Senate Appropriations Committee advances higher education budget with targeted increases, study of formula

Senate Bill 2003, the higher education budget, advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee after committee members adopted an amendment and defeated a separate proposal to expand challenge-grant eligibility to two private colleges.

Senator Sorbach, a member of the Appropriations Committee who led the bill presentation, said the package combines formula funding changes, one-time project funding and targeted operating increases. "We put the 910,000 in there," he said referring to child-care assistance added in the bill. The committee voted to amend the bill and later gave the amended bill a unanimous-or-majority committee recommendation to pass to the floor (committee vote: 15–1).

The bill makes a number of specific funding moves. Among the items described in committee testimony and bill language: a $910,000 appropriation for child-care assistance; an increase of $2,000,000 for the state scholarship fund (from $29 million to $31 million); a $200,000 increase in tribal-college scholarships for non‑enrolled members to $1,600,000; an allocation for dual-credit tuition scholarships drawn from Bank of North Dakota profits (one-time funding in the bill); $950,000 for Emerald Ash Borer mitigation grants administered by the North Dakota Forest Service; $12,000,000 for UND’s National Security Crossroads program; $12,000,000 for NDSU’s New Horizons programming; and a $500,000 placeholder for a long-running program at the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities that serves students with intellectual disabilities.

On formula and operations, Senator Sorbach told the committee the package uses a percent-of-base approach to avoid interim "averaging" adjustments that had redistributed funds among institutions. He said the committee added roughly 4 percent for operating and employee costs — an increase the presentation identified as about $26,000,000 — and that other formula adjustments bring the bill’s aggregate increase from the current base to about $44,000,000. The bill also contains institution‑specific formula adjustments (for Lake Region College, Dickinson State and NDSU’s pharmacy-related factor) and a series of hold‑harmless payments to limit abrupt losses for some campuses.

The bill directs $12,000,000 to a workforce education innovation grant fund to support curriculum development, equipment and facility modifications for smaller institutions; committee language limits that $12,000,000 to the nine institutions other than the two large universities. Committee members also reworked tiered capital funding: they increased the tier‑3 pool (used for extraordinary repairs and maintenance) by $7,500,000 to a total of $16,500,000 and adjusted the state/local matching formula to reduce the burden on smaller campuses.

Senator Meyer, who spoke about the Center for Persons with Disabilities program, described the $500,000 as a placeholder to bridge a loss of federal funding and said the appropriation was intended to cover the second year of the biennium while the House reviews longer-term support.

Senator Wozniak offered an amendment to include the University of Jamestown and the University of Mary in challenge-grant eligibility at the same level as certain public two‑ and four‑year institutions; that amendment was defeated on a roll-call vote (6 yes, 10 no). Senators recorded as voting yes on that amendment in the committee roll call were Senator Magram, Senator Wojcick, Senator Herbili, Senator Cleary, Senator Conley and Senator Dwyer; the motion failed 6–10.

After further discussion and the adoption of an earlier committee amendment, the committee moved the bill as amended. Senator Davidson voiced conditional support, saying the bill was an appropriate package for crossover while noting caution about later floor action. Senator Thorbach said the measure was a reasonable starting point for negotiations.

The bill also creates a legislative study of higher-education funding and capital finance, appointing a 13‑member review committee composed of legislative members and non‑voting institutional finance representatives. The study is charged with reviewing the funding formula, capital funding, permanent funds and other revenue streams — and with producing recommendations for future sessions.

Votes at a glance: the committee adopted an amendment to the bill (amendment 1,004) during the hearing and later defeated Senator Wozniak’s amendment to expand challenge‑grant eligibility (amendment 1,005) 6–10. The committee then recommended the bill, as amended, be given a due‑pass motion to the floor (committee vote recorded as 15–1). The transcript records Senator Magram as the lone no vote on the final committee recommendation.

The committee hearing record includes detailed spreadsheets and "blue sheets" that the committee and staff referenced; committee members were told additional detail (institutional base calculations, common‑schools trust allocations, and the century‑code formula definitions) is available in the hearing testimony and staff materials.

The committee chair adjourned with instructions that higher‑priority budgets (water, K–12 and human services) will be scheduled for first‑week review at the next convening.

Ending: The committee advanced Senate Bill 2003 with targeted investments and a directive for a formal study of higher‑education funding. The bill will move to the full Senate with committee recommendations and a record of the committee’s roll‑call votes on the key amendments.