This bill eliminates the usual filing fee for an action brought by the state or its
delegate or commenced on behalf of the child by a guardian ad litem to determine
child support and legal custody and physical placement of a child for whom paternity
has been established by his or her parents' voluntary acknowledgement of paternity.
Public defender
Under current law, if a person qualifies for legal representation by the Office
of the State Public Defender (SPD), the SPD either assigns an attorney employed by
the office to represent the person or contracts with a private attorney to represent
the person. If two potential SPD clients have conflicting interests, the SPD must
contract with private attorneys to represent at least one of the potential clients.
The bill creates, within the SPD, a two-year pilot program to administer a
conflicts office in Milwaukee County that will represent clients in Milwaukee,
Waukesha, and Racine counties who would otherwise be represented by private
attorneys due to a conflicting interest with the SPD.
Current law requires the SPD to enter into as many annual contracts as
possible with private attorneys or firms to provide legal representation. This bill
provides that late payments under such contracts do not accrue the 12 percent
interest that certain other late payments do.
District attorneys
Under current law, a judge may appoint a special prosecutor, or a district
attorney may request a judge to appoint a special prosecutor, to perform the duties
of the district attorney if certain circumstances exist such as: there is no district
attorney, the district attorney is absent, or the district attorney is serving in the
armed forces; the district attorney is related to the party to be tried or has determined
that a conflict of interest exists; or the district attorney is physically unable to attend
to his or her duties. This bill specifies that inability to attend to duties must be due
to a health issue, and this bill requires the judge, or the requesting district attorney,
to submit to DOJ an affidavit attesting to the existence of the circumstance that
qualifies for the appointment of a special prosecutor. Under current law, the court
fixes the amount of compensation for a special prosecutor based on the rates provided
to private attorneys providing legal representation through a contract with the state
public defender and DOA must pay that compensation. Under this bill, DOJ must
approve the appointment of a special prosecutor before the court may fix the amount
of compensation. In addition, this bill provides that late payment of compensation
does not accrue the 12 percent interest that certain other late payments do.
This bill increases, from five to seven, the number of deputy district attorneys
that the district attorney for a county that has a population of 500,000 or more may
appoint.
Other courts and procedure
This bill eliminates exceptions to the payment of a justice information system
surcharge by persons paying certain court fees, and eliminates exceptions to the
payment of fees by a defendant in a forfeiture action.
Under the bill, a circuit court must impose on and collect from a person who
operates an aircraft under the influence of an intoxicant, the costs charged to, paid
by, or expected to be charged to, a law enforcement agency to collect the person's
blood.
Under current law, the Judicial Commission, composed of five nonlawyers
appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate and two judges and two
state bar members appointed by the supreme court, investigates any misconduct or
permanent disability of a judge or court commissioner. The supreme court reviews
the actions of the Judicial Commission and determines the appropriate discipline or
action to take in response to the judicial commission's investigation. The bill moves
the appropriations for administering the Judicial Commission to the supreme court.
Under current law, the Judicial Council consists of 21 designated or appointed
members, including a supreme court justice, one court of appeals judge, four circuit
court judges, the chairpersons of the senate and assembly committees dealing with
judicial affairs or their designees, and the attorney general or his or her designee.
Current law empowers the council to advise the supreme court of changes to the rules
of pleading, practice, and procedure that would simplify procedure and promote a
speedy determination of litigation on its merits and to recommend to the legislature
changes to the business of the courts that can be accomplished only through
legislation. This bill eliminates the Judicial Council and its appropriations.
Currently, the salaries of justices of the supreme court, court of appeals judges,
and circuit court judges are based on recommendations of the director of the Office
of State Employment Relations and submitted for approval to the Joint Committee
on Employment Relations (JCOER).
This bill creates a Judicial Compensation Commission (commission), consisting
of members appointed by the supreme court, to review judicial salaries and submit
a written report and make recommendations on the judicial salaries.
Current law requires the Division of Hearings and Appeals (DHA) to appoint
hearing examiners to make findings and orders in crime victim compensation
contested cases and in certain contested cases involving health care providers. For
both of these types of contested cases, initial decisions are issued by DOJ.
This bill repeals the requirement that DHA conduct these hearings, but DOJ
allows the option to contract with DHA to provide hearing services.
