DILLON -- Board of Regents Chairman John Mercer admitted Friday that as a lawmaker, he tried to give the university system as little money as possible, but blamed it on poor salesmanship by higher education officials.

Mercer, a Republican from Polson, has had a conversion as a regent. The attorney has said he feels differently about funding the university system and its importance, now that he better understands how the system is funded.

Before his appointment to the regents in 2001, Mercer, served in the House from 1985 through 2000. Mercer was House speaker for an unprecedented eight years when he ran the chamber with the kind of dominating power not seen since and, long-time observers have said, rarely before then.

"I was one of the most conservative members of the Legislature,'' Mercer told his colleagues and U-system officials. "To bare my own soul, my objective was give the university system as little as possible so there would be money for other things. The value of the system just wasn't sold to me. My conscience is clear.''

In response, Regent Lynn Hamilton of Havre said she worked for one of the campuses when Mercer was a legislator. She said she helped prepare marketing documents explaining to lawmakers exactly how colleges and universities were funded in their bid to secure more money, but suggested it fell on deaf ears.

"But the state obviously had different priorities then,'' Hamilton said.

Mercer's confession came as regents debated their proposed fiscal 2008 and 2009 budget recommendations they will submit to Gov. Brian Schweitzer and to the 2007 Legislature.

The regents, meeting at the University of Montana-Western, talked about the system's comprehensive budget request, budget initiatives for the entire system and separate ones that individual campuses forwarded

They voted 5-1 to allow individual campuses to propose their own budget initiatives that would be funded by raising tuition on students by an additional one-half of 1 percent. Mercer wanted no limits.

Mercer said he believes legislators and Gov. Brian Schweitzer would be surprised to learn that the state provides the lowest percentage support for its university system, with students picking up the balance. In Montana, state support has dropped to 37 percent, with students picking up the other 63 percent through student tuition, which keeps going up.

While Mercer suggested he once considered the university system budget to be bloated, he now realizes that "we're a lean, mean fighting machine.''

Mercer and Schweitzer, a Democrat, have been taking political potshots at each other over the funding issue in recent months, although never in the presence of each other.

"I do have sensitivity to people pointing out how horrible things were in prior regimes,'' Mercer said. When he was speaker, the state paid about 50 percent of the university budget and students the other half, he said.

Mercer said he opposed limiting campus initiatives to what one-half of 1 percent of tuition would raise.

"I think we're throwing in the towel too soon,'' Mercer said. "We have to give someone (the Legislature) the opportunity to purchase something and sell it to them. I'm convinced if you have a good product, it will sell.''

Student Regent Heather O'Loughlin, a University of Montana law student from Great Falls, said she isn't comfortable with campuses raising tuition on students for these initiatives by more than one-half of 1 percent.

"Students need to be part of this on every aspect of this,'' she said. "I encourage all university officials to work with their students on this.''