Category: State news

A state assembly member is pushing a bill to cap tuition and fee increases at the University of Wisconsin System for two years.

Wisconsin’s minimum wage, unchanged in more than seven years, would have to rise by nearly a dollar to keep pace with today’s cost of living, according to an Associated Press review of state documents.

State Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, believes when it comes to taxing and spending it�s about trust. The proponent of the so-called Taxpayers� Bill of Rights told a Manitowoc Public Library gathering Monday night he doesn�t trust his fellow legislators to curtail spending beyond taxpayers� means.

Proposed legislation known as the taxpayer bill of rights, while not perfect, could force state and local governments into a much-needed revamping of how they deliver services, Waukesha County Executive Dan Finley said Friday.

The “fearless sifting and winnowing” that is part of the historic motto of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will take on a whole new meaning this year as the state’s flagship campus prepares to embark on a far-reaching – some will say ruthless – editing and revision of its buildings and grounds.

The result may well be a major weeding out of problem buildings over the next 10 to 20 years.

Quoted: Former UW-Madison political scientist Don Kettl, academic coordinator of the Government Performance Project.

While a rise in Advanced Placement exam test-takers in 2004 among high school students is a welcome improvement to the U.S. Department of Education, other results point to what many call the under-representation of minority groups.

During the last month an article appeared titled “Only UW won’t offer same-sex benefits,” stating that if UW-Madison is the only Big Ten university with no health insurance for the partners of its gay and lesbian staff, it will hurt the univeristy’s ability to recruit employees.

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton visited the Pyle Center Thursday night to speak about her statewide initiative for women�s economic equality in front of an audience of University of Wisconsin students, faculty and other interested parties.

An attitude problem? With teenagers? Where could they get that from?

Their answers informally confirmed the results of a Madison pediatrician’s survey: “Overall, negative attitudes, more than lack of knowledge, may weaken compliance with Wisconsin’s Graduated Driver Licensing law, and in turn, limit the reduction of teen crashes.”

That’s what Dr. Gwen McIntosh, a pediatrician and assistant professor at UW-Madison, found.

…while the Wisconsin Historical Society contains one of the largest American history archives anywhere, fewer people have visited in recent years – 40 percent fewer than in 1987 – as more of them, including students at the nearby University of Wisconsin-Madison, turn to the Internet as their basic research tool.

So the Historical Society and many other institutions with large collections are doing something they see as a means of survival: They’re going digital…

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Assembly Speaker John Gard said Wednesday he will not seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2006, ending speculation he would join the race to take on Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.

Two Madison legislators have asked for an audit of state contracts with private firms.

Citing recent controversies surrounding state contracts, Democratic Reps. Spencer Black and Terese Berceau requested that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee order an audit that would determine whether information technology, engineering and other professional services procured through contract could have been performed at less cost by state employees.

It’s a stately old building with looming columns, worn marble stairways and arched doorways – dedicated in 1900 “to the conservation, advancement and dissemination of American Heritage.”

For sale: An 80-acre college campus, good condition, room for 2,000 students. Price: $1. That is the message Waukesha County Executive Dan Finley is sending state officials who want the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha to offer more four-year degrees. If the state changes the mission of Waukesha’s two-year campus, Finley said, state officials should take it over, along with the expense and headache of maintaining it.

State Rep. Rob Kreibich has gotten lots of attention with his proposal to cut out the costs of two-year colleges now placed on our state�s university system. His proposal deserves a lot of attention and consideration.

Despite a lack of agreement among Republicans on the wording of a proposed state constitutional amendment to limit government spending, three legislative leaders said Friday that they have no doubt the Legislature will approve the measure this year.

The University of Wisconsin System president wants to merge the UW-Extension and the 13 two-year colleges under a plan he says would save taxpayers up to $1.5 million a year.

UW System President Kevin Reilly said Wednesday he will recommend his plan to the Board of Regents in February.

State funding, capital improvements and the continuing need to improve diversity were among the many topics University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Doug Hastad discussed in his spring semester all-campus address Wednesday morning.

He expects a better budget for the upcoming biennium because the state’s economic outlook is improving, he said.

Coverage of La Follette School conference on taxing and spending. Quotes Donald Nichols, the school’s director.

Republican legislators disagree, but the executive director of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, Todd Berry, told a conference conducted by the La Follette School of Public Policy Wednesday that the drive for a constitutional amendment on taxes and spending is politically dead.

La Follette director Don Nichols said Wisconsin has neither runaway government spending nor runaway taxes, but warned that “the train wreck coming in state and local finance is medical costs.”

One day after a state lawmaker proposed a major restructuring of the University of Wisconsin System to save money, System President Kevin Reilly on Wednesday put forward his own idea for a big change he said would save taxpayers $1.5 million a year.

With state lawmakers debating the need for a constitutional amendment to control government spending, a national advocate of spending limits told a conference Wednesday that a well-designed plan would cover state – but not local – government. Coverage of a Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs conference on government spending.

Gov. Jim Doyle has rejected a request by the Wisconsin State Employees Union for a mediator to help settle negotiations over contracts that expired about 18 months ago for more than 24,000 employees.