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House committee advances bill to narrow North Star Promise eligibility; testimony divided
Summary
The House Higher Education Finance Policy Committee voted to re‑refer House File 10, which would limit state program eligibility tied to the Minnesota Dream Act residency pathway, after a public hearing that split sharply between advocates for retaining the North Star Promise and lawmakers pressing for tighter eligibility.
Representative Isaac Schultz (House District 10B) introduced House File 10 at the House Higher Education Finance Policy Committee hearing. Schultz told the panel the bill would change eligibility rules for the North Star Promise and other OHE programs by removing the residency pathway created under the Minnesota Dream Act (statute cited in committee materials as Minn. Stat. §135A.043). Schultz said he and the bill’s backers aim to limit state financial aid to citizens and lawful residents and asserted the change would protect taxpayer dollars.
OHE Commissioner Dennis Olson and staff provided committee members with preliminary program data the agency had supplied in advance. Olson said OHE’s working figures show $86,399 in North Star Promise awards (base and plus) paid, as of the agency’s January 15 snapshot, to students who applied via the Dream Act pathway. He also supplied…
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