State Legislative Update
The Minnesota House and Senate met yesterday to take up HF 4531, a bill that addresses the COVID-19 crisis. Lawmakers in both bodies followed CDC safety recommendations, and many members were sitting in the balcony, alcoves or hallway. The House passed the bill by a vote of 99-4, followed by the Senate passage by a vote of 67-0. The House and Senate are both adjourned until April 14, 2020 or otherwise determined.
Article 1 of the COVID-19 relief bill establishes a temporary $200 million COVID-19 Minnesota fund and appropriates additional money to issue drivers’ license and identification cards, award child care grants, provide financial assistance to military veterans or their surviving spouses, distribute additional funding to food banks and food shelves, increase housing support payment rates, and provide services and shelter to the homeless.
COVID-19 Related Higher Ed Policy Changes:
Article 2 modifies various state programs, including those that authorize disaster recovery loans to farmers, prescribe fees for drug manufacturers and wholesalers, limit drug prescriptions, prescribe allowable evidence of residency for drivers’ licenses, concern the provision of health care to incarcerated individuals placed on conditional medical release, authorize placement of certain persons in county jails or detention centers, concern industries and professions regulated by the Department of Commerce, apply to work-study and other higher education assistance programs, establish state procurement requirements, determine the distribution of food shelf support, concern property taxes payable in 2020, establish pesticide applicator license requirements, and concern eligibility for unemployment assistance.
In regard to higher education, Article 2 of the bill addresses the State Grant program, loans, and work-study requirements. Specifically, the bill aligns State and Federal Work-Study guidelines to allow payments of State Work-Study funds to students during declared disasters or a Peacetime Declaration/State of Emergency, in alignment with the federal program rules.
The bill also temporarily suspends SELF Loans to be able to provide flexibility to administer the loan program to meet the needs of students, borrowers and cosigners; and the bill also includes language that covers the State Grant, Teacher Candidate Grants, Grants for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Childcare Grants, MN Reconnect, Safety Officers Grant, and Indian Scholarships, and will hold students harmless in the case of falling below a certain enrollment level. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education will be provided flexibility for schools that are working to help students complete the term in which they are currently enrolled.
The specific language related to higher education and the above provisions can be found in Article 2, Section 13, starting on line 23.8 of the bill.
IFO Contract
State employee contracts, including the IFO contract, have not been ratified yet. We have been assured by House and Senate leadership they will pass the contracts before May 18, the constitutionally mandated day of adjournment for the legislature.
After House members passed the bill, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) said the House has a long body of work ahead of them and they are working to create opportunities for the public to engage in the working group process they created. The House is encouraging the public to reach out to members by phone or email. House legislative activity during this time can be found on the COVID 19 House web page.
Federal Legislative Update
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package titled the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security). The bill provides additional funds to America’s health systems, a number of financial tools to private businesses, as well as direct financial assistance to most Americans. The House is expected to approve the bill today, Friday, March 27.
Here is how the funding breaks down for education:
Education Stabilization Fund: $30,750,000,000
$2,953,230,000 to Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund
$13,229,265,000 to K-12 Education
$13,952,505,000 to Higher Education (details below)
$615,000,000 to Secretary to Bureau of Indian Education
Higher Education Allocation: $13,952,505,000
$12,557,254,500 to all Qualifying Institutions (with a 75% based on Pell FTE and 25% on non-Pell FTE):
$6,278,627,250 at least 50% to students:
$6,278,627,250 maximum funds for Institutions:
$1,395,250,500 to Minority Serving Institutions and Title VII:
$1,046,437,875 to Minority Serving Institutions
$348,812,625 to Title VII FIPSE
We are waiting on details of the amount our campuses may receive as part of this bill (pending US House approval).
Please let me know if you have any questions at bohn@ifo.org. We will provide additional updates as the legislature moves along.