This bill consolidates several general purpose revenue appropriations, related
to circuit court costs, to the director of state courts into one biennial appropriation
and requires the director to define circuit court costs. This bill also consolidates
general purpose revenue appropriations for the director of state courts and the state
law library.
Education
Primary and secondary education
This bill makes a number of changes to the Racine Parental Choice Program
(RPCP), the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), and the statewide
parental choice program (statewide choice program) (together, PCPs).
Current law limits the number of pupils who may participate in the statewide
choice program to 1,000 pupils and specifies that no more than one percent of any
school district's total enrollment may attend private schools under the statewide
choice program. Current law also limits the number of private schools that may
participate in the statewide choice program. This bill eliminates these limitations
on the statewide choice program.
Under current law, for each pupil attending a private school under the RPCP
or the statewide choice program, DPI pays the private school an amount equal to the
lesser of (a) the participating private school's operating and debt service cost per
pupil and (b) a maximum amount provided by law. For the 2014-15 school year, the
maximum per pupil amount provided by law is $7,210 or $7,856, depending on the
pupil's grade. For each school year after the 2014-15 school year, the maximum per
pupil payment is adjusted based on any increase in the per pupil revenue limit and
any increase in the total categorical aid funding per pupil (per pupil payment
adjustment). Currently, DPI makes payments to private schools participating in the
RPCP or the statewide choice program from a sum sufficient appropriation.
This bill changes the payments DPI makes to participating private schools for
pupils who begin attending a private school under the RPCP or the statewide choice
program in the 2015-16 school year or in any school year thereafter (new choice
pupils). Under the bill, for a new choice pupil, each participating private school
receives the same per pupil amount. The amount is based on the following factors:
1. The school districts in which new choice pupils reside.
2. The per pupil equalization aid for each of those school districts.
3. The number of new choice pupils residing in each school district.
The per pupil amount is calculated annually by DPI. Under the bill, payments
to participating private schools for new choice pupils are paid from the general
equalization aid sum certain appropriation.
Under current law, pupils attending a private school under the RPCP or the
statewide choice program are not included in a school district's membership for
purposes of calculating the school district's equalization aid. Under the bill,
beginning with the aid calculation for the 2016-17 school year, solely for purposes
of calculating a school district's equalization aid, a school district's membership
includes new choice pupils residing in the school district that are attending a private
school under the RPCP or the statewide choice program. The bill also requires that
the amount of each school district's equalization aid be reduced by an amount
determined by multiplying the school district's per pupil equalization aid by the
number of new choice pupils who reside in that school district. This reduction is not
considered for purposes of calculating a school district's revenue limit.
Under current law, a pupil must satisfy one of the following to attend a private
school under the RPCP:
1. He or she was enrolled in a public school in the school district in the previous
school year.
2. He or she was not enrolled in school in the previous school year.
3. He or she attended a private school under the RPCP in the previous school
year.
4. He or she is applying to kindergarten, 1st grade, or 9th grade.
This bill creates the same requirement for new choice pupils in the statewide
choice program.
This bill changes payments made to private schools participating in the RPCP
or the statewide choice program for pupils who began attending a participating
private school before the 2015-16 school year only to the extent the bill 1) eliminates
the option of a per pupil payment amount based on a private school's operating and
debt service costs and 2) delays applying the per pupil payment adjustment until the
2017-18 school year. The bill makes these same changes to payments made for
pupils participating in the MPCP.
Current law requires a participating private school to submit an annual
financial audit prepared by an independent certified public accountant to DPI that
includes the private schools' educational costs. Under the bill, the annual financial
audit must comply with generally accepted accounting principles, as modified by
DPI, and include a calculation of the private school's net eligible educational
programming costs and the balance of the private school's fund for future educational
programming costs.
Under current law, a private school participating in the MPCP or the RPCP
must accept pupil applications on a random basis except that the private school may
give a preference to pupils who attended the private school, to siblings of pupils who
attended the private school, and to pupils who attended a different private school
under a PCP. For the statewide choice program, DPI determines the pupils who may
attend each participating private school by a random drawing, except that DPI must
give preference to a sibling of a pupil chosen by random drawing. This bill creates
the following list of preferences which participating private schools may use to accept
pupils under any PCP:
1. Pupils continuing at the participating private school.
2. Siblings of pupils continuing at the participating private school.
3. Pupils who previously attended a different participating private school.
4. Siblings of pupils who previously attended a different participating private
school.
5. Siblings of pupils who were randomly accepted to attend the participating
private school for the current school year.
