June 14, 2005
FINANCE COMMITTEE COMPLETES WORK ON STATE BUDGET
Last Friday the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) completed their work on the Governor’s proposed 2005-07 state budget. The committee approved their version of the budget on an 11-5 vote. The bill now goes to the full legislature for consideration. The legislature intends to complete their work on the bill and send it to the Governor for his signature and vetoes by July 1.
For more information on the 2005-07 biennial budget, please visit the state relations web site at www.staterelations.wisc.edu/0507budget.html.
NEW REGENTS APPOINTED
Governor Jim Doyle announced the appointments of Christopher Semanas and Thomas Loftus to the UW System Board of Regents. Loftus’ term is for six years and will expire May 1, 2011, replacing Toby Marcovich who stayed on the board for an extra year. Semanas’ will serve as the student regent with a term of two years expiring May 1, 2007. Both appointments must be approved by the State Senate.
Semanas, of Rosendale, is the first Student Regent appointed from UW-Parkside and is in his fourth year majoring in English and History. He is the Past President of the Parkside Student Government Association and formerly served as the President Pro Tempore and Legislative Issues Director for the Student Government Association, where he was awarded Director of the Year in 2003. He is currently employed at the Office of Student Activities as the Campus Events Assistant and is actively involved in United Council of UW Students and the United States Student Association.
Loftus, of Sun Prairie, served as United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway and member of the Wisconsin Legislature from 1977 to 1991 where he was the Speaker of the House from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest serving Speaker in the history of the state. Loftus holds a bachelor’s degree from UW-Whitewater and a master’s degree from UW-Madison and is a member of UW-Madison’s Political Science Department’s advisory board and the alumni group working with the Dean of International Studies setting up a UW international semester in Washington, D.C. He is also and a member of the College of Letters and Science Dean’s Advisory Board at UW-Whitewater. Most recently, Loftus was the Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization.
REGENTS ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP
The UW System Board of Regents selected new leaders last Friday, electing David G. Walsh of Madison as president and Mark J. Bradley of Wausau as vice president. Walsh will succeed Toby E. Marcovich of Superior, who served as a Regent for eight years and as president since 2003. Walsh began his service as a UW Regent in 2003 and previously served as vice president of the Board. He was elected by a unanimous vote.
ASSEMBLY TO CONSIDER BILLS ON UTILITIES PAYMENT, VETERAN’S RE-ENROLLMENT AND EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION
Today, the state Assembly is scheduled to vote on Assembly Bills 378 and 438. Assembly Bill 378 would require colleges and universities in the state to reenroll students called to active duty beginning in the semester following their military discharge or the next succeeding semester, whichever the student prefers.
Assembly Bill 438 would provide funding in the current fiscal year for the UW System for energy-related and utility-related expenses by about $20 million and for additional items in other state agencies. The bill was approved last week by the Joint Committee on Finance and is a result of additional fiscal year revenue recently announced by the Governor.
Thursday, the state Assembly is scheduled to vote on Assembly Bill 343 which would prohibit UW System campuses from advertising, prescribing or dispensing emergency contraception (the “morning after pill”) or allowing those activities to take place on campus property. The bill was approved on a 5-1 vote last week by the Assembly Committee on Family Law. The Regent’s position in opposition to the bill is available at www.uwsa.edu/univ_rel/govrel/pending/position/p_ab343.htm.
SENATE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING
The Senate Higher Education Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m. in room 300 Southeast on the Capitol on Senate Bill 187, Assembly Bill 246 and three of the four recent UW System Board of Regents appointments. Senate Bill 187 would prohibit a student who has been convicted of certain drug crimes to be eligible for the WHEG grant. Assembly Bill 246 would allow transferability of certain nursing credits from technical colleges. The regent appointments to be taken up are Michael J. Spector, Judith VanderMeulen Crain and Christopher Semanas. The committee is not expected to vote on the bill or Regent appointments at this time.
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
Assembly Bill 475 - Locker room privacy
Representative Marlin Schneider (R-Wisconsin Rapids) introduced legislation that would create penalties for people who illegally capture an image of a nude or partially nude person in a locker room. The bill also would require the owner or operator of a locker room to adopt a written policy on who may enter and remain in the locker room and what image recording devices that record or transfer images may be used in the locker room. The policy must reflect the privacy interests of the individuals who use the locker room.
For the complete text of all bills and their current status, please visit http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/ab_list.html (Assembly bills) or
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/sb_list.html (Senate bills).
For more information on state related issues contact,
Kristi Thorson or Don Nelson
Assistant Directors, State Relations
608/262-8967