Capitol Update 12 4/5/2013 After a week off, the Legislature was back up and running in high gear.

Typically, April is the month where committees put forward and review their final Omnibus bills. An Omnibus bill is a draft made up of multiple pieces of legislation that have been presented individually. We have been hard at work putting together the Omnibus bill for Higher Education/Workforce Development. Our goal is to not only make smart investments, but ensure the money we invest is transparent. Of course, Higher Education is not my only priority. I have also been occupied with several bills related to activity in Senate District 44. This week I presented a bonding bill for the St. Davids Center for Child and Family Development, a jewel of our community. Additionally, I had my first bill this session come to the Senate floor; the Hollydale bill. The Senate File passed off the floor with unanimous, bi-partisan support, (something you dont see very often in this climate).

(VIDEO) Weekly update from Senator Bonoff. Click here to watch

Higher Education Omnibus Bill The Higher Education/Workforce Development Omnibus bill will provide funding to the University of Minnesota, MnSCU, and Private Colleges. As many of you know, both bodies of the Legislature and the Governor have proposed significant increases in Higher Education investments. This increased investment has manifested in programs put forth by members of both parties aimed at reducing student debt, making Higher Education in MN more accessible and affordable to students, and producing a strong workforce that will meet the needs that tomorrows economy demands.

Working as Chair of Higher Education/Workforce Development Committee

Performance Funding: The increased investment brings with it many questions. Chief among them is if we are giving Higher Education institutions this money, shouldnt we require them to meet certain standards? Throwing money at the issues facing our student population will not solve their problems. We have to identify areas of improvement that these institutions must address and hold them accountable for responding to our requests. It is in this spirit that committee members are looking into performance funding metrics that the University of Minnesota and MnSCU must satisfy in order to receive a portion of their funding. These metrics range from increasing graduation rates to increasing use of emerging technologies in the classroom to cutting administrative costs. The premise is that if we invest taxpayer dollars, we want there to be clarity of both purpose and outcome. We have used performance funding with our higher education budget in past years but have only held back 1%. After much research and review, we have learned that this is not consistent with best practices. States that have adopted performance funding use anywhere from 5% to 100%. Given this, we are proposing to increase the amount of money tied to our proposed metrics to 5%. We know this is a jump, yet both MnSCU and the UMN have met their goals in previous years and we are developing them in partnership. We are not trying to trip up the systems, rather point to a long term path we value. SURVEY QUESTION: Is it fair to require the U of M and MnSCU to adhere to certain performance standards in order to receive a portion of their funding? If so, do you agree that 5% of their funding should be tied to outcomes? Click here to respond.

State Grant Another big issue for our committee is the adjustment of our State Grant program. Throughout the session, the committee heard testimony from a number of students who complained that part of the reason they incurred so much debt is that the current State Grant formula is flawed. Senators Champion and Eken brought forth measures to alter the formula so that it adjusts for part-time students. The Governor proposed to raise the cap which allows low income students to have more of their tuition covered if they pick higher priced Colleges such as the UMN and/or the Privates. We have worked hard to come up with reforms that address both issues; we propose to raise the cap, increase aid for part time students at MnSCU and treat Independent students more fairly. This is complex but in summary, our increased investment spreads the resources fairly across all sectors to benefit the broadest number of students. Lastly, business leaders have reached out to myself and Senate leadership to express their strong support for these increased investments. The ITASCA project is aligned with the goals we have put forward in the Senate bill. We appreciate their engagement and strong support and know their advocacy will be needed to make this effort a reality. E-12 Omnibus: Of course, the Higher Education Omnibus bill is not the only one being put together. Of great importance is the proposed E-12 legislation. There has been heated debate in committee about which areas to tackle. This debate has ranged from the prioritization of early childhood education (of which I am a strong proponent) to property taxes (lack of funding has resulted in an increased reliance on levies). I will be sure to keep you posted with updates on this bill. I would write more but have not yet been presented with the proposed draft. Topic Rewind The next two weeks will be spent reviewing each budget area. It is important to note that we still have the structural budget shortfall of approximately $600m. This is improved significantly from the past several years. Two weeks ago, I put out a survey regarding the budget targets. Thank you to everyone who participated. Once again, I was impressed by your thoughtful responses and appreciate the feedback. The results reveal that many of you concur with the strong emphasis on investing in Education (E-12 and Higher Ed). However, many of you also stressed the importance maintaining our Health and Human Services budget. A great deal of you also expressed your belief that we the state should stick to current base funding levels and not increase investments. (continued on next page)

As we hear the budget proposals and the tax committee proposal, my focus will sharpen and I will let you know where I stand. Of course learning where you stand is most important. Have a great weekend. Best Regards,

Terri Bonoff