Under current law, a school board may enter into a contract with a person to
establish a charter school, which operates with fewer constraints than traditional
public schools. Current law also permits UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, the
Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the city of Milwaukee to operate charter
schools (independent charter schools) directly or to contract for the operation of such
charter schools. In general, only pupils who reside in the school district in which an
independent charter school is located may attend the charter school.
This bill creates the Charter School Oversight Board (CSOB), attached to DPI,
and authorizes it to approve nonprofit, nonsectarian organizations, or consortia of
such organizations, to contract with persons to operate independent charter schools.
The CSOB consists of the state superintendent of public instruction and ten other
members. The bill prohibits the CSOB from promulgating administrative rules and
provides that any policy or standard adopted by the CSOB is exempt from the
rule-making process.
For any charter school established on or after the bill's effective date, the bill
eliminates the authority of the entities specified above, and of any approved
nonprofit organization, to establish an independent charter school directly. Under
the bill, a charter school may be established only by contract and must be operated
by a charter school governing board, although an existing independent charter
school authorizer may continue to operate a charter school established before the
effective date of this bill. The bill removes the restrictions that limit who may attend
an independent charter school.
A nonprofit, nonsectarian organization or consortium of such organizations
that wishes to contract with a charter school governing board to operate a charter
school must submit an application to the CSOB in accordance with certain specified
requirements. The CSOB must approve or deny an application within 90 days.
The bill provides that the contract between an authorizing entity and the
independent charter school's governing board must allow the authorizing entity to
charge the governing board a fee. The contract must also allow the charter school
governing board to open additional charter schools if the charter school governed by
the contract is in one of the top two performance categories on DPI's most recent
school accountability report. The bill makes this provision applicable to existing
contracts with independent charter schools as well.
The bill allows a charter school contract to provide for more than one charter
school, and allows a charter school governing board to enter into more than one
contract. The bill allows a school board to prohibit a pupil who resides in the school
district from attending an independent charter school unless the school district's
enrollment is at least 4,000 and at least two schools in the school district are in one
of the lowest performance categories on DPI's most recent school accountability
report.
Under current law, in the 2014-15 school year, DPI pays the operator of an
independent charter school $8,075 for each pupil attending the school. Beginning
in the 2015-16 school year, for each pupil attending an independent charter school
DPI pays the per pupil amount in the previous school year plus the per pupil payment
adjustment. Under the bill, DPI will not begin applying the per pupil payment
adjustment to per pupil payments made to operators of independent charter schools
until the 2017-18 school year.
This bill authorizes the school boards of two or more school districts to enter into
a whole grade sharing agreement that provides for all or a substantial portion of the
pupils in one or more grades in any of the school districts to attend school in one or
more of the other school districts for all or a substantial portion of a school day. A
whole grade sharing agreement must specify all of the following:
1. The term of the agreement.
2. The grade levels affected by the agreement.
3. The per pupil amount that a resident school district pays for a pupil
attending a nonresident school district under the agreement.
4. Which pupils each school board is responsible to transport. A responsible
school board is eligible for state transportation aid for the pupils it transports under
the agreement.
5. Which school board will award graduation diplomas.
6. Which school board is required to maintain pupils records.
A whole grade sharing agreement must be signed by the participating school
boards no later than February 1 in order to be effective for the ensuing school year.
At least 30 days before entering into a whole grade sharing agreement, an interested
school district must hold a public hearing at which the proposed agreement is
described and school district electors may offer comments.
For each of the first five school years after a whole grade sharing agreement
takes effect, DPI must provide additional aid to each participating school district to
ensure that the school district does not receive less state aid than it did before
entering into the agreement. DPI also provides additional aid in the sixth and
seventh years after the agreement takes effect but to a lesser extent.
In general, the bill provides that pupils attending a public school in a
nonresident school district under a whole grade sharing agreement have all the
rights and privileges of resident pupils and are subject to the same rules that govern
resident pupils. The bill also provides that the school district of attendance is the
local educational agency for purposes of providing special education and related
services to children with a disability who are attending a nonresident school district
under a whole grade sharing agreement.
Under current law, DPI provides each school district with per pupil aid in the
amount of $150 multiplied by the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the
school district in the current and two preceding school years. This bill makes the per
pupil aid appropriation a sum certain appropriation and changes the manner in
which per pupil aid is calculated. Under the bill, for each pupil enrolled in a school
district in the current school year, the school district receives per pupil aid equal to
the total amount appropriated for per pupil aid in that fiscal year divided by the total
number of pupils enrolled in all school districts in that school year.
