The University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate voted Monday to support a bill that aims to improve the amount saved through state-mandated furloughs.

Current Wisconsin furlough laws require all state employees to take eight unpaid furlough days per year. The new “Smart Furlough” bill, proposed by Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, would fully and partially exempt positions that do not result in a direct net-savings for the state.

University Committee Chair Bill Tracy said these rules could end up saving the state money and the UW time.

The Faculty Senate voted unanimously to support the bill based on five criteria outlined in a resolution submitted by the department of physics.

First, many UW research projects rely on timeliness, and taking furlough days can cause delays. The resolution gave the example of researchers studying the H1N1 virus.

“Federal taxpayers have a right to expect a timely best effort from funded UW-Madison research teams,” the document said.

The second criteria said taking furlough days creates issues when applying for and accepting grants.

When UW researchers accept a grant, they commit to making the best possible effort to fulfill their proposals. Taking furlough days off is contrary to that goal, the criteria said.

Also, having to take days off may make UW researchers seem less competitive when applying for grants.

The third criteria compared Wisconsin’s furlough laws to those of California. Although California has a larger deficit, federally funded university employees there are exempted from state furloughs.

According to the document, Wisconsin taxpayers pay more to make up for the loss of income taxes for furlough days,

“This makes little sense in a time of economic distress,” the resolution said.

Another issue addressed by the senate was the rising cost of textbooks for college students. Associated Students of Madison Academic Affairs Committee Chair Jonah Zinn presented the results of a recent ASM survey to the senate.

“Textbook cost … has been on the rise really dramatically,” Zinn said, adding that rising tuition and the harsh economy make it hard for some families to afford a college education for their children.

Zinn said the survey found 83 percent of UW students spend more than $400 per semester on textbooks and 12 percent spend more than $1000.

More than 33 percent of students do not have the opportunity to look for cheaper texts because their professors did not post them in time.

Zinn tried to emphasize the point that professors are also affected by the rising costs.

“We wanted to stress that this is not just a student issue,” Zinn said.

He said almost half of UW students admitted to not buying a textbook because the cost was so high.

Zinn attempted to relate this to professors, saying he thought this must inhibit the professor’s ability to teach.

Finally, Zinn asked professors not to continue to require new editions of textbooks when the updates were marginal. Tracy echoed this point, saying even when publishers do not make older editions readily available, if enough professors demand old editions, publishers will bring them back.