The Minnesota House of Representatives unveiled its higher education omnibus finance bill this week, and it includes $114 million for the University of Minnesota— $27 million above the University’s $87 million request.
The Minnesota House of Representatives unveiled its higher education omnibus finance bill this week, and it includes $114 million for the University of Minnesota— $27 million above the University’s $87 million request. In a news conference Thursday, House leaders explained that the increased amount for the University was to allow for a tuition freeze for Minnesota resident undergraduate students for the next two years.
Several additional omnibus finance bills were also introduced this week, including areas like transportation, environment, and agriculture. Many committees began “markup” (debate, amend, and rewrite legislation) of their finance bills and will continue this process into next week. The House Higher Education Committee will mark up its omnibus bill on Tuesday, April 9; the Senate Higher Education Committee is expected to unveil and mark up its bill as early as Monday, April 8.
Both the House and Senate must move their finance bills out of their respective committees by midnight on April 12 to meet the legislature’s third committee deadline.
On Wednesday, one day before the House unveiled its higher education budget bill, nearly 150 students, faculty, staff, and other advocates descended on the State Capitol for the annual “Support the U Day” event. Students from all five campuses met with lawmakers in the House and Senate to advocate for the University of Minnesota.
We are grateful to everyone who participated. Your efforts encouraging the House (and the governor, through his revised budget recommendation increase for the University) to provide support for the University worked. And with six full weeks to go before the constitutionally mandated end of session on May 20, we encourage you to keep it up!