Welcome to the Universities of Wisconsin Government Relations Newsletter. The Office of Government Relations provides legislative and political updates that impact the Universities of Wisconsin at the state and federal level.
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Board of Regents
The Board of Regents of the Universities of Wisconsin met in-person at UW-Madison this past Thursday and Friday, February 5-6.
A summary of the meeting is available on the Board of Regents news site which can be found here.
State Relations
Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection
The Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection held an executive session on AB 406, relating to: University of Wisconsin System resident undergraduate tuition and fees, last week. The bill passed out of committee on a 5-1 vote. The Universities of Wisconsin testified against this bill during the public hearing.
State Building Commission
The State Building Commission met last week and unanimously approved all of the UW related projects that were on the agenda, including the authority to construct UW-Oshkosh’s Polk Library which was enumerated in the 25-27 biennial budget.
Joint Committee on Finance
The Joint Committee on Finance held an executive session on various bills last Tuesday, February 3, on various bills, including:
SB 501, relating to: creating a veterinary loan repayment grant program administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board and exempting from taxation amounts received from such a grant program. This bill passed committee unanimously (15-0) and UW-Madison submitted testimony in favor of this legislation during the public hearing.
SB 204, relating to: creating a video game production tax credit and making an appropriation. This bill passed committee on an 11-4 vote. A professor from UW-Stout testified in favor of this legislation during the public hearing.
Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities
Last week, the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities held a public hearing on AB 1005, relating to: admissions to University of Wisconsin System institutions. The Universities of Wisconsin, UW-Madison, UW-LaCrosse, and UW-Whitewater all testified in opposition to this legislation.
You can view all the testimonies for AB 1005 here.
Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities will be holding an executive session on Tuesday, February 10, at 9AM. The following UW related bills are on the agenda:
- AB 818, relating to: demonstration charter school operators.
- AB 757, relating to: the appointment of certain employees of the University of Wisconsin System and faculty governance. The Universities of Wisconsin submitted testimony for information only on this legislation.
- AB 669, relating to: race-based higher education programs and requirements.
- AB 1005, relating to: admission to University of Wisconsin System institutions. The Universities of Wisconsin, UW-Madison, UW-LaCrosse, and UW-Whitewater all testified in opposition to this legislation.
You can view all the testimonies for AB 1005 here.
You can watch on WisconsinEye.
Assembly Floor Session
The Assembly will convene on the floor on Tuesday, February 10, at 11AM. At the beginning of Tuesday’s floor session, the annual State of the Tribes address will be delivered.
You can view the Assembly calendar here. You can also watch on WisconsinEye.
Immediately following Tuesday’s floor session, the Assembly Committee on Rules will convene to set the floor calendar for Thursday’s floor session. Once set, you will be able to view the floor calendar here.
Federal Relations
Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations
On February 3, 2026, President Trump signed H.R. 7148, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026″ into law. For more, you can review the bill summary, but with passage of this legislation and following President Trump’s signature, the partial government shutdown ended and the Department of Education is now funded through the duration of the federal fiscal year.
In the coming days, the House of Representatives and Senate will need to take further action to fund the Department of Homeland Security. If interested in tracking the funding status of the agency, you can do so via the following appropriations status table.
Department of Education Update
Last week, the Department of Education issued a release on protecting the integrity of US elections.
At the time of the release Secretary McMahon said, “American colleges and universities should be focused on teaching, learning, and research – not influencing elections. The Biden Administration, with little to no regard for student privacy laws, openly encouraged institutions to share and utilize student data in order to target certain populations. Our Student Privacy Policy Office will thoroughly investigate this matter to protect students’ private data and ensure that our campuses are fully aware of and comply with their responsibilities under FERPA.”
Further, as noted in the link above, the “Department also issued guidance to all postsecondary education institutions clarifying their obligations under FERPA regarding student data privacy and the consequences of noncompliance.”
Full House and Senate Hearing Schedule
If interested, you can see a full list of upcoming hearings on the Senate Hearings & Meetings Page. A review of the committee hearings in the House of Representatives is available via the Committee Schedule within the House of Representatives Legislative Activity section on the Chamber’s main page.
House and Senate Floor Schedules
When the House of Representatives and Senate return to Washington, a full list of votes will be found on the respective websites for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Note: Links to external sites are provided for informational purposes and not meant to convey an endorsement of the Universities of Wisconsin.