    The first ever Wisconsin Science and Technology Symposium was held on July 17-18 on the UW-Stout campus.  WiSys Technology Foundation and UW-Stout organized the symposium, in partnership with the UW System.  Keynote speakers included Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (see "In the News") and Carl Gulbrandsen, Managing Director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.  Carl said, "We at WARF are proud that WiSys is an affiliate of our foundation and that we played a major role starting WiSys in the year 2000. Our major partner in creating WiSys was, of course, the University of Wisconsin System. I’d like to recognize and thank the Regents and staff of the UW System for their vision in seeing the potential of WiSys and for supporting its efforts over the past 8 years."  He added, "I’ve seen WiSys grow from just an idea to an organization with collaborators throughout the UW System campuses and commercial partners across the state. I’ve also known and worked closely with Maliyakal John and the WiSys team for a number of years and know that this symposium is a testament to their tireless efforts in spreading technology transfer throughout our state. The WiSys team has spent countless hours connecting with faculty and administration at the comprehensive campuses, collaborating with state and private organizations, and networking with Wisconsin companies. The participation level at this first Wisconsin Science & Technology Symposium makes clear the solid foundation they already have built and how collaborative innovations will continue to grow in Wisconsin."

    Interdisciplinary research was the focus of the symposium which brought together the most innovative researchers from the UW comprehensive campuses and other research organizations in Wisconsin.  The event featured short presentations by leading researchers in areas such as bioenergy, personalized medicine, nano and material sciences.  In addition, representatives from several companies as well as a number of state government officials made presentations regarding angel investments and federal SBIR-STTR programs. 
  • UW-Whitewater: Wisconsin First Lady Jessica Doyle praised the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Pre-College Academic Programs, calling them some of the best in the nation, during a visit to the campus.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Aug  
20 Student government representatives from across the UW System will convene in Madison for their first annual meeting of the 08-09 academic year
21-22 Board of Regents meeting in Madison
28 Second annual "Resource Rendezvous:  Connecting Wisconsin to Classified Research." sponsored byWisconsin Security Research Consortium  Speakers include Michael Smith, Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Dave Busigo, Special Assistant for Innovative Research and Technology Transfer, U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  Resource Rendezvous is being held at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield.
Sept  
19 Fall meeting for the Inclusivity Initiative hosted in Madison
Nov  
12-13 Synergy Conference 08 hosted by UW-River Falls
Mar 2009 Watch for further details regarding the NSF Regional Grants Conference hosted by UW-Milwaukee and the UW System Office of Federal Relations on March 6, 2009, in Milwaukee.  Key NSF representatives will present information on NSF, the review process, cross-disciplinary and international programs.  There will be breakout sessions with program officers from the NSF directorates and a session on proposal writing.

 

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