Category: State news

When the Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee finally gets around to taking up the University of Wisconsin System?s budget, faculty, staff and administrators at campuses across the state will be holding their collective breath. Leaders within both UW-Madison and the UW System have been spending seemingly every waking moment since mid-February pushing their proposals for how to break public higher education free from state oversight so campuses can operate more efficiently and effectively. The problem is that UW-Madison and UW System officials have been unable to get on the same page to pitch a unified message.

Yet another budget battle is looming in Madison. The Joint Finance Committee is finishing up its work on the two-year budget.

Recent events in Wisconsin draw into sharp relief the dilemmas faced by systems — particularly where land grant institutions are involved. While independence for the University of Wisconsin at Madison is now unlikely, a key fact has been overlooked. Whether the current structures in Wisconsin and elsewhere are ideal or seriously flawed, they have not been historically set in stone, and in fact reflect significant changes in mission and governance in most states.

Protesters disrupted a meeting of the Legislature?s budget writing committee, shouting down lawmakers and chanting “Shame!”

It was chaos at the Capitol Thursday night when protesters erupted as lawmakers worked on final changes to the budget they?ll start debating next week.

With lawmakers gearing up for a vote on the state budget, a ?Walkerville? camp similar to the one that sprang up during the protests at the state Capitol earlier this year may be returning this weekend ? this time to the terraces of Mifflin and Carroll streets.

We Are Wisconsin, an alliance of community groups, labor unions and others, has asked the city for a permit to set up the camp across from the Capitol to provide information about Gov. Scott Walker?s budget proposals and efforts to recall Republican legislators who voted to eliminate bargaining rights for most public employees.

Gov. Scott Walker?s priorities of balancing Wisconsin?s budget without raising taxes while also buying down the state?s debt remain largely intact under the two-year state spending plan expected to be forwarded to the full Legislature by the end of the week. Republicans who control the Joint Finance Committee have agreed with Walker?s general approach to eliminating the state?s $3 billion budget shortfall. Republicans have signed off on a roughly $800 million cut in aid to public schools and are expected to approve a $250 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System later this week.

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, wins the most unsurprising quote of the week this week for voicing his skepticism about UW-Madison splitting from the UW System. “I don?t think there?s a lot of support for the split and I think the Legislature should take their time before allowing these academicians any more responsibility in business dealings,” he said.

UW-Madison will not be splitting from the rest of the UW System, according to lawmakers. But a similar plan could be in the works.

MADISON – Wisconsin legislative leaders are considering a task force to study the idea of letting U-W Madison run itself, separate from the rest of the university system.

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells is in no mood to celebrate the demise Friday of Gov. Scott Walker?s proposal to break off the Madison campus from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System.

A Wisconsin circuit court judge has invalidated a controversial law designed to limit the power of public-sector unions in the state ? legislation that prompted massive protests in Madison, the state capital and brought international attention to Wisconsin earlier this year.

Quoted: ?Some state senators who were involved in passing the legislation have to be wondering whether or not taking action in June is the right thing or wrong thing politically, a month before facing voters,? says Barry Burden, who teaches political science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

In yet another twist in Wisconsin?s bitter fight over the unions, a judge Thursday struck down the Republican-sponsored bill to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, moving the battle to the state Supreme Court. Quoted: Charles Franklin, professor of political science.

A judge has struck down the collective bargaining bill, ruling that the state?s open meetings law was violated.

In a decision issued this morning, Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that Republican lawmakers violated the Open Meetings Law when they scheduled a conference committee meeting to advance a stripped down version of the Governor?s collective bargaining bill with less than two hours notice.

Gov. Scott Walker?s controversial proposal to split UW-Madison from the UW System and grant the university public authority status through Chancellor Biddy Martin?s New Badger Partnership is dead, Republican officials said Thursday.

Gov. Scott Walker?s proposal to award the University of Wisconsin-Madison public authority status is dead, Republican officials confirmed Thursday.

Union supporters were handed a huge ? although possibily temporary ? victory Thursday morning, when a Dane County judge struck down a controversial bill that stripped most collective bargaining rights from public employees.

MADISON, Wis. — A Dane County judge has struck down a law taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most state workers. Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi ruled on Thursday that Republican legislators violated Wisconsin?s open meetings law during the run up passing the controversial measure. She said that renders the law void.

In her ruling, Sumi said that there was “no conflicting Senate, Assembly or joint rule in effect on March 9, 2011, that would have excused compliance with the public notice requirement” of 24 hours notice. She went on to say, “The evidence also demonstrated a failure to obey even the two-hour notice allowed for good cause if 24-hour notice is impossible or impractical.”

A three-month debate over the way the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the rest of the UW System are run has shown that all state universities are going to need more freedom from state rules to remain competitive and to offset deep proposed budget cuts, state lawmakers say.