1. Legislative Updates January-February 2015

2. Federal- Washington D.C.  114 th Congress began on January 6, 2015. There is split party control. Republicans control in the Legislative Branch and Democrats control the Executive Branch.  President Obama delivered his State of the Union Address on January 20 th.  The House and Senate passed the Keystone Pipeline bill. Senate. President Obama as pledged to veto any bill dealing with Keystone. This bill can go through a override of a veto (2/3 votes in both House and Senate).  If all U.S Senators voted (100), need 67 votes to overturn the President’s veto  If all U.S House Representatives voted (435), 290 votes to overturn the President’s veto.

3. State Level-Wisconsin  Governor Scott Walker was sworn in for another term as Governor and the Legislature have began their legislative session for 2015. Republicans have one-party control (Governor, State Senate and State Assembly are controlled by Republicans.  Governor Walker delivered his State of the State address on January 13, 2015.  The 2015-17 fiscal budget for Wisconsin will be submitted by Governor Walker to the Legislature tomorrow.  The UW System will be undergoing a transformation in numerous ways in his proposed budget. details of his proposed plan for the System in next slide.

4. UW System Transformation  UW System would be a public authority which means eliminated restrictions from the Legislature and the UW System would have more control on matters currently controlled under state law.  A tuition freeze will be proposed for students in the UW System for an additional two years. (2015-17).  Walker is proposing a $300 million cut while giving the UW System autonomy and flexibility. Future funding from the state would come in the form of a block grant funded by sales tax revenue, with annual increases tied to the rate of inflation. Walker is open to negotiating the size of the cut.  The Legislature would have no ability to stop the UW System from raising tuition as much as it wants starting in 2017.  The UW System would also have complete control over setting employee salaries and other employee issues including tenure, shared governance, sick leave, procurement contracts and construction projects.  The 2015-17 Fiscal biennium budget will be in effect from July 1,2015-June 30,2017.

5. Local- City of Oshkosh  The spring elections for the city of Oshkosh will take place February 17 th and April 7 th  The February 17 th election will be a primary for the Mayor’s race which include: Steve Cummings, Caroline Panske, Graham Sparks  The primary will determine who are the two final candidates for the April 7th race for Mayor.  The April 7th race will elect members of the Oshkosh City Council, School Board and Mayor race. Ben Stepanek will be in the race for City Council.

6. Why this local election is important to me?  It is important to also be involved in the local elections because just as the November elections, it has an immediate impact on your daily lives living on Oshkosh and will encourage more civic engagement.  More information will come regarding polling locations and voting procedures.

7. Elect Her  UW Oshkosh will host Elect Her training on Saturday, February 21, 2015 from 1-5pm at Sage Hall, Room 1210. Co-Sponsors include Reeve Union Diversity & Inclusion Programs and the Oshkosh Student Association (Your student government).  This is a training that cover skills such as how to mobilize a constituency, how to craft a message, and how to speak confidently and present oneself as a candidate.

8. Elect Her Continued..  Guest speakers of the 2015 Elect Her training include: JoCasta Zamarripa State Representative 8th Assembly District in Wisconsin Dr. Jennifer Considine, Assistant Professor Communication Studies, UW Oshkosh National Trainer Sara Blanco Director of Operations, Running Start, Washington, DC

9. Elect Her Continued  This training is FREE and registration is currently OPEN. For additional information regarding registration and the scholarship opportunity mentioned above, please visit the link below.  http://www.uwosh.edu/womenscenter/programs/elect-her-campus-women- win http://www.uwosh.edu/womenscenter/programs/elect-her-campus-women- win

10. Questions??