June 2, 2005
FINANCE COMMITTEE VOTES ON UW BUDGET
Yesterday the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee took action on the UW System budget. Of interest to UW-Madison, their votes resulted in the following changes to the Governor’s proposed budget:
Budget Cuts to the University and Financial Aid
- Cut $25 million from the UW System base ($15 million in the first year, $10 million in the second year). $3 million of this cut ($1.5 million each year) must be taken by UW System Administration. This cut is in addition to the effective $65 million cut imposed by the governor through mandatory reallocation of university funds
- Delayed 100 of the required Systemwide position cuts to the second year. There will still be 200 cuts over the biennium, but only 100 have to be made in 2005-06.
- Removed approximately $14.5 million from the Governor’s proposed $49 million increase in new state tax dollars (GPR). The Committee removed $11.4 million (and 120 positions) for new faculty, $500,000 from Alzheimer’s Research at UW-Madison, $611,400 for baccalaureate expansion and removed $1 million each for Lawton Grants and for Advanced Opportunity Program (AOP) grants. Lawton Grants will now increase by 6 percent and the AOP grants by 4 percent.
- Removed $11 million from the Higher Educational Aids Board’s (HEAB) Wisconsin Higher Education Grant (WHEG) for UW students. After this cut, the WHEG grant will grow by 6 percent each year of the biennium Statutory language that links financial aid increases to the previous year tuition increase was modified so the financial aid increases are based on current year estimated tuition increases.
Tuition
- Did not include language to cap tuition increases at 3 percent, which had been considered earlier in budget deliberations. A tuition cap at 3 percent would have cost the UW System $49 million in lost revenue and would have likely left the System unable to fully fund recommended pay plan increases. (Pay plan is expected to be taken up by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations later this month.)
Policy/Other
- Created a “Higher Education Task Force” to study the public benefits of Wisconsin public higher education. The goals of the task force are to expand baccalaureate degrees for Wisconsin residents, foster economic development, and provide a research environment to develop intellectual properties and assist in the development of new business.
- Specified that UW System campuses that prohibit the reserve officer training corps (ROTC) from operating campus will be prohibited from receiving state tax dollars (GPR).
- Prohibited the UW System from using GPR or tuition funds for UW System president and UW System chancellors’ automobile allowance.
- Required the Department of Administration and the UW System to study the apportionment of energy costs in GPR and other funding source buildings including the allocation of federal indirect research dollars and private research funding for energy costs.
- Required the UW System Board of Regents to impose a 100 percent per credit tuition surcharge for courses that are retaken because of failure on the first attempt.
- Required the UW System Board of Regents to charge students the full cost-per-student for any credits beyond 125% of graduation credit requirements in coursework towards a first baccalaureate degree.
- Eliminated certain UW System reporting requirements.
- Removed language allowing certain undocumented residents to receive a nonresident tuition remission.
- Removed funding and language allowing the UW System to provide health insurance to domestic partners (in previous action).
Chancellor Wiley’s statement on the Committee’s action is available at http://www.news.wisc.edu/11258.html.
The Committee is expected to meet again today and Friday and then again next week. Building projects are included on today’s agenda. The papers from which the members will be voting are available at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/2005-07budget/BudgetPapers/May25_2.htm (click on “Building Program”).
For more information on the 2005-07 biennial budget, please visit the state relations web site at www.staterelations.wisc.edu/0507budget.html.
A regular state relations update covering other legislation and state related news will be sent next Monday.
For more information on state related issues contact,
Kristi Thorson or Don Nelson
Assistant Director, State Relations
608/262-8967