Legislative Update

Wisconsin Economic Series:

On Monday August 2, the first of the three-part 2010 Wisconsin Economic Summit Series was convened in Appleton. UW System President Kevin Reilly delivered opening remarks and presented on the panel "Voices for Change." Joining President Reilly in presenting was Chancellor Rick Wells of UW-Oshkosh, who was asked to speak on the Expert Council, as well as other UW System colleagues.

Released at the summit was a new report, "Be Bold Wisconsin," commissioned by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association, Competitive Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Counties Association, examines and recommends how Wisconsin can better organize itself to reinvigorate the state's economy.

The report recommends the state form a new, quasi-public entity called "Accelerate Wisconsin" that would be responsible for crafting, developing and overseeing Wisconsin's economic development strategy. The report also recommends Wisconsin's economic strategy should include ranking among the top 10 states for starting or expanding a business by 2016.

The report also utilized existing studies including the UW system's "Growth Agenda for Wisconsin" and "Research to Jobs Report," as well as the Wisconsin Technology Council's "The Economic Value of Academic Research and Development in Wisconsin."

Please see the day's full agenda for more information. The next summit, "Managing the State Deficit," will take place on August 26, in La Crosse.

Legislative Study Committee Updates:

The 2010 Legislative Study Committees have begun meeting. Please see the individual committee websites for more information including notices, agendas, and memoranda.

The following is the most current committee schedule available, along with links to the committees' homepages and member lists:

August 4: Public Assistance Program Integrity (Member List )

August 5: Judicial Discipline and Recusal (Member List)

August 17: Review of Higher Education Financial Aid Programs (Member List)

August 18: Review of the Management of Forest Land Program (Member List)

August 19: Health Care Reform and Implementation (Member List )

August 24: Review of Spousal Maintenance Awards in Divorce Proceedings (Member List )

August 25: Strategic Job Creation (Member List )

August 30: Criminal Justice Funding and Strategies (member list)

August 31: Review of Emergency Detention and Admission of Minors Under Chapter 51(Member List ) Local Service Consolidation (Member List )

September 8: Infant Mortality (Member List )

September 16: Nanotechnology (Member List )

September 15: Review of Records Access of Circuit Court Documents (Member List)

Committee hearing dates not available yet:

Health Care Access (Member List )

Law Revision Committee

Single-Use Plastics (Member List)

Strengthening Wisconsin Families

State-Tribal Relations (Member List)

The specific times and locations for the committee hearings will be made available on the Wisconsin State Legislature's Weekly Schedule.

Office of Policy Analysis and Research Releases New Memorandum:

The UW System's Office of Policy Analysis and Research recently released their annual Informational Memorandum on Retention and Graduation.

The report shows UW System continues to top national averages in retention and 6-year graduation rates. Retention rates and graduation rates are two ways of measuring student persistence through college and successful completion of a degree. Successful 6-year graduation rates across System campuses also highlight the UW's achievement in meeting its goal of increasing transfers throughout the university system.

Click here, to see the full memorandum.

More informational memoranda and research briefs are available online from the UW System's Office of Policy Analysis and Research, available here.