The University of Wisconsin System was created on October 11, 1971, by Chapter 100, Laws of 1971, which combined the two public university systems of the state under a single board of regents. The 1971 legislature set July 1, 1973, as the final date for completion of the merger, but the 1973 Assembly Bill 930, drafted with the help of a Merger Implementation Study Committee to achieve that objective, did not pass in the assembly until the spring session of 1974 and died for lack of senate action when the regular session ended. The bill passed both houses, as Senate Bill 2, in the special session in May 1974 and became law on July 9, 1974. The bill combined the former Chapter 36 (former University of Wisconsin) and Chapter 37 (former Wisconsin State Universities) to create a new Chapter 36 (University of Wisconsin System) of the Wisconsin Statutes.