State Relations Updates
Growing Community and Local Government Relations
A driver of the success of the University is strong and vibrant communities surrounding our campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and the Twin Cities.
Capital Investment Bonding Tours
Tours of campus bonding projects offer unique opportunities to explain the need for investments in the University.
Governor announces bonding recommendations
Today, Governor Dayton announced his capital infrastructure bonding recommendations for the 2018 session. In his recommendations, he included nearly $300 million for the University of Minnesota.
About Government and Community Relations
The Government and Community Relations team at the University are your lobbyists and representatives at all levels of the government—representing the entire University of Minnesota system.
Federal update
Updates on the Federal Budget, NIH research, Pell grant funding, and the status of the Trump administration's travel ban executive order.
Governor Dayton signs budget bills into law
Governor Dayton signed twelve bills into law, including the higher education and bonding bill.
Legislature approves all budget bills; session ends
After convening a special session at 12:01 am on Tuesday, May 23, the Legislature early this morning finalized the remaining budget bills for the fiscal year 2018-2019 biennium.
Legislature passes higher education bill
On Sunday, May 21, legislative leaders and the governor reached an agreement on the higher education budget bill.
Governor vetoes higher education finance conference report, House revises bonding proposal
On Monday, May 15, Governor Dayton vetoed the higher education conference report passed by both the House and Senate earlier that day.
Higher ed conference committee proposes $18.67 million for U of M
Higher ed conference committee proposes $18.67 million for U of M
Legislature announces joint budget targets
This morning, legislative leadership announced its joint budget targets for its omnibus budget bills. The agreement includes $125 million in new spending for higher education, a compromise between the House and Senate positions. In March, the House originally proposed $149 million and the Senate $100 million for higher education.
Higher ed conference committee meets
On Wednesday, April 19, the higher education conference committee met for the first time to compare the House and Senate versions of the bill. President Kaler released a statement calling on the legislature to invest in the University of Minnesota's shared prosperity with the state.
Higher ed conference committee members
Today, the legislature returned from spring break and announced conference committee members for its omnibus budget bills. Conference committees will begin meeting right away to review the differences between the House and Senate bills. However, conference committee budget targets have not been set, so little action can take place until those numbers are agreed upon.
Omnibus finance bills head to conference committees
This week, the House and Senate passed several omnibus finance bills, which will now move to conference committees to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions. Both the House and Senate set a target to complete their finance bills by the end of this week, and they are set to reach that goal by the end of the day today.