Bill to Delay WiscNet Changes Dies

Despite contacts from library supporters and others around the state, AB 473/ SB 375 (to delay changes to WiscNet) died without being scheduled for a floor vote in either chamber of the state legislature. Therefore, the provisions of the original legislation that passed as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget bill will take effect on July 1, 2013. The exact ramifications of a separation of WiscNet from the UW are not yet clear. An audit of the program by the Legislative Audit Bureau is underway and is required to be completed by January 1, 2013.

Original Post 2/21/12:
AB 473, a bill to delay until July 1, 2014 the restrictions on participation by the UW System in selling or providing telecommunications services (commonly known as the WiscNet bill), was the subject of a public hearing on February 16 in the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities. Chaired by Rep. Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater), who is a cosponsor of the bill, the committee heard from several groups in favor of the bill: UW officials, technical colleges, as well as WEMTA and WLA. Opponents of the bill are telecommunications companies, represented at the hearing by Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association (WSTA) and AccessWisconsin.

The committee will hold its executive session (to vote on the bill) on March 1, a schedule that leaves very little time for getting the bill scheduled and passed by both houses of the legislature. At this writing, the companion bill, SB 375, has not been scheduled for a Senate vote. (It was recommended for passage by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Higher Education on January 23.)

For background information and talking points on the bill, please see our CapWiz legislative alert and contact your legislators to urge passage.

The continuing debate in Wisconsin re broadband

The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association is maintaining their pressure on the legislature in opposition to the bill which would extend the WiscNet sunset for a year.

Their press release of two days ago suggests that the UW either doesn't know their own business or is attempting to mislead us all, referring to "misleading statements made by Ray Cross, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Extension."
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/January12/0126/0126wsta.pdf

As Lisa noted in an earlier blog post, we received a favorable vote in committee as the "Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Higher Education Committee voted 6 – 1 to recommend SB 375 for passage. The bill would delay the restrictions on participation by the University of Wisconsin System in selling or providing telecommunications service, including terminating participation in WiscNet."

The WSTA is attempting to sell the idea that the current law would not prohibit the UW from participating in WiscNet -- which might be a meaningful argument if no-one else were participating in WiscNet.

We can accept that the legislature intended that the UW should not subsidize the provision of telecommunications. What seems unclear is if there are ways in which the UW might collaborate or participate without throwing out other participants. The WSTA appears to chastise the UW, stating:

If WiscNet’s role in providing service to the UW is critical in maintaining the UW’s $1 billion research engine, it seems like a pretty simple choice. Even with only two options, it is unclear whether the UW and WiscNet have actually identified a course of action in order to prepare for the July 2013 sunrise provisions."

But from the point of view of UW, as well as schools, libraries and other WiscNet participants, the audit only recently begun by the Legislative Audit Bureau is critical -- not merely pro forma. At the Senate Committee hearing, the WSTA representative conceded that no-one knows what a new WiscNet configuration might look like. So let's not be hasty.

We believe that getting findings and recommendations from the recently begun LAB study will be critical to forming a plan of action -- and with some participants required to make erate decisions within a few days or weeks of the study's conclusion, more time is needed.

The WSTA position might make sense if the University of Wisconsin were completely separate from the rest of the state. But education and business concerns are woven throughout the fabric of our school, library and university community. Allowing enough time via a one year extension of the deadline will give us a much-needed opportunity to make sure questions are addressed in a way that will benefit the entire state, not just WSTA member profits.

I encourage all WLA members to contact their legislators in support of SB 375 and AB 473. The advocacy tools on the WLA website (http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/advocacy/index.htm) make this easy to do. We are fortunate to enjoy bipartisan support for these bills, but opponents are working hard to stop them. We need to work equally hard and not take anything from granted.

Terry Dawson, Chair
WLA Library Development & Legislation Committee

Urge Your Legislator to Support SB 375/AB 473 to Delay WiscNet Changes

You may recall that during the state budget process, language was adopted altering the relationship the University of Wisconsin has with WiscNet, effective July 1, 2013.  The budget bill also required the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) to complete a financial and performance audit of the UW’s relationship with WiscNet by January 1, 2013. This leaves only six months to respond to audit recommendations before the legislation goes into effect!

