Senate committee hears bill to extend state tuition scholarship to reserve service members

Senate Bill 2170, introduced by Senator Devere, would create a state scholarship to cover tuition for members of the U.S. armed forces reserve components similar to an existing North Dakota program for the National Guard. The Senate committee heard supportive testimony from reserve advocates, technical amendment proposals from the North Dakota University System and neutral clarifying testimony from the National Guard before closing the hearing for committee work with no final vote.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Devere, said the measure was requested by Army Reserve supporters and intended “to provide tuition for members of the reserve just as we do for members of the guard.” He told the committee the legislative question is whether reserve members “should be treated the same as members of the guard.”

Robert Black, an Army Reserve ambassador from Bismarck, told the panel the reserve footprint in North Dakota is small but meaningful. “We have roughly 400 reserve soldiers, sailors and airmen in North Dakota,” Black said, and provided a breakdown he attributed to local commands: about 62 naval reservists, 70 Marine Corps reservists, 38 air reserve members and roughly 200 Army Reserve soldiers. Black and other proponents said a state supplement would mirror the state program for the Guard and would be paid from a separate appropriation; reserve command estimates in committee testimony said about 40 people might avail themselves of a state scholarship.

Brenda (North Dakota University System) recommended several technical amendments aimed at making the bill administrable by higher-education…