House approves higher education budget bill but emergency clause fails

The North Dakota House passed Senate Bill 2,003, a biennial higher education appropriation bill, on final passage by a 62-25 vote; the bill's emergency clause failed.

The measure funds needs-based grants, institutional initiatives and facility projects across the North Dakota University System. Representative Sanford, speaking as the bill's carrier on the floor, said the package increases needs-based grants and contains a mix of scholarship and institution-focused funding. "The needs based grants consist of almost $32,000,000 system wide provided by the state out of a total of $75,000,000 total provided by the state," Sanford said. He also said the tuition increase for the biennium "will be limited to 4 percent."

Sanford described a set of targeted programs the bill supports. He highlighted the career builders scholarships, a program that pairs employer or school-district contributions with participation by the Bank of North Dakota and requires recipients to provide three years of employment in the state. He also described the long-running challenge grant program, saying the state has provided "$91 and a half million dollars in that 10 years," which Sanford said, together with donor matches, has produced a larger corpus used for scholarships. On workforce initiatives, Sanford said the bill includes a $12,000,000 workforce initiative available to institutions other than NDSU and UND to propose projects intended to increase targeted workforce development.

The bill contains funding for specific institutional projects and starts for new programs. Sanford mentioned Minot State's purchase of a medical facility described as phase one of a medical sciences curriculum and startup funding for Williston State. He also said NDSU and UND would receive funding for initiatives (NDSU's "New Horizons" and UND's national security-related initiative) and that a set of facility projects would continue. Sanford summarized: "This bill really continues these efforts to be in the front lines when it comes to attracting and retaining. And we're doing that through scholarships, through grants. We're doing that through improved facilities."

Members pressed the bill carrier on staffing and facilities questions. Representative Koppelman asked why FTE counts had grown at UND and UND medical relative to other institutions; Sanford attributed the growth primarily to research account funding at UND and added that some new FTEs in the bill were tied to specific areas such as the Forest Service. Representative Koppelman also raised concerns about ongoing bonding and whether the House was moving away from a "pay cash" approach; Representative Naithi responded that the budget contains only two new FTEs in the forestry area and noted that many building projects are funded with revenue bonds, student fees and local matches, singling out the Minot allied health facility as a major state-supported project. Representative Naithi urged approval of the amendments.

Procedural history on the floor: the Appropriations Committee recommended amendments and due pass; Representative Sanford handled floor presentation and debate. On final consideration the clerk recorded 62 yea and 25 nay; the emergency clause failed, meaning the bill will not take effect immediately on passage pending any further action on timing.

Votes and next steps: the bill passed final passage in the House. The bill text, committee report and any subsequent conference committee work will determine the final enacted funding and effective dates.