Republicans broke from their party allegiance to Gov. Scott Walker in the first briefing on his budget plan Tuesday, joining Democrats in questioning the governor?s decisions to cut money for recycling and reshape the University of Wisconsin System. The meeting was a signal of how difficult it will be for Walker to get everything he wants in the two-year spending plan he delivered to the Legislature earlier this month. Rep. Pat Strachota, R-West Bend, asked Huebsch to explain why other University of Wisconsin campuses weren?t being given the same autonomy as the Madison campus under the governor?s budget. Walker is proposing spinning the flagship campus off from the UW-System and creating a new quasi-public entity giving it more autonomy to make its own spending decisions and set tuition rates. Huebsch said Walker considered giving the same authority to other campuses but they weren?t as ready as Madison to make the change. Madison?s experience will serve as a model for the other campuses, he said.
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