Walker letter restores Wisconsin Idea, proposes resident undergrad tuition cap

Gov. Scott Walker made several adjustments to his budget proposal in a letter to the Joint Finance Committee chairs on Monday, including restoring the statutory language about the Wisconsin Idea. The errata letter is sent to legislators to correct errors in the budget bill.

The error message to lawmakers also calls for modifying the budget bill to cap resident undergraduate tuition increases at UW System schools to no more than the annual increase in the consumer price index, which is used by the federal government to track inflation.

In a statement, UW System President Ray Cross said the errata letter “makes a number of welcome corrections” to the original budget proposal and that he is “working with the legislature in a new spirit of openness, dialogue, and partnership to reduce the proposed UW System budget cut and to approve a package of transformative operational flexibilities that will lead to greater efficiency and savings.”