The new law will directly impact the relationship WiscNet has with its 450 members located throughout the state, affecting service to K-12 schools, higher education, and 95% of the state’s public libraries. During the extensive budget deliberations there was not enough time to adequately discuss this complex issue.  Many questions remain unanswered.

Fortunately, Senator Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls) and Representative Evan Wynn (R-Whitewater) have introduced SB375/AB 473 amending the effective date of the original legislation to July 1, 2014. A bipartisan group of legislators is cosponsoring.

Please contact your legislators to urge them to support AB 473. If your legislators have already signed on as co-sponsors, thank them for doing so.  

The modest extension of time this bill will provide is important from two key perspectives.

• First:  This extension allows the Legislature time to review fully the audit’s findings, recommendations and possible impacts on all WiscNet members.
• Second:  All 450+ WiscNet members—including the UW—need the extra time this bill provides to understand and possibly implement any audit recommendations that impact their budgets and their relationship with WiscNet. 

It may be important to note that WiscNet is a separate, independent 501(c)(3), not for profit, cooperative, with its own operations and organizational structure.  It is not subsidized by the UW and is completely funded through membership fees and services delivered to its members throughout the state.  Decisions are made by the WiscNet Board of Directors, not the UW.

Thank you for contacting your legislators to urge support of SB375/ AB 473!

WiscNet Issues Message on Governor's Partial Veto: Moving Forward

WiscNet sends the following message about the Governor's partial veto of the compromise on WiscNet and the UW's broadband grant that was reached in the legislature:

Over the past 22 years WiscNet has grown and evolved in response to our members’ needs. We (both the members and the folks that report to work here every day) have come to expect great, innovative advancements from our cooperative on a regular basis. The 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 that was signed into law by Governor Walker on Sunday will not change this. While it does present new challenges (and opportunities) we are committed to moving forward.

The law, though not ideal, does not prevent us from operating and despite some inaccurate reports; WiscNet will be around well into the future. As we naviage this new terrain, we will continue to focus on promoting changes that are necessary to make research, education and public service stronger for Wisconsin. We are working closely with the UW System to articulate the magnitude of the legislation on the community's behalf. We are continuing conversations with legislators and we are beginning conversations with many of the telcos. The good news is the meetings are happening two to three times a day. The bad news is the meetings are happening two to three times a day.

Your resilience and commitment to WiscNet and Wisconsin is what made a difference over the past month. As our plans firm up over the next few months the success of our organization will, once again, require your support. In the meantime, we will keep you up-to-date on our findings, interpretations and strategies and we will continue to work with great effort on the community's behalf to preserve the need to advance research, education and public service in Wisconsin. Stay tuned!

Governor Walker's Partial Veto of WiscNet Language: Analysis of Impact Not Completed

The Office of Governor Scott Walker released the governor's remarks on the state budget and the governor's partial veto of some measures, including the compromise language on WiscNet. It's possible that the partial veto requires the entire legislature to act, rather than just allowing Joint Finance to postpone the effective date of prohibitions on the UW's telecommunications involvement. It's unclear at this point, but UW officials are analyzing the language. Stay tuned for more information as we learn it.

Copied directly from the memo:
19.
Joint Committee on Finance Authority to Postpone Telecommunications Services Prohibition
Section 1015x
This section defines telecommunications services and third-party entity and, beginning July 1, 2013, prohibits the University of Wisconsin System from becoming a member, shareholder or partner in any third-party entity or other person that offers, resells, or provides telecommunications services to the general public or to any public or private entity unless the third-party entity or other person does not offer, resell or provide telecommunication services that it did not offer, resell, or provide on June 15, 2011, and the third-party entity or other person does not offer, resell, or provide telecommunications services to a private entity, to the general public, or to a public entity other than a university or a university-affiliated research facility or a facility approved by the Joint Committee on Finance that it is not already serving on June 15, 2011. The section allows the Joint Committee on Finance to postpone the July 1, 2013, effective date for these prohibitions through majority vote.

I am partially vetoing this section to remove the authority of the Joint Committee on Finance to postpone these prohibitions because the University of Wisconsin System should not compete with private sector businesses in providing telecommunications services. The bill does not prohibit the University of Wisconsin System from participating in a third-party comprised entirely of universities and university-affiliated research facilities. There is no need to delay the prohibitions included in the bill beyond July 1, 2013.

