ASPRO Advocate - March 2025

2025-27 State Budget Proposal

& Timeline

Last month, Governor Tony Evers unveiled his 2025-2027 Biennial State Budget. AB 50 and SB 45 includes a $856 million increase for UW System funding for the biennium. Below are items impacting UW System and academic staff that are included in the Governor’s proposal:

$128.97 million over the biennium to provide students the highest quality academic institutions while increasing the affordability of a system education.
$308.34 million over the two fiscal years to expand student access to excellent higher education institutions through a variety of innovative methods.
$41.82 million in each year of the biennium to enhance the state’s talent pipeline through career readiness, high impact practices, civil dialogue training, experiential learning, student wraparound services, assessments, loan forgiveness, and continuing education.
$104.29 million over the biennium in funding and position authority for the system to invest in innovative technologies such as new curriculum and classroom applications, online programs, and research infrastructure, as well as subject areas such as artificial intelligence.
$28 million in each year of the biennium to recruit and retain the best educators and staff.
$166 million through the state’s compensation reserve to fund the system employee general wage adjustments of 5% on July 1, 2025, and an additional 4% on July 1, 2026.
Directs the UW Board of Regents to submit a plan for a program to provide paid family and medical leave for eight weeks annually for employees of the system as part of its statutorily-required compensation plan submission to the Division of Personnel Management (DPM) within the Department of Administration (DOA), prior to going to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER) for approval.
Directs the UW Board of Regents to submit a plan establishing a paid sick leave for certain temporary employees as part of its statutorily-required compensation plan submission to the DPM, prior to going to JCOER for approval.
Allows eligible system employees to receive the employer-paid portion of health insurance premiums upon the second full month of employment.
Modifies current law to establish Juneteenth Day and Veterans Day as state government holidays.
Establishes collective bargaining rights for UW System faculty, academic staff, and graduate assistants.

What’s Next?

While this is a very favorable and historic Budget proposal for the UW System, it is a very long way from becoming a reality. Republican leaders have stated that they will disregard the Governor's proposal and write their own State Budget. Essentially this is what has happened during the last couple budget debates.

Here is the “traditional” timeline for State Budget passage:

Late March - the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) releases its analysis of the Governor’s State Budget proposal
April - the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) holds public hearings around the State on the Governor’s State Budget proposal
Late April – JFC requests select state agencies provide public briefings on the agencies’ state budget proposals
Late April/Early May – JFC begins to review, debate and vote on provisions within the State Budget proposal
Late May/Early June – JFC wraps up its work on the State Budget
Mid-June – JFC-amended State Budget is debated and possibly amended further by the State Assembly and State Senate
By July 1 – State Legislature sends Governor Evers its version of the State Budget for the Governor’s review and final actions. The Governor could line-item veto provisions of the State Budget proposal OR veto the entire State Budget bill.

While the above is the “traditional” timeline, there is also a chance that the State Budget passage is delayed or the State Legislature does not pass a State Budget at all. If the State Budget is not passed by July 1, 2025, funding for state government operations continues at current levels. Here are a few scenarios for a delayed State Budget:

Republicans in the State Senate and State Assembly cannot agree on key provisions in the State Budget and the State Budget passage is delayed.
Republican legislative leaders do not allow the State Budget to move forward until the Governor signs into law legislation that would cut income taxes.
The State Budget passage is delayed to determine the impact of federal funding cuts on UW System and state agency operations.
Also, there are outside organizations urge Republican legislative leaders to not pass a State Budget depending on the outcomes of cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court regarding the power of the Governor’s line-item veto

ASPRO’s leaders and lobbyists will be meeting with members of the JFC and Republican leadership in support of the proposed increases in funding for the UW System, including the pay plan.

Watch your email - and follow us on Twitter or Facebook - for budget and legislative updates, calls to action and information about Zoom updates.

Other Legislative Issues

AB 102 & SB 116

This legislation, as introduced, requires each public institution of higher education (UW System institutions and Wisconsin Technical Colleges) to designate all intercollegiate or club athletic teams or sports for either males or females. The bill as introduced also requires institutions of higher education to prohibit students of the male sex from participating on a team or in a sport designated for females, and to prohibit students of the male sex from using locker rooms designated for females.

Last week, the Assembly Committee on Colleges & Universities passed AB 102 with an amendment that requires each public institution of higher education to designate teams or clubs as 1) for males; 2) for females; or 3) coed. The amended bill also:

creates a definition of “biological sex” to mean the physical condition of being male or female at birth, as stated on an individual’s original birth certificate
deletes the original provision relating to locker rooms, and instead, creates a separate statute specific to the use of locker rooms and redefines “locker room”
requires governing bodies of public institutions of higher education to designate each locker room located in a campus or school building for exclusive use by individuals of one biological sex.

ASPRO Position: Opposed

Current Status: SB 116 has not been scheduled for a public hearing at this time. AB 102 and its amendment will receive a vote by the full Assembly on Thursday, March 20^th.

SB 27 and AB 39

This legislation mandates that all state agencies – including UW System institutions – require employees to perform their work in person at state agency offices during the employee’s regularly scheduled work hours, beginning July 1, 2025. The bill exempts telehealth services and duties that were performed off site before March 1, 2020.

ASPRO Position: Opposed

Current Status: AB 39 has not been scheduled for a public hearing at this time. SB 27 has had a committee public hearing and a committee vote but has not been scheduled for a full vote of the Senate.

Also, the Assembly Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency Committee (GOAT) had an informational hearing last week on “Telework, Space Management and Cybersecurity.”

Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) is the chair of the GOAT Committee, and the Assembly lead sponsor of AB 39.

Only invited speakers were allowed to testify at the hearing and UW System President Jay Rothman was included on the speaker list. You can see the recording of the hearing here. President Rothman begins to speak at the 3:59 mark.

ASPRO is Advocating for YOU

ASPRO will continue to review and analyze the State Budget proposal, and any legislation impacting academic staff and the UW System.

But we need YOUR help! What are your thoughts and opinions on the Governor’s budget proposal? Requiring employees to “return to office” work? Legislative meddling in college sports and locker rooms? Please contact us at aspro@aspro.net.

If you want to reach out to your legislators about any of the items from this newsletter, remember to NOT contact your legislators during work hours or from a UW-issued device, phone number or email address.

And with so many UW and academic staff issues being discussed at the Capitol, now is a great time to add to our strength by recruiting new ASPRO members. Please ask your colleagues if they are ASPRO members and encourage them to join with this membership application!

Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization - ASPRO

608.286.9599 | 10 East Doty Street, Suite 519, Madison, WI 53703

aspro@aspro.net