MATC deal passes after marathon session (WI)

JS Online ^ | 3-17-12 | Patrick Marley, Jason Stein and Karen Herzog

[afraidfortherepublic]

Lawmakers reach agreement on measure after 33-hour session

Madison - Ending a grueling session that stretched almost 33 hours, Assembly lawmakers passed on a voice vote a bill to overhaul the board of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, sending the measure to Gov. Scott Walker.

It put a gloss of bipartisanship over a session that saw the most conflict in the Legislature in recent memory.

Democrats had made a de facto filibuster through the night to block the bill, calling the changes an unneeded power grab. But the Republican majority in the Assembly refused to set the bill aside, saying it would tighten the connection between the MATC board and business. In the end, the two sides agreed to a deal to ensure no federal licenses were lost for the public television stations run through the college - one of the key worries for Democrats.

"We did it to make sure there was no potential concern over the loss of the (federal) licenses," Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said.

The deal will make no changes to the bill itself, but will allow six of the nine current board members to serve out their terms before a new system of appointing board members is used to fill those seats.

~snip~

With that agreement in place, Democrats withdrew about 70 amendments they were prepared to debate on the bill - a process that could have sent the Assembly through another numbing overnight session and into the weekend.

The entire membership of the MATC board would have turned over almost immediately under the proposal as it came to the Assembly floor, a move that could have jeopardized MATC's license for its public television station, ~snip~

[afraidfortherepublic]

Wisconsin Legislature changes board of MATC after marathon session ping

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[hal ogen]

Rats lose again. Bwahahahahahahaha!