Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: February 12, 2024 Contact: Emily Hicks, Staff Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 161
Senate
Amendments 1 and 2
2023 SENATE BILL 161
Under current law, the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement is overseen and
administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) for both the Wisconsin Technical College
System (WTCS) and the University of Wisconsin System (UWS).
2023 Senate Bill 161 requires that HEAB provide the designated body representing Minnesota notice of
the termination of the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement with that termination to be
effective July 1, 2023. Further, under the bill, HEAB and the Board of Regents (BoR) of the UWS must
each negotiate new agreements with the State of Minnesota, with those agreements to be effective July
1, 2023.
Specifically, the agreement that must be negotiated by HEAB, called the Minnesota-Wisconsin public
vocational school student reciprocity, must provide for reciprocity between WTCS and public vocational
schools in Minnesota. The agreement negotiated by BoR, called the Minnesota-University of Wisconsin
System student reciprocity agreement (“MN-UWS reciprocity agreement”), must provide for reciprocity
between UWS and public institutions of higher education in Minnesota.
The bill provides that payments for reimbursement obligations under the MN-UWS reciprocity
agreement must be paid from UWS’s general program operations appropriation, under s. 20.285 (1)
(gb), Stats. Finally, the provisions of the bill take effect July 1, 2023.
SENATE AMENDMENT 1
Senate Amendment 1 removes the requirement that payments for reimbursement obligations under the
MN-UWS reciprocity agreement be paid from UWS’s general program operations appropriation under
s. 20.285 (1) (gb), Stats.
SENATE AMENDMENT 2
Senate Amendment 2 removes the requirement that the current reciprocity agreement must terminate
on July 1, 2023, as well as the requirement that the new agreements become effective on that same date,
and replaces them with a requirement that HEAB and BoR provide the designated body representing
Minnesota with a notice of intent to modify the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement.
The amendment removes the July 1, 2023 effective date from the provisions of the bill. As a result,
under Senate Amendment 2, the provisions of the bill will take effect the day after publication of the act. - 2 -
BILL HISTORY
Senator Stafsholt offered Senate Amendment 1 on January 18, 2024 and Senate Amendment 2 on
February 6, 2024. On February 7, 2024, the Joint Committee on Finance recommended adoption of
Senate Amendment 1 and Senate Amendment 2 and passage of the bill, as amended, on votes of Ayes,
15; Noes, 0.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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