Senate passes $7.5 billion higher education budget after floor amendments

Senator Sorebach, carrying Senate Bill 2003, told the Senate the measure provides the higher education budget for the North Dakota University System and related units and asked colleagues to concur after the Appropriations Committee gave it a due pass.

The bill funds the state's 11 public higher education institutions (including the University of North Dakota Medical Center), the university system office and the forest service and contains a mix of formula adjustments, student aid increases, challenge grants and capital project authorizations. "This budget includes our 11 institutions, UND Medical Center, the university system, and the system, and the forest service," Senator Sorebach said on the floor.

Why it matters: the bill adjusts the state funding formula used to allocate operating dollars, provides one-time and ongoing increases to student financial-assistance programs and authorizes both state investment-finance (SIF) spending for specified capital projects and non-state financed institutional projects.

Major provisions and dollar amounts in the bill include: - Student financial assistance: the bill increases an ongoing grant program by $2,000,000…