Your Mom Would Remind You to Say Thank You

One of the most important advocacy tasks now before us is to thank members of the legislature for their support of library-related items in the state budget. Even though not everything we wanted is in the budget, libraries are in a better position now than when the governor's budget was introduced earlier this year. There are a number of things to be grateful for:

• $512,000 in biennial funding was restored for BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind
• $183,400 in biennial funding was restored for the Talking Book and Braille Library
• WiscNet will continue for another 2 years, and the UW's federal broadband grant also continues, under a compromise hammered out by UW officials and legislative leadership

Please thank your legislators today. The Legislative Alert we've created gives you an easy way to do that.

When you thank them, make sure to remind legislators that we are pleased with the compromise on WiscNet and we ask that Republican legislators communicate that to Governor Walker.

Of course, we would be remiss not to thank you for responding to the many legislative alerts and updates that were sent out about budget matters. Working together, we can make a difference!

WiscNet, Broadband Grant Restored by Assembly

According to a report by the WisPolitics Budget Blog, the Assembly passed the 2011-13 budget bill on a straight party line vote, modifying Joint Finance provisions that would have eliminated the UW's broadband grant and crippled WiscNet.

A memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau describes the motion containing these and many other provisions amending the budget bill. Items #11 through 13 on pages 28-30 of the memo describe the changes related to WiscNet and the UW's involvement in telecommunications issues.

First, item #11 deletes the Joint Finance amendment that would have prohibited the UW from accepting the federal broadband grant altogether. The memo says, "Instead, specify that UW-Extension could not commit any funds to facilities under this project to which such funds were not committed prior to June 15, 2011, unless approved by the Joint Committee on Finance."

Item #12 essentially restores WiscNet operations but requires the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a financial and performance evaluation audit of the Board of Regents' use of broadband and telecommunications services by January 1, 2013. Joint Finance language limiting the UW's involvement in the provision of telecommunications services would not take effect until July 1, 2013, and Joint Finance would be authorized to further delay the effective date of those changes. The Assembly language also created an exemption that would allow the UW to remain involved in certain activities that existed on or prior to June 15, 2011.

In addition, the UW-Extension would be prohibited from committing any additional funds to facilities under their federal broadband grant that were not committed prior to June 15, 2011, unless approved by Joint Finance.

Finally, there were some changes in language defining telecommunications services (#13 on page 30) that will limit the UW's involvement in telecommunications issues but appear to soften the language approved earlier by Joint Finance. Expect to hear more about the ramifications of the amendments from the UW.

Please contact your State Representatives to thank them for this action. And make contacts with your State Senators to make sure this compromise is approved in that house when they take up the budget this week.

Compromise on WiscNet Seemed Close, But Telcos Push Back

Tuesday's public statements by legislative leadership, such as those reported by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and hours of negotiation on WiscNet and the UW's federal broadband grant have not yet resulted in compromise budget bill language. Despite several Republican lawmakers requesting that WiscNet and the broadband grant be allowed to continue, lobbying by the Wisconsin State Telecommunications is apparently creating doubt for legislative leadership about the best way to proceed.

Our sources state that the NTIA and FCC rankings referenced by WSTA are mainly residential connections; they also reference speeds of at least 3Mbps. The UW's broadband project would expand fiber to not-for-profit and public sector entities and provide speeds of 1,000Mpbs at significantly lower prices than those currently available through BadgerNet. While BadgerNet pricing will likely become less expensive through pending renegotiation of those contracts, the UW project would have a return on investment of less than 5 years.

WLA stands by the editorial by WLA President Rhonda Puntney that appeared in The Capital Times online and in today's issue of their weekly print edition. WLA also stands by a similar statement sent to legislators last week and urges all library supporters to keep up the pressure on legislators to craft a compromise that would retain current WiscNet operations and allow the UW broadband project to move forward.

June 3 Letter from UW Officials on Joint Finance Actions

The following letter was widely distributed throughout the UW System last Friday, June 3:

Dear UW System Colleagues,

Late Friday, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) completed its work on the proposed 2011-13 biennial budget bill, including provisions related to the University of Wisconsin System. Keeping with the budget proposal submitted by Governor Walker, the committee approved a $250-million reduction in state taxpayer support for UW System over the next two years. Legislators offered many significant amendments to the bill, preserving our unified UW System and offering many long-sought administrative flexibilities to all UW institutions.

