Gov. Doyle’s budget proposal would offer benefits to domestic partners of UW System employees, according to a budget brief released last week.

The budget proposes to “permit state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System to offer domestic partner benefits” and “provide $1 million to the system for that purpose.” The benefits would be offered to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, Vice Chancellor Andy Soll said.

Accompanying legislation would also be needed to allow the state to offer benefits to same-sex couples, Soll said.

The governor’s budget is far from final. The joint finance committee of the state Legislature will develop its own budget based on the governor’s proposal, which will then be sent to the Senate and Assembly for consideration and modification. Once the two chambers resolve the differences between their budgets, they will send the budget to the governor to approve or veto it. The entire process could take 5 months or longer, Soll said.

Some state legislators have already expressed opposition to the proposal, including Speaker of the Assembly John Gard R-Peshtigo, Soll said.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Rick Graber also has spoken out against the proposal.

“Gov. Doyle just doesn’t get it,” he said in a press release. “His calls to … fund domestic partner benefits for some state employees show just how out of touch he is with the wishes of Wisconsin citizens.”

Both Soll and Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Diversity Kimberly Barrett said they could not predict whether domestic partner benefits would make it into the final budget.

“I’m optimistic,” Barrett said. “But based on the past behavior of the current legislature, I think it would be quite a feat to keep it in there.”

The University of Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school that currently does not offer domestic partner benefits, according to the budget brief.

“If there are other places that are more friendly, more welcoming … we are disadvantaged,” Barrett said. “This is just one more way we can remain competitive.”Soll agreed.

“If you look across the spectrum of higher education institutions … more and more institutions are offering domestic partner benefits,” he said. “We’re becoming the odd ones out.”