Category: The state

Joint Audit Committee Approves UW System Plan on Cash Balances

by Michelle Felber • April 25, 2014 • Comments Off

The legislature’s Joint Committee on Audit met yesterday and unanimously approved UW System’s plan for managing and disclosing cash balances and fund reserves. Campus financial reserves have been the subject of intense legislative scrutiny since April 2013 when the Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported UW System holds more than $650 million in reserve.

The legislature directed UW System to develop a plan as part of the 2013-15 biennial budget (Act 20), and the Legislative Audit Committee requested additional changes after a plan was presented to them on November 20, 2013. The Board of Regents approved those revisions earlier this month.

The revised plan requires individual campuses to hold between 10 and 15 percent of their total fiscal year expenditures in reserve. Campuses with less than 10 percent fund balances must report a savings plan to the regents, while campuses holding more than 15 percent fund balances must provide justification to the regents and submit a spending plan for tuition, auxiliary operations, general operations, and unrestricted program revenue.

Archived audio of the meeting is available

here

JCOER Approves UW-Madison Personnel Plan

by Michelle Felber • April 23, 2014 • Comments Off

The legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations approved new personnel plans for UW-Madison and UW System today. The legislature directed the university to develop plans to be implemented by July 1, 2015 as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget, but never approved them.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank told the committee the new human resources system will allow UW-Madison to attract and retain the best faculty and staff through increased management flexibilities:

This new system will give us flexibility in some places where we need it, greater coherence in how we deal with staff across all positions, and should help us recruit more effectively. Making sure we have the best talent is crucial if UW-Madison is to remain a world-class university, provide an excellent education to our students and help drive the economy of the state.

Merit raises based on performance, currently not allowed under state statutes, will be requested, according to Chancellor Blank.

Joint Committee on Employment Relations to Discuss UW-Madison’s HR Plan

by Michelle Felber • April 22, 2014 • Comments Off

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER) will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, April 23, at 9:30 am to discuss UW-Madison’s new personnel system. UW System’s proposed personnel system is also on the agenda. The committee may take executive action on the plans after the public hearing, which will be held in Room 412 East, State Capitol.

The legislature directed UW-Madison and UW System to develop and implement their own personnel systems as part of the Act 32, the 2011-13 biennial budget, but the plans were never approved. JCOER held a public hearing last April, but did not vote on the plans, citing concern over UW System’s financial reserves.

UW-Madison’s personnel plan is here.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Additional Two-Year Tuition Freeze

by Michelle Felber • April 16, 2014 • Comments Off

The editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offered its opinion on Governor Walker’s proposal to extend the current tuition freeze for two additional years. University of Wisconsin System campuses are currently in the first year of a two-year tuition freeze implemented as part of the 2013-15 biennial budget.

The editorial notes that continuing the freeze will be popular with students and their families, but seems opportunistic in an election year. The freeze also raises important questions about how the state intends to fund UW System in the future:

Wisconsin students deserve affordability, but they also deserve a quality education — the kind of education the system has provided throughout its history. And a quality system requires quality faculty, staff and research facilities. Which, in turn, means paying competitive salaries and providing adequate funding for those facilities.

UW System President Ray Cross told the Journal Sentinel last week that he thought an additional one-year tuition freeze might be possible given current financial reserves, but a two-year freeze was unexpected. The editorial concludes that a one-year freeze with greater management flexibilities might have made more sense:

That strikes us as the more prudent option, unless the state is willing to come up with additional funding for the university to maintain affordability and quality for students. What the universities need is greater flexibility from state control — not more, mindless, politicized control. As we asked earlier: What sort of university system does the state want? Let your governor and legislators know.

Your opinion is important. Information on how to contact the governor or your legislators is here.

Governor Walker Proposes Additional 2-Year Tuition Freeze

by Michelle Felber • April 12, 2014 • Comments Off

Governor Scott Walker announced Friday morning that he would propose an additional two-year freeze on University of Wisconsin System tuition. The governor said his proposal was a direct result of the recent disclosure that UW System will finish the fiscal year with about $1 billion in reserve. Last year, the governor called for a two-year tuition freeze after the university was found to have just over $1 billion in reserve.