This bill makes school board participation in a cooperative educational service
agency (CESA) optional. Under current law, DPI provides funding to each CESA to
maintain and operate the CESA and to match any federal funding for vocational
education administration. Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, this bill requires
each school board participating in a CESA to pay its proportional share of these costs
to the CESA's board of control.
Currently, under the Special Transfer Program (commonly known as Chapter
220), the state provides aid to school districts to support voluntary efforts by school
districts to reduce racial imbalance. Aid is provided for both interdistrict and
intradistrict pupil transfers. This bill closes the Special Transfer Program to new
pupils. Under the bill, however, any pupil who attended a school under the program
in the 2014-15 school year may continue to participate in the program.
Under current law, a school district required to provide transportation services
to public and private school pupils enrolled in the school district is eligible to receive
pupil transportation aid. The per pupil amount of pupil transportation aid for which
a school district is eligible varies based on how far a pupil is transported.
This bill increases the per pupil transportation aid amount for transporting a
pupil who lives more than 12 miles from his or her school from $275 per school year
to $300 per school year and makes an independent charter school that elects to
provide transportation to pupils attending the charter school eligible for pupil
transportation aid.
Under current law, DPI provides additional transportation aid to school
districts with per member transportation costs that exceed 150 percent of the state
average per member transportation costs (high cost transportation aid). Under this
bill, a school district is eligible for high cost transportation aid only if the school
district has a membership density of 50 members per square mile or less.
Under current law, a school district is eligible to receive sparsity aid if in the
previous school year 1) the school district's membership was no more than 725; 2) at
least 20 percent of the school district's membership was eligible for a free or
reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Program; and 3) the school
district's membership divided by the school district's area in square miles was less
than ten. This bill eliminates the requirement that at least 20 percent of the school
district's membership was eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch.
Under current law, the amount by which a school district's equalization aid is
adjusted due to a net number of pupils leaving or entering the school district under
full-time open enrollment (OEP per pupil payment) is determined by DPI based on
the OEP per pupil payment in the previous year. Under current law, beginning in
the 2015-16 school year, the OEP per pupil payment is the OEP per pupil payment
in the previous year plus the per pupil payment adjustment. This bill delays the per
pupil payment adjustment until the 2017-18 school year.
Current law requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (state
superintendent) to approve examinations for measuring pupil attainment of
knowledge and concepts in the 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. With certain
exceptions, current law requires school districts, private schools participating in a
parental choice program (PCP), and independent charter schools to administer the
examination approved for each grade by the state superintendent. This bill prohibits
the state superintendent from approving examinations developed by the Smarter
Balanced Assessment Consortium. Current law requires these schools to administer
the ninth grade examination once in the fall session and once in the spring session.
This bill eliminates the requirement to administer the ninth grade examination in
the fall session.
This bill requires the UW-Madison Value-Added Research Center (VARC) to
approve at least three but no more than five alternative examinations determined
to be acceptable for statistical comparison with the examination approved by the
state superintendent. Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, a school may
administer an alternative examination approved by VARC instead of the
examination approved by the state superintendent if the school notifies the state
superintendent that it intends to do so.
Current law requires DPI to annually prepare accountability reports that
evaluate the performance and improvement of each school and school district in the
state and, beginning in the 2015-16 school year, of each private school participating
in a PCP and independent charter school. DPI must place each school and school
district into one of five performance categories based on certain measures including
pupil achievement in reading and mathematics.
This bill replaces the performance categories with letter grades and makes
changes to the measures used to determine school performance and school district
improvement. Under the bill, in determining a school's performance or a school
district's improvement, DPI must take into account the percentage of economically
disadvantaged pupils enrolled in the school or school district and the length of time
a pupil was enrolled in the school or school district. Each school must provide a copy
of the school's accountability report to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled
in the school.
Current law requires each school district, private school participating in a PCP,
and independent charter school to adopt pupil academic standards, and permits the
schools to adopt academic standards approved by the state superintendent. The
state superintendent has adopted academic standards, in mathematics and in
English and language arts, developed by the Common Core State Standards
Initiative (common core standards). This bill prohibits the state superintendent
from giving effect to any common core standards currently in effect, and prohibits the
state superintendent from adopting or implementing any new common core
standards. The bill also prohibits the state superintendent from requiring a school
district to adopt or implement any common core standard.
