Legislative committee actions are gaining momentum, an indicator of the urgency to finish as much as possible before the session ends. Notable work is being done in the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, the Assembly Committee on State Affairs, the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges.
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities held a hearing on January 8 that addressed a bill to remove race-based preferences for higher education programs from state statutes (AB669). This hearing also concerned a bill that called for modification of the residency requirement for the tuition and fee remission program of certain veterans, their spouses, and their children (AB659). On the same day, the committee also voted in favor of prohibiting an institution from reducing financial aid to a student if said student has also received private funding from a Wisconsin-based entity (AB 486).
A bill on race-based preferences in higher education programs (SB652) was passed by the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges on January 12 and officially passed through the senate to be sent to the assembly on January 21. This same committee discussed the bill regarding modification to certain veterans’ residency requirement (SB640) and two bills that would change the regulations of dual enrollment programs in Wisconsin (SB591).
The “SafeGuard Wisconsin” bill package is also moving swiftly through the chambers. The assembly has passed bills onto the senate that prohibit the state from contracting with companies in specific countries (AB662), prohibit the UW from research collaboration with institutions within these countries (AB663), increase the penalty for criminals acting on behalf of a foreign government (AB672), and ban the use of genetic software originating from specific foreign countries (AB673). The senate has heard these bills and has assigned committees to each.
Most recently, on January 29, Speaker Robin Vos conducted a press conference about a tentative agreement between both parties to fund WisconsinEye and an agreement to have WisconsinEye livestream their February floorperiod. Full details are available in this video.
The legislative session for this year will end on January 4, 2027. Though, the last general business Floorperiod will be from March 17 to 19 of 2026. After the last general business Floorperiod ends, activities in the legislature tend to progressively slow until the next one is scheduled. Between now and March, there will be days dedicated specifically to Floorperiods, or periods of time specifically made available for consideration of proposals by the assembly and senate. Breaks in Floorperiods are reserved for sending bills to the Governor for deliberation. The calendar for the remainder of the year can be found here.
