A proposal to hire a new full-time adviser assigned to the state Capitol was brought before the student government at a meeting Monday night.
The Legislative Affairs Committee debated over whether to take advantage of room made in the Associated Students of Madison budget for such a purpose. Should ASM choose not to hire a new staff member, no budget money would be lost, according to Chair Sam Polstein.
“If we don’t fill this position now, we would need to jump some additional institutional hurdles if we wanted to hire someone later,” University Affairs Chair Carl Fergus said.
Under the current budget, up to $60,000 plus fringe benefits may be allocated to creating the position.
“One idea for the position is a government adviser or specialist,” Polstein said. “Somebody with lobbying experience, especially at the state level, to serve as an adviser to the Leg. Affairs Committee.”
The idea gained support from many committee members in attendance, but was met with a great deal of skepticism.
Sophomore committee member Beth Huang cited a website saying that the average lobbyist in Madison makes about $99,000.
She asked if they could really get the most talented lobbyist to represent ASM for $60,000.
Fergus said they might not be able to hire the most talented lobbyist, but they could find someone more talented than a student.
“The point is to find somebody and to get a return on our investment,” Fergus said.
Jokingly, he added rumor has it Russ Feingold is looking for a job.
Polstein said the position would entail much more advising to the committee than lobbying at the Capitol.
“The purpose is to have someone there to keep continuity from session to session,” he said.
An alternative use for a portion of the funds was proposed in which five students would be chosen to represent the student body at the Capitol, instead of hiring an adviser for the $60,000.
Polstein closed the meeting by saying that the decision may be important for the appearance of ASM.
“Many students only know about ASM through the tough decisions we have to make about funding,” Polstein said. “But here is an opportunity to show another side of ASM and to produce tangible benefits to students.”