Here is a brief summary of the JFC amendments:

http://www.wisconsin.edu/wip/docs/Summary-of-JFC-Action.pdf

Here is the official public statement we issued after the committee vote:

http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2011/r110603.htm

People from around the state (including many of you) spoke up in support of preserving a unified UW System that includes UW-Madison, and Legislators listened. UW Regents, Chancellors, and other state leaders argued convincingly in favor of new administrative flexibilities for all UW institutions, and the JFC amendment reflects significant progress in that area. At the same time, however, the combination of reduced funding and capped tuition revenues will put tremendous pressure on every UW institution and every academic department. 

Recognizing that pressure, we will continue the process of delegating maximum operational flexibility to every institution in the System. We will also continue to advocate strongly for the wisdom of an integrated system that serves the needs of UW stakeholders with quality, accessibility, and efficiency. The UW System has done that over its 40-year history. With the changes the budget bill will allow us to make, and further changes we will continue to request of the state, all our institutions together can chart a course for the 21^st century in the spirit of a renewed Wisconsin Idea. 

As the budget bill continues to make its way through the legislative process, we must work to ensure that all new administrative flexibilities from the state remain intact when the bill is signed into law. We must also address some specific areas of concern, such as new language that would undermine the WiscNet network that serves all UW campuses as well as cities, K-12 schools, libraries, hospitals, and hundreds of other members across the state. This same legislative language presents a major threat to several grant-funded partnerships, including the Metropolitan Unified Fiber Network (MUFN) project led by UW-Madison and the Building Community Capacity through Broadband (BCCB) project led by UW-Extension.

We will be reviewing the biennial budget developments with the full Board of Regents on Thursday morning at UW-Milwaukee. That meeting will be webcast live, and you are welcome to tune in for the discussion. A link to the live stream will be posted Thursday morning at www.wisconsin.edu and at www.twitter.com/uwsystem. 

Thank you for your hard work on behalf of the UW, and your attention to these important developments. We will do our best to keep you well informed in the days and months ahead. 

Charles Pruitt, President, UW System Board of Regents

Kevin P. Reilly, President, UW System

WLA Letter to Legislators About WiscNet

Your response to WLA's legislative alert has been tremendous. In addition to getting the word out to library supporters, WLA has also sent this letter to all legislators and Governor Walker, outlining our support for WiscNet and broadband expansion. A similar letter has been sent to several newspapers; we encourage you to add your own story (e.g., how much would Internet cost for your organization if WiscNet goes away?) and contact your local paper with this information.

On Friday, June 3, the state legislature's Joint Committee on Finance passed Motion 489 that would eliminate WiscNet as a department or office within the UW-Madison Department of Information Technology and eliminate $1.4 million in funding for WiscNet for 2012-13. The motion would also require the UW to return federal grant money that has already been awarded for a broadband expansion project, apparently because of concerns that that this project competes with BadgerNet.

We respectfully ask that you save taxpayers millions of dollars and move to delete sections 23-26 of Motion 489 on the floor of the legislature before the budget bill is approved and sent to Governor Walker for his signature.

It seems helpful first to define WiscNet and BadgerNet, since confusion exists about the difference between the two and how they would be affected by the UW-Extension’s federal broadband grant project. The Department of Administration (DOA) website describes BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN, or BadgerNet) as the “state-wide network serving all 72 counties by providing wide area network, Internet transport and video applications to state government and educational entities in Wisconsin. The BCN also provides network services to municipalities and other governmental entities such as Tribal nations, technical colleges and public and private K-12 schools in various locations in the state.”

WiscNet is one of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) listed by DOA for non-state agency BadgerNet customers. WiscNet was created in 1990 by the UW, long before most telephone companies could even be called ISPs.  Information from WiscNet indicates that the $1.4 million cut by Joint Finance is not a subsidy to WiscNet from the UW, but payment for technical support services provided by WiscNet.

