The Weekly Update

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.

Subscribe below to receive weekly e-mail notifications for state and federal legislative updates.

*The newsletter will not be published the week of January 20, 2025 due to the federal holiday.*

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State Relations

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state building commission

Last Friday, January 10, the State Building Commission voted on two items related to the Universities of Wisconsin. Both items passed and are laid out below –

Item 1:

  • UW-Whitewater – Authority to construct and increase the budget for Winther Hall - $89,065,000 SEG REV
  • UW-Madison – Authority to construct and increase the budget for the New Engineering Building - $419,800,000 ($226,400,000 SEG REV and $193,400,000 Gift/Grants)
  • UW-Stout – Authority to increase the budget for Heritage Hall - $144,311,000 SEG REV

Item 2:

  • Authority to reallocate $25,000,000 to the Small Project Program

 

special board of regents meeting

The Board of Regents met virtually for a special meeting last Tuesday, January 7. Agenda items and the webcast can be viewed on the website.

Assembly floor session

The Wisconsin State Assembly will be on the floor starting at 1pm on Tuesday, January 14, to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment related to voter ID. You can watch the floor session live on WisconsinEye.

Federal Relations

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senate hearings on cabinet nominees

This week, the Senate is expected to hold several nomination hearings for President-Elect Trump’s cabinet nominees. A full list of upcoming hearings can be found on the Senate Hearings & Meetings Page.

Linda McMahon’s nomination hearing to be the Secretary of Education has not yet been scheduled. 

 

president biden farewell address

On January 15th at 7:00PM Central Time, President Biden is expected to deliver his farewell address from the Oval Office. While not yet noticed, the address is likely to be able to be watched on C-Span. 

 

presidential inauguration

On January 20th at Noon Eastern Time, President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect Vance will be sworn in to office. For more information, you can review the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) Website: https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/. 

While the event is not yet noticed, you will be able to view it on C-Span. 

 

house/senate floor schedules

The House of Representatives and Senate are both scheduled to be in session and voting this week. A full list of votes can be found on the respective websites for the House of Representatives and the Senate as they are released. 

Note: Links to external sites are provided for informational purposes and not meant to convey an endorsement of the Universities of Wisconsin.