A bill that passed the state Senate Tuesday would add a second student representative to the UW System Board of Regents, effectively doubling the power that students would have on the board.
\The Board of Regents has say over every part of student life, they control how many credits you need to graduate, and what tuition is, and things like that, and it's really important that students have a say in those decisions,"" according to Associated Students of Madison's Legislative co-chair Faith Kurtyka.
Senate Bill 175 would require the governor to select one student, who is at least 18 years old, from a list compiled from student recommendations. The second appointee would have to be a student ""who is at least 24 years old and represents the views of nontraditional students, such as those who are employed or are parents."" With the addition of an extra student representative there would be 18 members on the board.
""Now, more than ever, we need students to participate in the determination of the direction of their own education,"" said state Sen. Richard Grobschmidt, D-South Milwaukee, the bills author.
Kurtyka said the bill's requirement that the governor's select a traditional student from a list composed by students adds a measure of responsibility to the students.
""This is a step in the right direction to getting the Board of Regents to be more accountable to students,"" she said.
According to Grobschmidt, nontraditional students represent a much larger portion of the UW System than commonly perceived and it was necessary to provide the provision mandating their status on the board.
""More than one-fourth of the student body at Madison and [UW-Milwaukee] fit into that category,"" he said. ""Their voice needs to be heard.""
Now that the bill has passed the Senate, the Assembly will have a chance to look it over later next month, before it could be sent to Gov. Scott McCallum for final approval.
""I think the more we talk about students having a right to representation, we'll get the point across that we don't just need wealthy, older, white males who happen to be large donors to the governor,"" Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison said.
Pocan and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, will speak at an Associated Students of Madison press conference regarding the bill at 3 p.m. in the On Wisconsin A room of the Red Gym.
In other legislative action Tuesday, the Senate debated the first overhaul of the state's campaign finance laws in recent years.
After introducing a total of 15 amendments to the bill during session, the senators decided to postpone taking a final vote on SB 104 until next week.
""I would summarize by saying that there were no substantial amendments,"" Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, said. ""They didn't change any major thrusts of the bill.""
The bill would have major effects on the way future campaigns are run in Wisconsin, tackling issues ranging from the filing of campaign finance reports to detailing the amount of contributions candidates can receive from various sources, Senate officials said.
""I hope we'll get as strong of a bill as possible"" Risser said. ""Campaigns are getting way out of line. We had several campaigns recently for the state Senate, a job that pays $40,000 a year, that ran over a million dollars.""
Senate Democrats are worried that the bipartisan bill could become a piece of partisan legislation if McCallum uses line-item veto power to aid the Republican party according to Mike Browne, Chvala's press secretary.
""We've crafted a bill leveling the playing field; meaning not only that the challengers and incumbents are treated the same, but that both political parties are affected in the same way,"" he said. ""We're asking the governor to say either, 'I will sign the bill as is or veto the whole thing.''
Risser said he is more concerned with whether or not the state Assembly will take up the measure, than what the governor will do.
""I think it's more important to get assurances from the Assembly that they will act on the bill,"" he said, adding that he expects the bill to pass in the Senate sometime next week.
