Hoeven Signs The Higher Education Funding Bill And Ag Extension Research Bill

Press Release

Hoeven Signs The Higher Education Funding Bill And Ag Extension Research Bill

Gov. John Hoeven today signed SB2003, a landmark Higher Education appropriation bill that dramatically increases funding for students and families; builds our campuses; and helps to hold the line on tuition increases.

Senate Bill 2003 provides North Dakota's campuses with an unprecedented total funding package of $795 million, including an additional $161 million over the previous biennium. The legislation provides more support than ever before for student financial aid and tuition control, with more than $40 million to help make college more affordable.

Highlights of the bill includes:

* $20 million for ACT-ND, a needs-based tuition-assistance program.
* $12 million for merit based scholarships and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) grants.
* $8 million to help limit tuition increases on the campuses to 4 percent or less.
* A nearly $75 million increase for the campus's ongoing operations and program costs.
* Nearly $100 million in one-time funding for capital projects and deferred maintenance on our campuses, including renovations of Minard Hall at NDSU and Swain Hall at MSU; a new Education Building at UND; a new library at DSU; a new Career and Technology Center at WSC; a new wind project and wind energy training program at Lake Region College; a renovation of the Technical Center at BSC; and more. This also includes $20 million statewide for deferred maintenance, a 100 percent increase over last biennium.

ActND will nearly double the number of students eligible for state financial aid, from about 4,200 to 8,300, and when combined with federal Pell Grants, will cover nearly 80 percent of tuition for students at four-year colleges and 100 percent of tuition for students at two-year colleges.

"We have long worked for a strong and dynamic system of Higher Education because investments in our students and our campuses are investments in our future," Hoeven said. "Our ActND program dramatically increases funding for financial aid and campus infrastructure, which will enable our colleges and universities to continue to provide a first-rate education in first-rate facilities at an affordable cost to our young people."

"The State Board of Higher Education and the North Dakota University System are pleased that the governor and the legislature share our vision for the future of higher education in North Dakota as expressed through the University System's 2009-11 budget," said Bill Goetz, NDUS chancellor. "This budget focuses on students - both traditional and non-traditional - by improving access and affordability. The 2009-11 University System budget will allow the campuses to be innovative in addressing the educational and workforce needs of our students and our state. Through this budgeting process, we have had an opportunity to bring forward important policy issues and to better position University System campuses as regional and national higher education leaders."

The Governor also signed SB2020, the Agriculture Research and Extension bill, which makes major investments in North Dakota's number one industry. The bill provides new funding for research, development and other assistance to help farmers and ranchers provide food, fuel and fiber for the nation. The bill includes:

* $11.4 million for the final phase of North Dakota State University's main Research Center Greenhouse project.
* $2.6 million for a new beef research facility, and
* $2.9 million for expansion to the Research Extension Centers at Minot, Williston, Dickinson and Langdon, and an additional half million for deferred maintenance.
* Research funding initiatives for additional plant pathologists, a forage agronomist and irrigation specialist, as well as a new pulse, oilseed, wheat-quality research and education initiative.
* Increased funding for the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.
* Funding for a new milling specialist at the Northern Crops Institute.
* New Extension programs for 4H, agribusiness and rural development, Parenting Resource Centers and county agents-in-training.

"North Dakota consistently leads the nation in the production of more than 13 crops, and that's because our farmers and ranchers stay on the cutting edge of their industry with good research and innovative practices," Hoeven said. "This bill makes vital investments in agricultural research and technology to help ensure a dynamic future for agriculture in our state."

"We in the agriculture industry appreciate that Governor Hoeven has included these research facilities and program initiatives in his budget, and that the Legislature appropriated the funding," said Jerry Effertz, chairman of the State Board of Agricultural Research and Education and a rancher. "These projects will be a great benefit for all North Dakota producers, whether they raise crops or livestock."

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