The governor’s plan came as a surprise as the UW System Board of Regents met for a second day in a regularly scheduled meeting. UW System President Ray Cross responded quickly, saying that he will continue his work with the governor and legislature while thoughtfully and judiciously managing and explaining UW System resources. Cross told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had discussed the possibility of a one-year extension of the tuition freeze with the governor’s staff about a month ago, but the conversation had been casual.

The Regent Audit Committee and Budget and Finance Committee met Thursday morning and revealed cash balance projections for FY 2013-14. UW System will finish the year with almost $1.1 billion in reserve, about half coming from tuition.

UW System officials say that about 80 percent of the funds are committed on some level (see below). UW-Madison’s share of the reserve is about $600 million, and Cross told the Journal Sentinel that UW-Madison is among the handful of campuses that could survive three to four years on cash balances without implementing major budget cuts.

fy 2013-14 reserves

Legislative Update

by Michelle Felber • April 7, 2014 • Comments Off

The 2013-14 regular legislative session ended last week and legislators and the governor will shift their focus to the fall elections.

PROFS was very active in the legislative process, meeting with more than a dozen legislators and staff on several issues.

AB 729, a bill that will allow classified research on UW System campuses, was passed by the legislature and awaits the governor’s signature. PROFS registered in favor of this bill.

The governor recently signed many bills into law:

SB 655, a bill that included many changes to campaign finance laws. Under the new law, lobbyists may make election-year contributions to legislative candidates after April 15. Current law limits such contributions to June 1 or later.
SB 324, a bill that limits in-person early voting to weekdays from 8 am to 7 pm. Early voting on weekends will not be allowed. The governor vetoed a provision in the bill that would have limited early voting to 45 hours per week.
AB 202, a bill that would allow election observers as close as three feet from the tables where voters announce their names and addresses before receiving a number to vote.
SB 300, a bill that would require insurers to cover oral chemotherapy in the same way that intravenous chemotherapy is covered.
AB 726, a bill that would allow marijuana oil to be used as a treatment for seizure disorders.

Board of Regents

Governor Scott Walker named four new members to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents last month. The governor appointed José Delgado and Eve Hall to replace outgoing Regents John Drew and Gary Roberts. Delgado and Hall will serve seven year terms beginning May 1.

Walker appointed UW-Madison student Nicolas Harsy to a two year term, serving as the non-traditional student regent and appointed UW-La Crosse student Anicka Purath to complete the two-year traditional student term being vacated by UW-Platteville student Chad Landes who is graduating in May and leaving the board early.

Fall Elections

Governor Scott Walker will face Democrat Mary Burke in November, and twenty legislators have announced they will retire at the end of their term or pursue higher office.

The following senators have announced they will retire at the end of their term:

Senator Tim Cullen (D-Janesville)
Senator Bob Jauch (R-Poplar)
Senator John Lehman (D-Racine)
Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center)

The following assembly members will not run again:

Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton)
Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland)
Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay)
Rep. Fred Clark (D-Baraboo)
Rep. Mike Endsley (R-Sheboygan)
Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah)
Rep. Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake)
Rep. John Klenke (R-Green Bay)
Rep. Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha)
Rep. Dan LeMahieu (R-Cascade)
Rep. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green)
Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Shorewood)
Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee)
Rep. Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville)
Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend)
Rep. Erik Severson (R-Osceola)
Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford)

UW-Milwaukee Chancellor’s Departure Forces Discussion on Importance of UW System to State

by Michelle Felber • April 3, 2014 • Comments Off

Michael Lovell

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Michael Lovell announced last week he would resign in July to become the first lay leader of Marquette University. Lovell’s departure after three-and-a-half years as chancellor came as a surprise to the greater Milwaukee community.

UW-Milwaukee has long enjoyed a good relationship with the Milwaukee business community, and Lovell maintained those close ties. Many of those business leaders recognize the importance to a strong public university system.

Sheldon Lubar, a former regent president and contributor to UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and Marquette University noted the legislature’s recent treatment of UW System had an impact:

The UW System is the most important — without a rival second — the most important institution in the state, and the success of our community in Milwaukee and every community in our state is dependent on a highly educated citizenry. The university is not just a punching bag and a place you can take money from without any regard to what its impact is.

