Higher Education budget discussed;

Legislative Update
March 5, 2010

Higher Education bill movement

Lawmakers set a budget for two years during the odd year of a biennium; therefore, during the second year of a biennium, legislators do not need to pass a supplemental budget bill unless needed. Given the almost $1 billion deficit, legislators and the governor are working hard to balance the budget. The Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division this week released its omnibus finance bill, which committee members discussed Tuesday and Thursday. The bill contains a $10.5 million cut to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system in fiscal year 2011. The committee passed the bill and referred it to the Finance Committee, where it will be heard Monday morning.

Chair Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, said Tuesday there was agreement that the financial aid changes should not hurt the lowest-income families, those making under $20,000. A proposal was set forth that reduces work-study, reduces child care grants and follows the rationing formula that is written into statute. In comparison to the governor's budget, this proposal provides less funding for two-year college students in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities but slightly more for university students. Travis Johnson of the Minnesota State College Student Association said, “Preserving the state grant is key on our agenda.” Both Johnson and Graeme Allen of the Minnesota State University Student Association said they would need to consult with their student members before weighing in on the proposal.

The House has not yet created its version of a higher education finance bill. However, the committee did hear from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system this week regarding the system’s budget and the proposed $10.5 million additional cut Gov. Tim Pawlenty has recommended. Chancellor James McCormick told committee members these cuts come at a time when enrollment is increasing, and the colleges and universities are doing their best to meet demand despite declining state revenues. McCormick asked committee members to do what they can to protect Minnesota’s higher education legacy.

To bond, or not to bond?

The capital investment working group on Thursday approved a revised bonding bill that brings the bill total down slightly from $999.9 million to $986.4 million, and now contains the core projects identified by the governor. Included in the cuts are projects from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and a combined $10 million from civic center projects in Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities portion decreases from $217 million to $179 million. Specific reductions to system projects are included in the attached side-by-side comparison. The repair and replacement number, also known as HEAPR, remained at $52 million. It is likely the bill will head to the House and Senate floors next week.

Session timeframe taking shape in House

House legislators now have a timeframe for their work this session. The House Rules and Administration committee approved committee deadlines this week. The concurrent resolution will need to be approved by the full House.

As recommended, the first committee deadline is Friday, March 12. This is when committees will need to act favorably on policy bills in the house of origin. The second deadline is Friday, March 19, a date when committees must act favorably on the companion bills, those that met the deadline in the other body. The third committee deadline is Monday, March 29, where House and Senate finance committees must act favorably on appropriations bills.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL- Minneapolis, said today that budget targets will be released early next week, with reductions released in batches starting later in the week. She said that the House proposal will most likely exclude cuts to human services, early childhood education and K-12 education.

The budget outlook, a bit better for current biennium

The February Economic Forecast released earlier this week showed the outlook for the U.S. economy has changed little since November. A $994 million deficit is being projected for the current biennium, a modest reduction from the $1.2 billion shortfall forecast in November. The state’s budget gets worse, however, when looking to the future. State Economist Tom Stinson said Minnesota will have a projected $5.8 billion deficit in the next two-year budget cycle, or $7 billion when factoring in inflation. Documents regarding the forecast can be found at the Minnesota Management and Budget Web site.

P-16 legislation works its way through committee

Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren presented before the House K-12 Education committee this week on Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to require K-12 teachers to renew their tenure every five years. The legislation states that every five years, school districts must “either renew or terminate a teacher’s service.” Evaluations would be conducted three times a year, at a minimum, and teachers would be measured on how well their students performed on tests.

This proposal and other P-16 proposals being heard in K-12 Education committees with the potential to affect system institutions are being followed closely at the Capitol. Legislation includes college and career readiness and planning, teacher licensure (including alternative pathways and Board of Teaching rulemaking) and charter school reform. Proposals in the governor's K-12 recommendation, including requiring students to pass a basic skills test prior to admission to teacher preparation programs, closer alignment of teacher and administrator licensure standards with state academic standards, and revisions in school district eligibility to receive concurrent enrollment funding, are topics of K-12 Education committee hearings. As K-12 education omnibus bills are prepared, we will continue to keep you updated on their impact to colleges and universities.

U.S. House approves jobs bill, sends legislation back to Senate

The U.S. House passed the jobs bill this week, after the legislation was tossed back from the U.S. Senate, which passed its version of the bill last week. House members passed the bill 217-201, mostly along party lines. The $35 billion bill combines $15 billion of tax cuts and subsidies with $20 billion of transportation funds. The House made minor tweaks to the legislation, which means the bill needs to go back to the Senate for another vote.

U.S. House hears Direct Lending proposal

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Wednesday told the U.S. House Education Committee he thought all colleges and universities could switch to a Direct Lending only process for student loans. He thought this could be accomplished by July. The proposal follows President Obama’s plan, included in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act that the House passed last fall. The shift is projected to save $87 billion over the next 10 years. Duncan told committee members the switch would provide all borrowers with the highest-quality customer service when repaying their loans. It also would establish a competitive bidding process that would allow the U.S. Department of Education to select lenders based on how well they serve borrowers, educate them financially and prevent defaults on loans.

Here's What's Happening at the Capitol:

This schedule shows all meetings that we are aware of at the time of publication that may have an impact on the system. This schedule may change. Please watch the House and Senate schedules posted on the Legislature web site.