WiscNet has become the ISP of choice for 450 educational and community institutions: all public institutions of higher education, 95% of public libraries and 80% of schools currently use WiscNet. If WiscNet operations are changed as proposed by Joint Finance, these institutions would pay two to three times MORE for Internet service from for-profit vendors. Actually, it’s more accurate to say that taxpayers would foot the increased bill, or library patrons and students in your district would no longer have the access they need and want. But the cost is much greater than just dollars. The successful cooperative and collaborative network that WiscNet has fostered between higher education, K-12 education and libraries for the past 16 years could disappear.

For-profit telecommunications companies, some represented by AccessWisconsin, seem most concerned about the UW-Extension’s federal broadband grant project, already underway. AccessWisconsin members, who are valued partners in BadgerNet, say that they should not have to compete with a taxpayer-funded agency. The irony is that telecommunications companies, including AccessWisconsin members, currently benefit from about $90 million annually in taxpayer funding through the Universal Service Fund to enhance their ability to provide cost-effective service in rural areas.  We would say that is a wise investment.
AccessWisconsin also argues that the federal broadband grant to UW-Extension is a duplication of BadgerNet that would weaken that network. While BadgerNet provides great benefit to many institutions (with a taxpayer subsidy of $16.8 million annually, by the way), pricing is still too high for many institutions.  BadgerNet provides 100Mbps service at $6,000 per month and a 1,000Mbps service at $49,500 – or almost $600,000 per year! If the UW grant project is completed, an institution will be able to get 1,000Mbps for only $10,000 annually.  While BadgerNet prices are currently under negotiation and may be decreased somewhat, the return on the investment of the UW project is clear.

Finally, we find it difficult to understand why AccessWisconsin is so opposed to a federal broadband grant when its members in fact sought a similar grant for themselves. DOA and the BadgerNet Access Alliance (BNAA), which includes AccessWisconsin and larger telecommunications companies, received $23 million in federal funding to enhance BadgerNet via expansion of broadband fiber throughout the state.  WLA met with BadgerNet vendors several times during the grant process and supported the DOA/BNAA federal grant proposal. Imagine our frustration when the needs of 467 schools and libraries were dashed because BNAA and DOA could not successfully negotiate the contract, and the money was returned to the federal government.

We also understand that the UW used an open bid process to seek a partnership with for-profit phone companies on their broadband project, but none agreed to participate.

Please move to delete sections 23-26 of Motion 489 on the floor of the legislature before the budget bill is sent to Governor Walker for his signature. Please keep WiscNet as it currently operates and also allow the UW broadband project to move forward.

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Rhonda Puntney, President
Wisconsin Library Association

Access Wisconsin Applauds Joint Finance Action on WiscNet

Access Wisconsin, one of the managing partners of the BadgerNet Converged Network, issued a statement today, applauding Joint Finance Committee Motion 489, which eliminates WiscNet as an office or department of the UW-Madison's Department of Information Technology. 

Access Wisconsin is a group of smaller, local telecommunications companies that partner with Verizon, AT&T, CenturyTel and KDL to make up the BCN. 

Read the statement by Access Wisconsin's President and CEO, Mark Weller:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/110607accessWI_release.pdf

End of WiscNet? Joint Finance Eliminates UW-Madison WiscNet Office in DoIT

TAKE ACTION: WLA's Legislative Alert
In addition to requiring the return of federal broadband funds, the Omnibus University of Wisconsin System motion passed Friday (Motion 489) by the state legislature's Joint Committee on Finance included the following provision:
"Specify that WiscNet could no longer be a department or office within the UW-Madison Division of Information Technology beginning on July 1, 2012, and delete $1,400,000 PR from the UW System related to WiscNet in 2012-13. Require the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a program audit and a financial audit of the Board of Regents' use of telecommunication services and relationship with WiscNet."

The note in the motion indicates under current law, the Board of Regents is prohibited from providing telecommunication services that are available from a private telecommunications carrier to the general public or any other public or private entity. Currently, WiscNet services more than 450 public and private research, education and government organizations. According to Bob Bocher, Division for Libraries consultant and a WiscNet board member, WiscNet provides about 95% of libraries and about 80% of school districts with Internet access. The cost of receiving this service through private vendor is estimated to be two to three times higher than through WiscNet. See the WiscNet website for more information.

WLA will be developing a legislative alert to be issued later today or early tomorrow. Please stay tuned.