Lubar was referring to the controversy last year surrounding budget reserves. Lovell strongly defended the reserves and maintained that reserves are necessary to protect the institution from unexpected budget shortfalls.

Karen Herzog and Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote Sunday that Lovell’s announcement comes as UW-Milwaukee is at a significant crossroads:

Several major construction projects are well underway, but others are still in the design phase and haven’t been funded. The university’s strategic plan is not settled — although Lovell vowed it will be finished by August, when he moves to Marquette. A massive campaign to raise hundreds of millions of dollars is just a year away. Enrollment has declined in the last three freshman classes, leading to work on a new enrollment strategy. Faculty turnover is distressing.

Geography professor Mark Schwartz, chair of UW-Milwaukee’s University Committee, told the Journal Sentinel that the university is underfunded and the legislature must decide what kind of university it is willing to fund:

The one good thing that comes from this at some level is putting it in the hands of the state and (UW) System to really define what they want us to be. We want candidates to come in with a question mark about our status and our role in the future.

Tuesday, April 1 is Election Day

by Michelle Felber • March 31, 2014 • Comments Off

Spring 2014 elections will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. While most races on the ballot are local and non-partisan, voters in Dane County will be asked their preferences on two legislative issues, including one on redistricting legislation:

DANE COUNTY REFERENDUM #1
“Should the Wisconsin Constitution be amended to require a nonpartisan system for redistricting legislative and congressional districts in the state?”

PROFS is registered in support of AB 185/SB 163, bills that would change the way the state draws legislative and congressional districts every ten years. The bills would shift the work of redistricting from the Legislature to the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB).

A second referendum asks voters if the state should legalize marijuana.

Voters can check their registration status, learn more about local races, and find where to vote on the MyVoteWisconsin website.

Legislature to Conclude Work Tuesday

by Michelle Felber • March 31, 2014 • Comments Off

The Wisconsin Legislature will conclude its work this session on Tuesday, April 1 when the Senate meets to take up several proposals. The senate is scheduled to vote on AB 729, a bill allowing classified research on UW System campuses.

The senate is also expected to approve SB 300, a bill that would require insurers to cover oral chemotherapy in the same way that intravenous chemotherapy is covered. Newer forms of chemotherapy come in a pill form, allowing insurers to treat it as a prescription drug rather than a medical treatment. Senate leaders had originally refused to bring the bill to the floor of the senate, but relented after much public pressure. The senate must pass an amended version of the bill before it can go to Governor Scott Walker for his consideration.

Bills Signed Into Law Governor Scott Walker signed several bills into law recently:

SB 655, a bill that included many changes to campaign finance laws. Under the new law, lobbyists may make election-year contributions to legislative candidates after April 15. Current law limits such contributions to June 1 or later.

Senate Bill 324, a bill that limits in-person early voting. Under the new law, municipalities may offer early voting weekdays from 8 am to 7 pm. Early voting on weekends will not be allowed. The governor vetoed a provision in the bill that would have limited early voting to 45 hours per week.

Assembly Bill 19, a bill that requires plaintiffs to disclose which businesses they plan sue when filing asbestos-related lawsuits. Plaintiffs must also file claims with an asbestos trust before suing individual businesses.

Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges to Vote on Classified Research Bill

by Michelle Felber • March 27, 2014 • Comments Off

The Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges will hold an executive session today to vote on Senate Bill 578, a proposal that would allow classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses. A System administrative policy currently prohibits such research.

The bill will go to the Senate on April 1 if approved today. An amended version of companion bill (AB 729) passed the Assembly February 20. The original bill included language that would allow exemptions to the state’s open records law, but that language was removed after Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee Chair Representative Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) said he would not schedule a vote on proposal if it included the exemption.

PROFS worked with the authors of the legislation and is registered in favor of the bill. This statement was given to the senate committee at a public hearing on March 5.

The committee will also vote on several appointments to the UW System Board of Regents and Wisconsin Technical System Board. Governor Scott Walker announced three regent appointments last week and named UW-Madison student Nicolas Harsy to a two-year term as the non-traditional student regent yesterday.

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