Contact:
Jessica Erickson, Governor’s Office, 608-261-2156
Also Signs Measure that Authorizes Four UW Building Projects, Including
the $13 Million Renovation of Taylor Hall on the UW-Oshkosh Campus
OSHKOSH – Flanked by college students Friday at the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Governor Jim Doyle praised the university
and its students for their efforts to curb tobacco use and signed
legislation to ban smoking in dorms and residence halls on all UW System
campuses.
“The anti-tobacco campaign you began three years ago is a
model today, not only for other UW campuses, but universities across the
country,” Governor Doyle said. He cited dramatic results showing that the
percentage of UW-Oshkosh students who smoke has dropped from 34 percent in
2000 to 23 percent last year. The goal is 4 percent.
The campaign, “You Know You Want To:” A comprehensive
Tobacco Reduction Plan, succeeded in having UW-Oshkosh dorms declared smoke
free in 2001. For that and other accomplishments, UW-Oshkosh has won praise
from national leaders in tobacco control efforts, such as Stanton Glantz, a
professor of medicine and researcher at the University of California-San
Francisco.
Assembly Bill 207 bans smoking not only in residence halls
and dormitories, but also within 25 feet of the buildings on all UW
campuses. Last fall, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, and UW-Milwaukee
declared their residence halls smoke free. Only UW-Stout allows smoking in
one hall at the request of students.
Still, the Governor said the legislation was needed to
reinforce existing bans. He noted that according to the recently released
Wisconsin Tobacco Facts, anti-tobacco efforts are getting results. But many
adults continue to smoke and the incidence of smoking is highest among
adults 18 to 24 years of age.
“These are our college students, who are being heavily
targeted by the big tobacco companies,” Governor Doyle said. “This
legislation gives existing smoking bans the force of law and applies a
single, uniform prohibition throughout the UW System.”
Governor Doyle thanked the bill’s authors, Representative
Rob Kreibich and Mark Miller and Senators Carol Roessler and Fred Risser.
He said a number of groups also deserve credit for the legislation,
including the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board, Wisconsin Medical Society,
the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American
Lung Association, and Smoke Free Wisconsin.
In January, UW-Oshkosh’s anti-tobacco effort received a
$150,000 grant from the Department of Health and Family Services. In all,
the program has received about $900,000 from the Department, the Wisconsin
Tobacco Control Board, the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention,
and the American Cancer Society.
Governor Doyle also signed Senate Bill 474. The bill adds
four UW projects to the state building program in the current budget cycle,
including the $13 million renovation of Taylor Hall, a UW-Oshkosh residence
hall that opened in 1963 and serves 500 students.
None of the projects require additional state tax dollars.
They are being funded either with gifts, grants, or existing bonding
authority supported by program revenue or the state general fund. The other
projects are:
* A $40-million addition to the UW-Madison School of Business. Gifts
and grants will fund $30 million of the Grainger Hall addition. The school
received $20 million alone from an anonymous donor. The remainder will be
financed by currently authorized, general fund supported borrowing.
*
* A $35.9-million project to demolish and replace Ogg Hall, a
UW-Madison residence hall. The project will be financed with existing
borrowing authority, supported by program revenue.
*
* A $2.2 million addition and renovation of the Hunt Arena and Knowles
Physical Education and Recreation Center at UW-River Falls. Financed by
existing general fund supported borrowing, the improvements will meet a
number of needs, including those of the Kansas City Chiefs professional
football team, which uses the facilities as a summer training camp.
The Governor also signed five other bills Friday:
* Assembly Bill 560, authored by Representatives Leah Vukmir and
Sheldon Wasserman, and Senator Ted Kanavas, limits disclosure of a doctor’s
federal Drug Enforcement Administration number.
*
* Assembly Bill 841, authored by Representative Gregg Underheim and
Terese Berceau and Senator Neal Kedzie, gives state regulators of speech and
hearing specialists the authority to define unprofessional conduct, among
other code changes.
*
* Senate Bill 196, authored by Senators Carol Roessler and Julie Lassa
and Representatives Gregg Underheim and Larry Balow, authorizes a hospice
nurse to pronounce a hospice patient’s death.
*
* Senate Bill 230, authored by Senators Carol Roessler and Julie Lassa
and Representative Luther Olsen, allows teachers and other public and
private school employees to subject an individual to a blood test for the
HIV virus, if exposed to the person’s blood while on duty. Current law
gives this right only to law enforcement, fire prevention, and health care
personnel.
*
* Senate Bill 391, authored by Senator Carol Roessler and
Representative Dean Kaufert, clarifies that at age 14, individuals can
receive a sturgeon spearing licenses with no other fishing permit required.
