Senate panel advances bill widening Career Builders, ties need-based aid to tuition cap

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Senate Education Committee gave Senate Bill 2147 a unanimous do-pass recommendation Thursday, sending the bill to the Appropriations Committee with a $12.2 million appropriation that would fund changes to the state’s Career Builders program and create a supplemental need-based grant.

The bill would (1) amend the Career Builders scholarship and loan-repayment program—used to recruit and retain workers in designated in-demand occupations—by allowing workers who live within 50 miles of North Dakota but work in the state to qualify, clarifying private-sector donor language, and limiting repayment exposure for recipients; and (2) create a supplemental state grant that would fill tuition gaps for Pell-eligible, low- and middle-income resident students up to the highest in-state tuition rate.

Supporters described the changes as a mix of technical fixes and two substantive revisions intended to increase program uptake and better meet workforce needs.

Sen. Jonathan Sickler, Senate District 17, who testified in favor of the bill, said the legislation grew out of interim work to consolidate and streamline multiple scholarship and aid programs. "There are two main changes being made to two existing…