This bill requires each school board to annually provide to the parent or
guardian of each child who resides within the school district of the educational
options available to that child, and to post this information on the school district's
Internet site. The bill requires the state superintendent to provide this same
information, on a statewide basis, on DPI's Internet site.
This bill directs DPI to grant a teaching license to any individual who has a
bachelor's degree, demonstrates that he or she is proficient in the licensed subject,
and has relevant experience in the licensed subject. The license authorizes the
individual to teach only the license subject in grades 6 to 12. The license is valid for
three years and may be renewed.
University of Wisconsin System Authority
Current law creates a system of institutions of learning known as the UW
System and specifies a mission and purposes for the system. The UW System is
governed by the Board of Regents, which consists of the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the president of the technical college system, 14 citizen members
with seven-year terms, and two students with two-year terms. The latter 16
members are nominated by the governor and appointed with the advice and consent
of the senate. There is a shared, hierarchical system of governance for the UW
System: the Board of Regents has primary responsibility, followed by the UW
System president, institution chancellors, faculty, academic staff, and students.
Three boards and one council are created in or attached to the UW System: the
Environmental Education Board, the Laboratory of Hygiene Board, the Veterinary
Diagnostic Laboratory Board, and the Rural Health Development Council.
Effective July 1, 2016, this bill converts the UW System to an authority called
the University of Wisconsin System Authority (UWSA) by creating a system of
higher education known by the same name, UW System, which is provided by
UWSA. The bill creates a governing board for UWSA that retains the name, Board
of Regents, and has the same members who are appointed in the same manner and
for the same terms as under current law. The bill allows the members of the Board
of Regents under current law to continue to serve until the expiration of their terms.
The bill eliminates the shared, hierarchical system of governance under current law
by vesting responsibility for governing the UW System in the UWSA Board of
Regents and eliminating the powers specified under current law for the UW System
president, chancellors, faculty, academic staff, and students. The bill specifies that
the mission of the UW System includes developing human resources to meet the
state's workforce needs, and requires the UWSA Board of Regents to provide
affordable access to high-quality postsecondary, graduate, and doctoral education.
The bill eliminates specified grants of power to the Board of Regents under
current law, and specifies that the UWSA Board of Regents has all powers necessary
or convenient to operate the UW System, including the power to sue and be sued,
have perpetual existence, execute contracts, and contract for legal services. The bill
generally allows the UWSA Board of Regents of UWSA to adopt policies and
procedures for matters without promulgating rules under procedures that apply to
state agencies. However, the bill requires the UWSA Board of Regents to promulgate
rules under those procedures for protecting the lives, health, and safety of persons
on property under its jurisdiction, as well as for managing such property. The UWSA
Board of Regents retains the police power of the Board of Regents under current law
and campus police have the same duties and powers as under current law. As under
current law, the bill allows the UWSA Board of Regents to authorize chancellors to
adopt parking rules that are not subject to state agency rule-making procedures.
The bill requires the UWSA Board of Regents to enter into an agreement with
the DOA secretary to lease for a period of not more than 75 years any state-owned
property or facilities required for the UWSA Board of Regents to perform its duties
and exercise its powers. The lease agreement must contain specified provisions,
including provisions that do the following: 1) give the state ownership of
improvements or modifications made to property or facilities subject to the lease
agreement; 2) give the state ownership of any facility that the UWSA Board of
Regents constructs on state-owned land; 3) require the UWSA Board of Regents to
obtain building commission approval for any construction or renovation project
costing at least $760,000 and involving a state-owned facility or occurring on
state-owned land; 4) require UWSA to make debt payments for self-amortizing
university facilities; and 5) make the UWSA Board of Regents responsible for
maintenance and upkeep of facilities and property. The lease agreement and any
modifications, extensions, or renewals may take effect only upon approval by JCF.
The bill requires the UWSA Board of Regents to appoint a president who is chief
executive officer of UWSA, as well as the following, who are appointed by the Board
of Regents under current law: the state geologist, state cartographer, and director
of the psychiatric institute. The bill allows the UWSA Board of Regents to employ
agents and employees whom the board finds necessary and requires the UWSA
Board of Regents to develop and implement a personnel system and other
employment policies. The bill transfers all UW System employees under current law
to UWSA, except those who perform duties related to the Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory and the State Laboratory of Hygiene. The bill transfers those
laboratories and their employees to DATCP, and specifies that the employees are not
required to serve a probationary period. The bill requires the DATCP secretary to
appoint the directors of those laboratories, but allows the directors appointed under
current law to continue to serve until their appointments expire. The bill specifies
that UW System employees who are transferred to UWSA are eligible to transfer
back to a position in state government any time before July 1, 2017.
