1. Call to order Lauren Baker (Milwaukee), Bob Beaver (Mid-State), Co- Chairpersons

Transcription

1 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Thursday, January 15, :30 4:30 pm Concourse Hotel Madison, Wisconsin 1. Call to order Lauren Baker (Milwaukee), Bob Beaver (Mid-State), Co- Chairpersons 2. Introduction of committee members 3. Approval of the Joint Legislative Committee-Interdistrict/Interagency Cooperation Committee minutes Meeting of October 10, Update: Legislative Council Special Study Committee on the Review of Wisconsin Technical College System Funding and Governance Paul Gabriel 5. Statewide Advocacy Campaign update Paul Gabriel 6. WTCS State Budget Development Process and Budget Request Paul Gabriel 7. Federal Issues update Nancy Merrill, Senior Policy Advisor, Federal Relations Officer, WTCS 8. Other issues 9. Next Committee meeting date Friday, April 17, 2015 Stevens Point 10. Adjourn by 3:45 pm

2 DRAFT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE SUMMARY MINUTES Quality Inn Hotel, Rhinelander October 10, 2014 The Legislative Committee of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association was called to order by Legislative Co-Chairperson Robert Beaver (Mid- State), at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, October 10, 2014, at the Quality Inn Hotel, in Rhinelander. Legislative Committee members present included: Co-Chairperson Robert Beaver (Mid- State), Ronald Zimmerman (Nicolet), Gary Olsen and Roger Zacharias (Gateway), Joseph Hasler (Madison), Michael Miller (Moraine Park), Pauline Jaske (Waukesha County), Angela Lawrence (Western) and James Beistle (Wisconsin Indianhead). Others in attendance: Lee Rasch (President, Western), Tom Eckert (President, Blackhawk), Sue Budjac (President, Mid-State), Layla Merrifield (WTCS), and Paul Gabriel (District Boards Association). Approval of Joint Legislative Committee Interdistrict/Interagency Cooperation Committee Minutes Meeting of April 25, 2014 Motion: Moved by Pauline Jaske (Waukesha County), second by Roger Zacharias (Gateway), that the committee meeting minutes of July 18, 2014, be approved as submitted. Motion carried. Update on Legislative Council Study Committee Paul Gabriel presented. The Joint Legislative Council Committee on the Review of Technical College Funding and Governance is a special study committee made up of legislators and citizens. We had a great turnout of applicants with strong interests in the colleges. The membership includes 4 district board members, a state board member and 2 college presidents among 10 citizen members. Unfortunately, the committee scope presumes it is a good idea to change technical college funding and governance. There has not been much discussion on the merits over the first two meetings. The group has just heard from a variety of speakers. Melanie Holmes (retired VP, Manpower), chair of the MATC Milwaukee Board, testified at the first meeting, and Pauline Jaske, Owner of Fairway

3 Transit, WCTC Board and Waukesha County Board, testified at the second. The testimony overall has included some calls for reduced property taxes (especially by the Wisconsin Realtors and Wisconsin Property Taxpayers Inc.) but other prominent groups including WMC have not taken a position about local funding and governance. Paul will be meeting with the Wisconsin Realtors leadership to help them see why the current funding and governance model is essential to their interests. Overall, we do not see any real movement or direction coming out of the committee and there is even some thought that it might not meet again. Our objective is to keep the committee process from leading to a loss of local funding or governance authority in the state budget bill. While Leg Council committees can introduce legislation on their own, doing so has always been by consensus, which will not be likely if the proposal is to hurt local funding or governance. Statewide Advocacy Campaign Paul reported that almost 300 business leaders have written to legislators opposing erosion of local funding and local control. We will need to be sure the large number of new legislators elected next month become connected to and informed about their colleges early on. There is a theme emerging that it should not matter where funding comes from if local governance is not removed. In fact, there s no way to function as a viable local government if you have no control or flexibility with funding. Our funding is as essential to local control and governance is. Paul has put together a draft paper on how funding itself is essential to college responsiveness. He shared the draft and will be finalizing it in the coming few weeks. He will follow with a twin paper on how local board governance is also essential to college responsiveness. WTCS State Budget Development Process and Budget Request The WTCS Board submits the system s biennial state budget request for funding and programs to the Governor in September of even-numbered years. The Governor produces a budget bill for the 2-year biennium beginning July 1 of odd-numbered years. The Legislature re-writes the Gov s budget proposal and passes it before the Governor signs and does line-item vetoes. President Moyer and Paul represented us on a workgroup of the state board in crafting a budget request. Faculty, the presidents and a student leader also served on the workgroup. The group proposed to the state board, and the board adopted, a package including:

4 1. Financial Aid Request a major investment in need-based financial aid through Wisconsin Grant (formerly (WHEG) funding. This request goes to the Higher Educational Aids Board instead of directly to the Governor. WTCS students face the largest need-gap for aid compared with UW and private college students (request: $37.4 million annually, totaling $74.8 million over the biennium). 2. Performance Based Funding (General Aid) Increase aid by $5 million in 2015 and $10 million in 2016 to grow the state s investment that is competitively driven by new performance funding. This helps the colleges address the state s priorities while assuring it s competitive and accountable ($5 plus $10 million equals $15 million over biennium). 3. Dual Enrollment Expansion Expand dual enrollment (funding for new programs and to expand existing programs) through $3 million in new funding in ($0 in and $3 million in for a biennium total of $3 million). 4. Ensuring Veterans Success Expand services to recruit and retain veterans as student and to help ensure their success. Request $2.5 million annually for 4 years to expand current district investment in vets success ($2.5 in each year for a biennium total of $5 million). 5. Innovation Agenda Create a commercialization grant program to help bring technical college-developed ideas, products and processes to market. Request $500,000 annually with the intention of leveraging a matching investment through WEDC or other state leadership ($.5 million annually totaling $1 million for the biennium). Paul complimented Layla Merrifield and other WTCS staff on her roll in crafting a dynamic budget request package responsive to state and college needs. Federal Issues Update Layla Merrifield, WTCS Policy Advisor, presented: Congress has passed a continuing resolution to keep the Federal government functioning as of its new year, October 1. The resolution runs to early December. Congress will need to pass an overall appropriations bill or extend the continuing resolution by December to avoid another government shutdown. Senator Baldwin has been meeting with groups of our students and previously visited our campuses in the interest of bills promoting college affordability and career and technical education generally.

5 The Congress is looking at reauthorization (updating and re-writing) the Higher Education Act, which includes a number of our key technical college Federal programs. No word on the timeframe. It has not been easy to move reauthorization bills given the split in Congress and between the Congress and President. The 2015 ACCT National Legislative Summit takes place for 2015 from February 9-11 in Washington, DC. Registration information will be sent out by ACCT late this month. Other Business Paul reviewed the court decision blocking the implementation of the Wisconsin Voter ID law for the November 4 th election. The ruling does not apply to the law s constitutionality. It holds that implementing the law this late could be unconstitutional for November, We have already won on the issue of counting technical college IDs the same as UW IDs for voting when the law takes effect. All IDs must have certain attributes to be used (photo, signature, etc.) but our IDs will be eligible like UW and others. No other business. The next meetings of the Legislative Committee will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2015, in Madison. The joint meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Moved by Roger Zacharias (Gateway), second by Jim Beistle (Wisconsin Indianhead). Motion carried. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Robert Beaver (Mid-State), Committee Co-Chair and Recording Secretary