Monday, March 8

8:30 AM (televised live)
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Richard J. Cohen
Agenda:
2010 Supplemental Budget
The following articles will be discussed:
Higher Education
Judiciary
Agriculture and Veterans
Environment, Energy and Natural Resources

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

1:00 PM
House in Session

3:00 PM
Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Ann H. Rest
Agenda:
S.F. 2941-Saltzman: 4-H funding procedure modification; county and state fair surcharges authorization; University of Minnesota extension service policy modification for 4-H programs support.
S.F. 2752-Saltzman: Lower St. Croix River area land use modifications.
S.F. 2555-Senjem: Volunteer protections for entities assisting a local jurisdiction during an emergency or disaster.
S.F. 1605-Dibble: Municipal comprehensive plan affordable housing development amendment adoption requirement.
S.F. 2226-Rummel: Threats of reprisal against potential political candidates prohibition.
S.F. 1818-Berglin: Tenant campaign material posting in residential window authority.
S.F. 834-Pappas: Municipal precinct and ward boundaries procedures and requirements modification.
S.F. 2888-Gerlach: Elections provisions modifications; authorized proofs of residence modification; vouching for certain voters on election date elimination; provisional ballots for unregistered voters authorization.


Tuesday, March 9

8:30 AM
Senate Education
Room: 112 Capitol
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
Agenda:
MDE Presentation: The ACCESS System: Achieving College and Career Readiness for Every Student's Success
S.F. XXXX (Wiger) - College and Career Readiness Policy Institute Working Group assessment and accountability recommendations.
S.F. 2610-Anderson: Graduation required assessment for diploma (GRAD) language arts and reading paper-and-pencil format for retaking test authorization.
S.F. XXXX (Wiger) Minnesota Department of Education policy and technical bill.

8:30 AM
*Note: The committee will recess at 10:00 AM and reconvene at 6:00 PM in the Basement Hearing Room.
House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda: HF2986 (Hornstein) Responsible family life and sexuality education program created.
HFXXXX (Doepke) Board of teaching rulemaking authorized.
HF2995 (Tillberry) Diagnosis qualifications of attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder expanded.
HF3267 (Newton) Advisory task force established on school desegregation and integration.
HFXXXX (Newton) Clarifying requirements for a conciliation conference; MDE directed to amend two special education rules.
HF2962 (Fritz) Minnesota Academy for the Deaf and Minnesota Academy for the Blind provided trial placement.
HFXXXX (Benson) School district mandates reduced.
Meeting Documents: HFXXXX (Doepke) Board of teaching rulemaking authorized. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/10-5916.pdf
HFXXXX (Newton) Clarifying requirements for a conciliation conference http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/10-5786.pdf

12:30 PM
House in Session

12:30 PM
Senate Higher Education Budget and Policy Division
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Sandra L. Pappas
Agenda:
S.F. 2822-Clark: Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) credits transfer regulation.
S.F. XXXX-Pappas: Office of Higher Education Policy Bill.
Minnesota Home Grown Initiative

2:45 PM
House Capital Investment Finance Division
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Alice Hausman
Agenda: HF2182 (Gardner) Rating criteria required for capital project funding requests.
HF2909 (Anderson) State agencies required to track and report on the number of jobs created or retained as a result of capital project funding.
HF3105 (Downey) Information required to determine return on investment for capital requests.
Discussion on various bonding policies including provisions in HF2700 as passed on the House Floor.

2:45 PM
House K-12 Education Finance Division
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF3176 (Slocum) Charter school provisions modified, commission created, and charter schools permitted to borrow money.

3:00 PM
Senate Agriculture and Veterans
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Jim Vickerman
Agenda:
S.F. 2927-Doll: Veterans preference provisions modifications.
S.F. 2626-Erickson Ropes: Minnesota state academies bond issue and appropriation.
S.F. 1657-Olson, M.: Environment and natural resources organization advisory committee establishment and task forces; state agencies powers and duties consideration requirements.

Wednesday, March 10

8:30 AM
Senate Finance
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Richard J. Cohen
Agenda:
2010 Supplemental Budget
The following articles will be discussed:
Economic Development
State Government
Transportation
Public Safety

12:30 PM
Senate Business, Industry and Jobs
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. James P. Metzen
Agenda:
S.F. 2911-Berglin: Window fall prevention devices requirements modification.
S.F. 2758-Bonoff: Minnesota Entrepreneur Resource Virtual Network (MERVN) authorization and appropriation.
S.F. 2874-Pogemiller: State government streamlining; departments of employment and economic development (DEED) and labor and industry abolishment; commerce department downsizing; task force and employee participation committee establishment.

12:30 PM
Senate State Government Budget Division
Room: 112 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Don Betzold
Agenda:
S.F. 2386-Metzen: Labor agreements and compensation plans ratification.
S.F. 2750-Bonoff: Constitutional amendment for public debt to be incurred for public information technology systems, licenses and infrastructure.
S.F. 2506-Bonoff: Capital project funding report on jobs created or retained.

12:30 PM
Senate Health, Housing and Family Security
Room: 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. John Marty
Agenda. TBA

6:00 PM
Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight
Room: 123 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Ann H. Rest
Agenda:
S.F. 2950-Sparks: Jobs, family and economic development fund creation; agricultural, rural, early childhood, bioscience, medical technology, economic development, athletic, recreational, extracurricular activities and capital improvements funding mechanisms authorization.

Thursday, March 11

8:30 AM
House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda: HF3163 (Mariani) Prekindergarten through grade 12 funding provided, including general education, education excellence, special programs, and early childhood education.