Committee reports community‑college budget with small reduction and new tuition restraints

The House Appropriations Committee reported House Bill 45 79, the community‑college appropriation, recommending the H‑1 substitute after a brief presentation from House Fiscal staff and discussion of tuition restraint language and policy restrictions.

House Fiscal reported a proposed gross appropriation of $456,700,000 for community colleges, funded entirely from the School Aid Fund, representing a $5.6 million (1.2%) decrease from the current fiscal year; the decrease largely reflects the removal of one‑time operations funding in the current fiscal year, analysts said. Projected community college funding changes range from a 0.8% to 1.3% decrease depending on the institution, the fiscal summary shows.

The House bill revises tuition and fee restraint language for FY26, applying an in‑district tuition and fee freeze to the greater of 3% or $149, while omitting the executive and senate suggestion to extend restraint to FY27. The committee record shows other new boilerplate restrictions similar to those added for other higher‑education appropriations, including limits or conditions tied to certain institutional spending practices and DEI‑related expenditures, and language referencing the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case.

Representative Markkanen, who chairs higher education subcommittee work on these items, said the bill aims to provide predictable funding while limiting large tuition increases. Committee members asked clarifying questions about DEI restrictions and "common area" language that could affect facilities and services; House Fiscal said "common areas" were not defined in the budget bill text.

The H‑1 substitute was reported with recommendation (recorded roll call shows the measure passed committee with 17 yeas and 12 nays). The committee added no successful member amendments to the community college bill during this session.