A bipartisan group of lawmakers began a second round of talks Wednesday to resolve more than 300 differences in the Senate and Assembly state budget deficit plans.
The conference committee met for more than four hours and discussed cuts to the UW System but reached no agreement.
The committee also discussed transportation issues.
Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Brookfield, offered compromises that would have resolved differences on more than 20 transportation issues. However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, said there were serious flaws with the proposals and that Democrats would consider the offer.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, dubbed Tuesday’s debates “University Day” and said, “discussion was almost entirely about the University budget cuts.”
“Funding for the university is a top priority for Democrats, along with shared revenue,” Black said. “The University System gives opportunity to young people and creates an economic future for the state.”
Black said there are two very different points of view–the Senate Democrats, who want to cut $20 million for the state, and Assembly Republicans, who want to make $108 million in cuts to the University–that need to be compromised.
“But I think it is important for us to be clear that the University is a top priority for us and meeting us halfway just isn’t acceptable,” Black said. “We want to bring it up early to show that we aren’t willing to split the difference [with the Republicans].”
Black said that making cuts to the University System threatens not only the quality of education but also the state’s economy.
Because funding for higher education is a priority for Democrats, some say it is likely that Republicans will ask for a compromise on some of their top-priority issues.
“That is part of the process,” Black said.
Rep. John Gard, R-Peshigo, who also serves on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, said the state cannot repair the budget deficit and maintain full funding for shared revenue, budgets for K-12 education, the UW-System and Medicaid.
“You pretend we are living in a fairy tale, ” Gard said to Chvala Tuesday. “We say you are begging for a tax increase.”
The conference committee will begin debating the budget proposals today at 2 p.m. The focus of the debates is likely to be campaign-finance legislation.
The committee is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans as well as members of the Assembly and Senate. It must work out differences in competing revised budget proposals passed by both chambers to fill the state’ s $1.1 billion shortfall.
The compromised bill must pass in both houses and then be signed by Gov. Scott McCallum to become law.
There are 320 differences between the Assembly and Senate plans. They include how much money to cut from the University of Wisconsin System. The Senate would cut $20 million and the Assembly would cut University funding by $108 million.
