State Relations Updates

2018 State Relations Session Summary

During the 2018 legislative session, the House introduced 1,819 bills and the Senate 1,672 bills. Over 8,600 bills in total were introduced in the biennium. In the end, this year, 115 bills were passed by the legislature, and the governor signed 100 into law. In total, 23 new laws are relevant to the University.

Governor signs capital investment bill

Today, Governor Dayton signed the 2018 capital investment bill into law. This new law includes $79.4 million for the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota State Legislature adjourns

At a few minutes before midnight last night, the Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die, bringing to a close the 90th legislative session. Many outstanding issues went down to the wire. 

End of session draws near

Absent a special session, the state legislature will conclude its business when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday. With a little more than 48 hours to go, the path to resolution remains unclear.

Capital investment and supplemental budget bills move forward

The Minnesota State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 21, meaning only 10 more days of session remain. While many issues have come into focus, others are far from resolution, including major topics such as a supplemental budget agreement, a capital investment agreement, and a tax bill to conform Minnesota state law with the recently enacted federal tax bill.

Final committee deadline

Today marks the final committee deadline at the state legislature, meaning all policy and finance bills must have received an affirmative vote in committee or are no longer viable.

House releases budget targets

Yesterday, the House Republican majority released its budget "targets" for the 2018 session. The targets guide spending decisions by the legislature. The Senate Republican majority has not yet introduced its own budget targets reflecting its priorities. Minnesota Management and Budget projected a $329 million surplus for the state.

Kaler presents supplemental budget request to higher ed committees

This week, the University of Minnesota presented its supplemental budget request before the House and Senate higher education committees. The request is $10 million recurring in the base budget to allow the University to hold tuition flat for in-state undergraduates on all system campuses in the 2018-19 academic year. President Eric Kaler, Vice President for Finance and Operations Brian Burnett, and several undergraduate students testified in this week's hearings. We now await the legislature's budget "targets" to determine if there will be any additional resources available for higher education and other budget areas.

Congress completes work on FY18 federal appropriations bill

Late last week, Congress completed work on an omnibus appropriations bill to finalize funding for federal FY18 and avoid another government shutdown.

Governor announces supplemental budget recommendations

On Friday, March 16, Governor Dayton announced his supplemental budget recommendations for the FY18-19 biennium. The governor's recommendations include $10 million for the University of Minnesota to hold tuition flat for undergraduate residents in the 2018-2019 academic year, as requested by the Board of Regents.

FY19 Supplemental Budget Request

On March 8, the Board of Regents approved a $10 million supplemental budget request to submit to the state. The University of Minnesota will use this funding, if approved by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, to hold tuition flat in academic year 2018-19 for resident undergraduate students at all five University campuses. This will save approximately 31,500 students $200-250 next year. 

State budget forecast surplus

The first full week of the Minnesota legislative session brought plenty of activity, including the release of the state budget forecast, a hearing on the University of Minnesota's capital request, and the announcement of committee policy deadlines. 

2018 Legislative Session is underway!

On Tuesday, February 20, the Minnesota State Legislature reconvened in Saint Paul to begin the 2018 legislative session.

Never a dull moment in our nation's Capitol

The past week has been particularly busy in our nation's Capitol, with Congress grappling with finishing Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations, the Trump Administration launching its budget for FY19, and the Senate debating immigration in earnest.

UofM Alums Elected in Special Elections

Two state legislative special elections were held in Minnesota on Monday, sending two more University of Minnesota alums to the Legislature.