Three Republican Senators on the Joint Finance Committee came out against an annual payout of $14.6 million to UW-Madison that would free up money to give NIL deals to college athletes.
Three Republican senators on the powerful Joint Finance Committee stood firm Wednesday against a controversial bill that would force Wisconsin taxpayers to cover $14.6 million annually in debt payments for University of Wisconsin-Madison athletic facilities.
Sens. Julian Bradley, Patrick Testin and Rob Stafsholt voted no on the Republican-sponsored name, image and likeness legislation, which passed the committee 8-5 despite their opposition. The measure, already approved overwhelmingly by the Assembly, now heads to the full Senate.
It may not, however, get a vote there as the three The three “no” votes in committee mean that the GOP does not have 17 Senators in support of the measure. According to the longstanding “Rule of 17,” the majority party in the Senate will not bring a bill to the floor unless it has the support of 17 of its members.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu is one of the original authors of the NIL bill but has not yet indicated whether he will break the Rule of 17 in order to bring the measure to the floor for a vote.
