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Legislative notes for the week of May 14 - 18, 2007

As the Legislature is set to adjourn Monday, the constitutional deadline, there is likely to be much activity this weekend at the state Capitol. Lawmakers will pass final bills and revisit those that have been vetoed. The higher education bill still awaits further action. Please stay tuned for more information.

Higher education bill gets a makeover

The higher education bill received a redo Tuesday and passed the Senate 64-0 on Wednesday. Last week, the governor vetoed the bill, saying it spent too much money and contained unfavorable provisions. In attempts to find a compromise, Sen. Sandy Pappas gave the bill a makeover. The new legislation:

Reduced the ongoing funding or "tails" by $20 million; the governor had said the bill spent $95 million more than his recommendation. The ongoing cuts included $8 million to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in 2010-2011 and $14.3 million to the University of Minnesota in the same time period.
Eliminated the ASPIRE scholarship program, which would promote rigorous courses to rural high school students and those typically underrepresented in these advanced course studies.
Revived the Achieve scholarship program, which was originally proposed by the governor to provide $314 scholarships to high school students taking and passing rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. The amendment changed the provision to award $250 scholarships to high school students eligible for free or reduced lunches.
Added Century College to the schools that would eliminate nonresident tuition rates.
Eliminated construction management education fees and the program.
Made the competitive compensation program more flexible.
Funded $2 million more of the GI Bill to provide education opportunities for Minnesota troops.

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Sen. Coleman encourages renewable energies in Minnesota

Renewable energy can promote national security. That was part of the message delivered Monday by U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. He added that renewable fuels can reduce the country's energy dependency on other nations, help improve the environment and collectively constitute a win-win.

"We need to do the research for renewable fuels," the senior Minnesota senator said. He added that the state is uniquely situated to move in this direction. Minnesota has wind power that can be used for energy, and many corn growers are producing ethanol.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have two proposals before the U.S. Congress that would help students prepare for careers in renewable energy. These include a Center for Applied Biofuel Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a Minnesota Center for Renewable Energy partnering Minnesota West Community and Technical College with Minnesota State University, Mankato.

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Federal Update

Higher Education Act Reauthorization

Congress has started work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Staffers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have been in negotiations for the past few weeks, working on the details of reauthorization. One goal of the act is making postsecondary education a more efficient and effective system. The House Committee on Education and Labor will seek to: work with colleges and other relevant stakeholders to devise strategies to contain costs, examine the cost effectiveness of the different student loan programs, increase student retention and analyze ways for higher education to be more accountable to the federal government and taxpayers.

Federal FY2008 overall budget agreement reached

On Wednesday, the House and Senate Budget conference committee finalized the FY2008 federal budget. The budget provides $92.78 billion for Function 500, which governs education, training, employment and social services, including $2 billion in additional 2009 advance appropriations. The agreement requires the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to provide $750 million in deficit reduction by 2012. The budget resolution calls for increased student benefits for higher education. The budget is about $20 billion more than the president's budget request, and there are some signals that line item vetoes may be applied to a final bill.

House and Senate appropriations committees are beginning to work on their budget targets with markups anticipated beginning in June on the House and July in the Senate. This would represent a return to the traditional federal budget calendar, with outcomes ready for the beginning of the fiscal year, Oct. 1.

Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization

Senate staff has begun working on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. It is expected that the Democrats will give the bill to Republican staff before they formally introduce it, which is expected in about 2 to 3 weeks.