The bill requires the UWSA Board of Regents to establish an annual budget and
monitor fiscal management of UWSA. The bill allows the UWSA Board of Regents
to issue bonds that are not public debt and specifies that the state pledges that,
unless bondholders are adequately protected, the state will not limit or alter any
rights before UWSA satisfies the bonds. The bill eliminates all appropriations to the
UW System under current law, except general purpose revenues for educational
programs and the payment of certain construction debt. The bill requires the DOA
secretary to make quarterly payments to UWSA of the general purpose revenues
appropriated for educational programs. However, the secretary is allowed to make
the payments only if UWSA has made payments due on the lease agreement
described above, payments required for municipal services, and any other payments
for obligations otherwise due to the state. In fiscal year 2017-18, the bill allocates
$753,533,000 from state sales tax revenue for the educational programs. In each
fiscal year thereafter, the bill allocates the same amount with adjustments for
inflation.
The bill generally maintains requirements under current law regarding tuition
and tuition remissions. In academic years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the bill prohibits
increases in resident undergraduate tuition above that charged in the 2014-15
academic year. The bill transfers responsibility for Minnesota-Wisconsin tuition
reciprocity agreements from the Higher Educational Aids Board to the UWSA Board
of Regents, which may continue such agreements at its discretion.
The bill specifies requirements for legal proceedings involving UWSA. Under
current law, no one may sue a state officer, employee, or agent who is acting in his
or her official capacity for damages unless the person serves the attorney general
with a written notice of claim within 120 days of the event that allegedly caused the
damages. The bill applies that prohibition to actions against a UWSA officer or
employee. However, the prohibition does not apply to actions by the state against
UWSA officers and employees. Current law generally limits damages in a case
against a state officer, employee, or agent who is acting in his or her official capacity
to $250,000. The bill applies that limit to actions, including those by the state,
against a UWSA officer or employee. Current law generally provides that, if a public
officer or a state employee is sued in an official capacity or for actions undertaken
within the scope of his or her employment, the state or political subdivision that
employs the officer or employee must provide legal counsel to the defendant or cover
legal costs for the defendant. If damages are assessed against the officer or employee,
the state or political subdivision must pay any damages in excess of applicable
insurance. The bill applies those duties to UWSA regarding its officers and
employees. Under current law, DOJ represents the state, state agencies, and state
employees in certain legal proceedings, reviews, and actions. The bill requires DOJ
to do the same for UWSA and its officials, employees, and agents, unless the state
and the UWSA Board of Regents are adverse parties.
The bill eliminates requirements that apply to the UW System and Board of
Regents under current law, including requirements regarding the following: faculty
tenure and probationary appointments; academic staff appointments; accumulation
of sick leave; specified educational programs and studies; graduate student financial
aid; recruiting programs for minority and disadvantaged students; public
broadcasting; application and parking fees; student fee statements; gifts, grants, and
bequests to the UW System; transportation planning; orientation information on
sexual assault and harassment; student identification numbers; Downer Woods
preservation; criteria for use of animals in research; information technology; support
for medical practice in underserved areas; a rural physician residency assistance
program; loan assistance programs for physicians, dentists, and other health care
providers; and various legislative reports.
The bill makes other changes, including the following:
1. The bill allows the UWSA Board of Regents to acquire property by
condemnation in the same manner as the Board of Regents under current law.
2. Under current law, employees of the UW System, except faculty and
academic staff, may collectively bargain under the State Employment Labor
Relations Act (SELRA). Under SELRA, the legislature must adopt collective
bargaining agreements covering the employees before the agreements may be
executed. Under this bill, UWSA employees, except faculty, academic staff, and law
enforcement officers, may collectively bargain under the Municipal Employment
Relations Act (MERA), and collective bargaining agreements under MERA are not
subject to legislative approval.
3. The bill allows the UWSA Board of Regents, with DOA approval, to opt in
or out of the state's risk management program administered by DOA, except for the
state worker's compensation program.
