UW legal staff and administration held a forum Tuesday to inform faculty and students on the current state of the battle to secure the funding, which has been at a deadlock since the late 1980s, according to Chuck Hoornstra, UW director of legal and executive affairs.
"We're locked into the definitions in the state statutes," Hoornstra said. "So long as they stay as they are, there isn't anything the university can do."
Stephen Lund, director of the UW Academic Personnel Office, gave a brief history of the battle for benefits all the way up to today, when Gov. Jim Doyle has included domestic benefits for all state employees in the state budget.
UW is the only Big Ten university to never have implemented a plan to pay for health benefits for domestic partners.
However, the prospect of implementing such benefits faces a tough road, according to Lund.
"If [Indiana University] gets them approved, why can't Wisconsin?" Lund said. "The answer is simple: It’s control. They have control over their benefits — all they needed to do was convince their board of trustees."
Casey Nagy, chief of staff for Chancellor John Wiley, responded to audience members who expressed their frustration with faculty members leaving UW, seeking a friendlier environment elsewhere.
Nagy said the chancellor would be more "visible and aggressive" with the "pivotal challenge" facing the university.
Although the topic has always faced stiff opposition, Don Nelson, administrative program specialist, said the current situation at the Capitol provides for the best opportunity for implementation since 1989.
"I have never seen this type of discussion," Nelson said. "It’s a matter of getting the leadership on board."
Nelson added UW would have its opportunity to speak at the Capitol next week on the domestic partnership issue, along with the 40-50 visits Wiley is expected to make with legislators. There will also be five public hearings around the state, Nelson said, including one in DeForest, in northern Dane County.
After several rounds of "political wrangling" and "horse-trading," Nelson said the budget decision would end up in another committee.
"The process will come down to the conference committee," state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, said in a phone interview. "It’s at least on the table to be negotiated, so it’s at least on the table. Now it’s going to be negotiated amongst a thousand other things; whether they negotiate to keep it in still remains to be seen."
However, UW's hope of including domestic partner benefits may ultimately fall short during negotiations.
"When you talk to real people, this is not a real benefit," said Bob Delaporte, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, in a phone interview. "We'll take it out of the budget right away. It’s something taxpayers can't be expected to pay for. It doesn't appeal for working families in Wisconsin."
However, with a domestic partner representation of less than 1 percent of state employees, Nagy said the projected additional cost is around $100,000 at UW, which is a small portion of the overall operating budget of the university.
