[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Assembly College and Universities Committee rejected a bill Tuesday proposing to place temporary restrictions on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

Authored by Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, the drafted bill came in response to the Board of Regents' unanimous decision last month to reduce nonresident tuition and raise pay ranges for top administrative positions beginning this July.

The measure, Assembly Bill 1068, would have prohibited the board until July 2007 from raising senior administrative salaries by more than 5 percent. The board would also be barred from cutting out-of-state tuition to less than this academic year's rates.

"Unfortunately there are too many people on the board who don't understand the value of a dollar," Nass said, adding the board's recent fiscal actions have been reckless.

But bill opponents countered the salary increases and nonresident tuition cuts are essential to both sustaining and advancing the academic quality of the UW System.

According to Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, economic theory shows AB 1068's limit on tuition cuts would lead to decreased system revenue by discouraging nonresident students from attending Wisconsin colleges.

The planned nonresident tuition cuts, Underheim added, will lead to total increased revenue, which could be used to subsidize tuition for in-state students.

Other opponents additionally pointed to salary raises as imperative to maintaining the competitive edge of UW System schools.

"[The] pay plan we have has not kept up with the market or with competitors," said Freda Harris, UW System associate vice president of budget and planning.

While opponents continued to argue the bill would only serve to ultimately contribute to the current "brain drain" facing the state, supporters pointed to the concerns of taxpayers.

"I strongly believe that holding all state agencies accountable is a part of our sworn duties as legislators," Nass said. "In the end, members of the Legislature are duly elected … In comparison, members of the Board of Regents are not elected."

But Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, questioned Nass's logic and said legislators need to discuss matters with the Board of Regents before attempting to "micromanage" it.

AB 1068 was rejected in a 3-9 vote.