The state Conference Committee is scheduled to begin hashing out differences in the two Houses’ bills this afternoon.
A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, said for the first day, the eight committee members have no set deadline.
“They are going to roll up their sleeves and get to work,” Mike Browne said. “There is no scheduled end time, obviously they have some big differences [between the two bills] and some of [the differences] are more significant than others.”
The committee could either start with making small compromises, or they could immediately start with the more significant differences. Browne said he did not know what issues the committee will begin tackling.
The bipartisan committee must make a compromise between the two bills, which then must be passed by both Houses before the governor can sign the bill into law.
As Wisconsin residents and UW students wait to hear to what changes the compromise will create, the state can look to Minnesota to see a similar process.
Browne said state lawmakers have been looking at solutions different states have come up with to solve their the budget deficits.
“I think that everyone is looking at other states, Browne said. “It is something you can really draw from. There are about 40 states that have some sort of budget shortfall. You can draw from each state, but they are all unique too.”
At the end of last week, Minnesota’s Legislature began its conference committee hearing that will search for a budget compromise to eliminate the state’s $440 million deficit.
The House wants to cut spending in the health and human services and use money from Minnesota’s 1990 lawsuit against the tobacco industry.
The Senate wants to raise taxes, including a 60-cent-per-pack hike on cigarettes, and one on gasoline in a separate bill. Senators also want to restore some money cut in earlier debate.
Minnesota also has separate committees compromising differences in other legislation, including: terrorism preparedness, borrowing for state building projects and funding for roads and transit.
For Minnesota students, the budget deficit has also meant cuts in funding and a tuition hike.
University of Minnesota president Mark Yudof told regents Friday that there will be a 16 percent tuition increase at the school’s Twin Cities campus.
Yudof told the regents the tuition hike was necessary because of cuts in funding due to the state’s budget deficit.
Tuition at Minnesota was expected to rise about 13.6 percent in the fall and was raised 13.5 percent this fall.
Minnesota lawmakers are still in negotiation, but if cuts stand as proposed, the University of Minnesota’s funding increase for next year would drop to $12.4 million.
Yudof said students would have to make up for about one-third of the funding loss.
“I think we’ve been fair to students, but I wish it were less,” he said.
Minnesota will also attempt to offset the cost to students by making undergraduate tuition on the Twin Cities campus free after 13 credits.
Yudof said he will be proposing the plan, which would mean students would have to take an average of four classes to be eligible for the price break. This is part of Minnesota’s plan to keep the number of courses students are enrolled in up, while helping students graduate in four years.
Yudof said he expected undergraduate tuition on the Twin Cities campus to remain fifth in the Big Ten. The Board of Regents will see a more detailed budget proposal in May and be asked to approve the budget in June.