The Utah State Legislature made a few changes to the way things will work at colleges and universities in Utah.
The 2013 legislative session might be over, but that doesn’t mean the work is done. The House and the Senate have passed this year’s bills, but many of them are still awaiting Gov. Gary Herbert’s signature. So far, Herbert has already signed HB 001, a budget for higher education for the year; SB 100, Higher Education Scholarship Amendments; SB 51, Higher Education Tuition Waivers; SB 40, which will support scholarships for Navajo Native Americans and HB 254 which will require colleges and universities in Utah to award college credit for some military service and training.
Some of the bills have yet to receive Herbert’s seal of approval, such as SB 42, which would provide $10 million in additional funding to the U’s medical school to increase enrollment by 40 students per graduating class, and HB 28, which gives campus security officers additional clout when driving threatening persons off of campus.
This year’s higher education budget appropriates $467,757,900 to the U. The budget is divided between education and general funding needs, funds for the educationally disadvantaged, the School of Medicine, health sciences, University Hospital, the Miners Hospital, the Regional Dental Education Program and public services such as the Natural History Museum of Utah and seismographic stations.
Most of the bills affecting the U have gone through the legislative system with few hold ups, though there has been some concern about the additional $10 million that SB 42 proposes to appropriate to the medical school. Even bill co-sponsor Rep. Michael Kennedy, R-Alpine, admitted that the cost of the bill would not be easy to absorb. If the bill receives Herbert’s signature, the medical school will be able to increase its size by about a third. Of the admitted students, 82 percent must have graduated from a Utah high school or an institution of higher education.
Other bills awaiting final approval are less controversial. HB 254 would help veterans receive college or university credit that is related to training or experiences that they already received while serving in the military. Dave Buhler, Commissioner of Higher Education, said the bill would be a good step toward helping veterans reintegrate into normal life.
HB 28 does not face much chance of veto either. It is a simple bill to clarify that university police officers are authorized to order threatening or peace-disturbing persons off of campus.
Most of the laws that went through this legislative session had to do with funding, either increasing for university programs or providing and tweaking scholarship options for students.
SB 40, for example, will help Navajo Native Americans receive the funding they need to attend college by empowering commissions already granting scholarships to Navajo students to continue granting funding.
According to Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, these commissions are spending about $500,000 a year, and more than 200 tribal members are going to college.
Another bill, SB 100, raises the bar for students on the Regents’ and New Century Scholarships, which are funded by the state.
SB 51, which was supported by the presidents of all state institutions of higher education, will give presidents the opportunity to offer in-state tuition to an unlimited number of outstanding nonresident students. The bill will give presidents an extra tool to boost enrollment and fill seats left empty by departing missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.