Legislative Notes for the week of March 13 - March 17, 2006

Governor Releases Supplemental Recommendation

Gov. Tim Pawlenty released his supplemental budget recommendation this week. Included in his recommendation is $49 million in tax reductions and credits, including elimination of the marriage penalty; $102 million in emergency items and budget fixes; $159 million added to the budget reserve; and $95 million in other initiatives including funding for early childhood, military and veterans support and immigration reform. The governor recommended $100,000 for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities as part of his package to support members of the veteran and military communities. The funds are for a systemwide coordinator for the campus Veterans Assistance Offices. The veterans support legislation continues to make its way through committee in both the House and the Senate. You can view the bill at http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S2654.1.html&session=ls84.

The governor also proposed $5 million for new higher education programs at the University of Minnesota’s Rochester branch, as recommended by the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee in its January 2006 report. You may view this report at http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/pdf/RHEDCreportFinal.pdf. Legislation on the University of Minnesota’s Rochester branch was introduced this week. You can view the bill at http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S3239.0.html&session=ls84.

System Presents 2006 Bonding Request to Legislature

House and Senate committees heard from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on the system’s bonding request of $280.4 million in three hearings this week. Chancellor James McCormick gave a brief overview of the system for the House Higher Education Finance Committee, the House Capital Investment Committee and the Senate Higher Education Budget Division and spoke of the need to serve our students and provide them with high-quality educational services. The Chancellor said the system’s request is an investment in the future of the state, and the system takes seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of its assets and to protect the previous investments made by state taxpayers.

Allan Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities, explained the system's bonding request in detail to the committees and addressed the need to fund the projects as well as the $110 million in asset preservation. Speaking on behalf of the system’s bonding request this week were Board of Trustees Vice-Chair Ann Curme Shaw, President Roland Barden of Minnesota State University Moorhead and President Cheryl Frank of Inver Hills Community College, who spoke of the process for developing the bonding request. Also joining Chancellor McCormick in testifying on behalf of the system was Kerry Duncan, a faculty member at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College; Mark Grant, a faculty member at Dakota County Technical College; Nancy Black representing the state university faculty; Patrick Christner, president of the Minnesota State College Student Association, and the association’s vice president, Jordan Brandt; and Hal Kimball, chair of the Minnesota State University Student Association. All those who testified were wonderful advocates for the system's bonding request. On Tuesday, March 21, the chair of the House Higher Education Finance Committee, Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, will present the committee’s recommendation to the Capital Investment committee. The Senate is expected to make a recommendation to Capital Investment in the near future as well.

The system's bonding request was featured Wednesday on Twin Cities Public Television's "Almanac at the Capitol" show on Channel 17. Every two years, TPT offers organizations one minute of air time on the show to talk about their bonding request. The segment, which can be viewed on the TPT Web site at www.tpt.org (scroll down to "Almanac at the Capitol" and click on the Minute Man segment), starred Associate Vice Chancellor Al "Heaprman" Johnson and St. Paul College President Donovan Schwichtenberg in a light-hearted look at the system’s number one priority, Higher Education Asset Preservation and Renewal projects.

Federal Update

Solutions for the Future

The American Council on Education's national campaign “Solutions for Our Future” aimed at increasing awareness of the public benefits of higher education, is now in full swing. The campaign includes nationwide advertising efforts, with public service announcements on CBS and ESPN, as well as full-page print advertisements in The Wall Street Journal. The Fox Networks Group also will air the public service announcements during March across its 29 cable and broadcast networks. To learn more about the campaign, visit: http://www.solutionsforourfuture.org/site/PageServer

See the full-page Wall Street Journal print ad at:
http://www.acenet.edu/solutions/media/PSA_print_state_funding.pdf

House Extends Higher Education Act

The House of Representatives has approved another three-month extension of the Higher Education Act. The extension (H.R. 4911), approved on March 14 by unanimous consent, would last through June 30, 2006. The current extension expires March 31. The rest of the HEA (H.R. 609) is expected to come to the House floor the last week of March. This means the parts of reauthorization that were not included in the Budget Reconciliation bill, which passed the House in February. The Senate is expected to bring up the measure under unanimous consent soon.

Education Spending Increased above President’s Recommendation in Senate

A vote by the U.S. Senate spared several education programs slated for elimination in President Bush’s proposed budget. The Senate voted on Thursday to raise spending on education and biomedical research by $7 billion. The amendment does not specify how the money would be spent, but sponsors indicate the increase would restore funds for the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education program and Gear Up, among others. A more generous proposal offered by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass), Susan M. Collins (R-Maine), and Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), but failed on a 50-50 vote Tuesday, would have reversed all of President Bush's cuts to college programs, while urging the Senate to raise the maximum Pell Grant to $4,500, up from $4,050.

Senate Passes FY2007 Budget Resolution

On a 51-49 vote, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2007 budget resolution which establishes guidelines for the congressional budget for the federal government spending in FY2007, including budgetary levels for FY2006 and FY2008-FY2011. The next step is passage of the House budget resolution and then a conference with the Senate and action by the appropriations committees. The House budget committee has not yet marked up their budget resolution and work is not expected to be concluded until April.