{"id":4519,"date":"2013-01-23T08:26:19","date_gmt":"2013-01-23T14:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=4519"},"modified":"2013-01-23T08:26:57","modified_gmt":"2013-01-23T14:26:57","slug":"legislative-update-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=4519","title":{"rendered":"Legislative Update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Leg_Landscape4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-173\" title=\"Inside Capitol\" src=\"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Leg_Landscape4.jpg\" alt=\"Inside Capitol\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Leg_Landscape4.jpg 300w, https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Leg_Landscape4-150x112.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>The <a href=\"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=4476\">2013-14 legislative session<\/a> is underway. Here&#8217;s a quick overview of recent legislative happenings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2013-15 state budget <\/strong>The state budget is expected to be introduced by Governor Walker in early to mid-February. <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.legis.wi.gov\/2013\/related\/proposals\/sjr1\">Senate Joint Resolution 1 <\/a>extended the budget deadline from January 29 to February 12. The governor has not specifically said what he plans for UW System, but <a href=\"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=4215\">performance-based funding<\/a> is a possibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>UW System personnel system audit <\/strong>The Joint Legislative Audit Committee <a href=\"http:\/\/app.blastnewsletters.com\/link.php?M=105860&amp;N=7058&amp;L=152232&amp;F=H\">met Tuesday<\/a> and voted unanimously to approve an audit of the University of  Wisconsin System&#8217;s personnel system. The audit the follows the discovery  that UW System accidentally overpaid retirement contributions and  health insurance premiums by more than $33 million since 2011. The  committee also discussed a recent <a href=\"http:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/lab\/reports\/12-17full.pdf\">audit report<\/a> that examined the re-hiring of WRS annuitants. That report found that  most re-hired annuitants are employed as part-time, temporary workers,  but abuse of the practice occasionally occurs. <a href=\"http:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=2681\">Several bills<\/a> that would limit the re-hiring of annuitants were introduced last session, and the  governor has said he supports such legislation this session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Collective bargaining (Act 10)<\/strong> Last week, a federal appeals court <a href=\"http:\/\/app.blastnewsletters.com\/link.php?M=105860&amp;N=7052&amp;L=152186&amp;F=H\">upheld<\/a> Wisconsin Act 10, the 2011 budget repair bill that sharply curtailed collective bargaining by most public employees in the state. The court found that &#8220;Act 10 places no limitations on the speech of general employee unions,  which may continue speaking on any topic or subject. . . . Act 10 simply  subsidizes the speech of one group, while refraining from doing so for  another.&#8221; A second appeal of Act 10 remains in the courts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Voter ID <\/strong>The Wisconsin Supreme Court again <a href=\"http:\/\/app.blastnewsletters.com\/link.php?M=105860&amp;N=7021&amp;L=151630&amp;F=H\">declined<\/a> to hear an appeal of the case that overthrew Wisconsin&#8217;s Voter ID law. Two appeals cases remain in lower courts in Wisconsin, one in Waukesha and one in Madison. The law is also being challenged in the federal court system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New floor rules<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.legis.wi.gov\/2013\/proposals\/ar4\">Assembly Resolution 4<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.legis.wi.gov\/2013\/proposals\/sr3\">Senate Resolution 3<\/a> both passed along party lines last week. The bills outlined new rules for observers in the galleries, including restrictions on the use of electronics in the galleries and the ability to bar observers from the gallery if they violate the rules three times. The rules were result of Republican displeasure with the contentious nature of the previous legislative session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mining legislation<\/strong> The governor and Republican legislative leaders  have made reintroduction of mining legislation a top priority. The  Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue and the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy, and Mining  <a href=\"http:\/\/app.blastnewsletters.com\/link.php?M=105860&amp;N=7058&amp;L=152247&amp;F=H\">will meet<\/a> jointly today to discuss <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/2013\/proposals\/sb1\">Senate Bill 1<\/a>, proposed mining legislation. The hearing begins at 9 am and is scheduled to  adjourn no later than 9 pm. A public hearing in northern Wisconsin is  not planned, and this bill appears to be on the fast track. State  Senator Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) plans to introduce his own mining bill  in the coming days. Draft legislation is <a href=\"http:\/\/app.blastnewsletters.com\/link.php?M=105860&amp;N=7062&amp;L=152387&amp;F=H\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>State of the State<\/strong> Governor Scott Walker delivered his State of  the State address last week. The governor&#8217;s speech was short on  specifics with just a passing reference to UW System&#8217;s Flexible Degree  Option: &#8220;We  also worked with the University of Wisconsin System on a  new flexible  degree program called UW FlexOption to help adult learners  earn degrees  in targeted fields.  Nearly a quarter of all adults in  this state have  some college credit without a degree.  For many, time  and money are the  barriers to finishing that degree. I  can relate.   During my senior year at Marquette University, I was  offered a  full-time job at the American Red Cross.  I thought I would  squeeze in a  course here or there and finish things off in a year or  two, but then  Tonette and I got married.  Then we had Matt.  And then  came Alex. Next   thing you know, you&#8217;re putting all your extra time and money into your   kids.  The UW FlexOption will provide a less time-consuming, less  costly  way to finish off a degree.  It will help prepare more people to  fill  the critical needs we have in the workforce.&#8221; The entire text of  the speech is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewheelerreport.com\/wheeler_docs\/files\/0115walkersos.pdf\">here<\/a> and video is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=dlFZdPDAa-U\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2013-14 legislative session is underway. Here&#8217;s a quick overview of recent legislative happenings: 2013-15 state budget The state budget is expected to be introduced by Governor Walker in early to mid-February. Senate Joint Resolution 1 extended the budget deadline&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/?p=4519\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[18,31],"class_list":["post-4519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-state","tag-legislature","tag-scott-walker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4519"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4547,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519\/revisions\/4547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profs.wisc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}