House and Senate pass higher ed provisions
On Monday, April 25, the House passed its omnibus K-12 and higher education policy bill, which provides no new funding for the University. The House bill contains the following provisions:
- State ombudsman monitoring of Department of Psychiatry clinical drug trials
- Fetal tissue research practices
- A collegiate recovery program at the University of Minnesota Rochester
On Wednesday, April 27, the House passed its omnibus agriculture, environment and natural resources, employment and economic development, and energy policy and finance bill, which contains the following provisions:
- Veterinary Diagnostic Lab software - $1.8 million
- Veterinary Diagnostic Lab equipment - $283,000
Yesterday, Thursday, April 28, the Senate passed a supplemental budget bill, which provides $22.1 million in new funding for the University. The Senate bill contains the following provisions:
- Health Training Restoration - $5 million
- Mining Innovation Minnesota - $3.1 million
- Tuition relief - $13 million
- Forever Green - $1 million
- Budget Allocation Report
It is unclear how these non-companion bills will move forward to conference committee; however, the May 23 constitutionally mandated end of the legislative session is drawing near. Conference committee members will likely be named next week.
Senate bonding recommendation to be released Monday
On Monday, May 2, the Senate will announce its bonding recommendations. On April 7, the House announced a $600 million target for bonding, but other specifics have yet to be released. On January 15, Governor Dayton recommended $153.3 million in bonding for the University of Minnesota. View a comparison of bonding recommendations.
Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources legislation
On Wednesday, April 27, the Senate Finance Committee passed its omnibus Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources bill, which provides $16.5 million for 39 University research projects.