Date: 04/23/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB09-295

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.007 (Attachment P). The motion
Moved amendment L.009 (Attachment Q). The amendme
Moved amendment L.010 (Attachment N). The motion
Moved amendment L.011 (Attachment O). The motion
Moved amendment L.015 (Attachment R). The motion
Moved amendment L.018 (Attachment S). The motion
Refer Senate Bill 09-295, as amended, to the Commi
Pass Without Objection
TIE
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
FAIL
FAIL
PASS



03:45 PM -- Senate Bill 09-295

Senator Boyd, sponsor of Senate Bill 09-295, presented the bill. The bill concerns accessibility at state-supported higher education institutions. Senator Boyd walked the committee through each section of the bill, beginning with sections one through nine, which she said permit institutions to set their own tuition rates and requires institutions to be accountable to the state to increase affordability and access for in-state students. Next Senator Boyd described section 10 of the bill, which exempts institutions that meet certain criteria from the requirement that they include foreign students in the calculations of in-state and out-of-state students. Section 11, she said, allows institutions to administer financial aid programs and requires institutions to provide adequate financial aid for in-state students. She next explained sections 12 through 14, which permit institutions to opt out of state fiscal rules.


03:50 PM

Senator Boyd continued her presentation, providing a description of sections 16 through 23, which address capital construction issues. She said the language in these sections is the same as language in Senate Bill 09-290. Senator Bacon described Senate Bill 09-290. He provided the committee with an outline of the bill prepared by Legislative Council Staff (Attachment J).

090423AttachJ.pdf


03:57 PM

The following persons testified:


03:57 PM --
Bruce Benson, President of the University of Colorado (CU), testified in support of the bill. Mr. Benson said the bill balances the needs of the state with tools for higher education. He talked about recommendations being implemented at CU to make the institution more efficient. Mr. Benson explained the challenges faced by institutions related to capital construction, saying the bill will eliminate a lot of time delays in projects. He discussed the reasons it is important that institutions be allowed to opt out of state fiscal rules. Mr. Benson spoke to the provisions addressing foreign students, saying these provisions provide strong economic opportunity by allowing the institution to complete in a global environment. He said CU would never price itself out of the market, and said a solution other than tuition is needed for funding higher education. Mr. Benson talked about the need for financial aid flexibility.


04:02 PM --
Kay Norton, President of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), testified in support of the bill. Ms. Norton said that in her tenure at UNC, the state's ability to support higher education has seen many more down years than up years. She commented that to be a public institution now means something much different than it did 20 years ago. Ms. Norton expressed appreciation for everything the General Assembly has done to ensure that Colorado higher education institutions will qualify for federal stimulus money, but said it is necessary to look forward to when the federal stimulus money runs out. She said the institutions are together in supporting the bill.


04:06 PM --
Stephen Jordan, President of Metropolitan State College of Denver (Metro), testified in support of the bill. He said in Colorado there is not an "end game" to deal with loss of stimulus funds in two years. Dr. Jordan explained why tuition flexibility is very important, saying the bill allows institutions to develop a multi-year plan, which allows them to notify students of what tuition will be in future years. Dr. Jordan talked about difficulty in processing financial aid under the current process. He said future funding for higher education will not be solved using General Fund alone, tuition will have to be a part of that. He talked about loss of full-time faculty because of budget difficulties and said those losses short-changes students.


04:11 PM

Dr. Jordan continued, talking about the capital construction provisions of the bill. He talked about challenges faced at Metro around space shortages. Finally, Dr. Jordan spoke to the financial aid provisions of the bill. He explained that the state forgoes federal financial aid money under the current program.


04:14 PM

The panel of presidents responded to committee questions. Senator King expressed concern about the division between the community college system and the four-year institutions. Mr. Benson responded to Senator King's comments, talking about work in Colorado Springs. He said he wants to make sure students are successful when they come into four-year institutions. Dr. Jordan responded to Senator King's comments as well, saying more than one-half of students that enter Metro every year are community college transfer students. He said he would not support the bill if he did not believe the bill is in the best interests of the community college system. Ms. Norton responded to Senator King's comments as well. She said one size does not fit all, and institutions are obliged to offer a customized experience. She said she does not think there is a divide between community colleges and four-year institutions in the state.


04:22 PM

Senator King commented that the state has not done a good job helping at-risk students get to college. He said the bill diminishes the cooperative spirit between the systems, which is necessary to serve students. Senator Boyd responded to Senator King's comments and questions. She said the Colorado Community College System is in support of the bill. Dr. Jordan talked about how Metro is working with community colleges. He talked about how degree programs were established. Senator Romer described his views on the bill, saying it will allow institutions to customize depending upon the communities they serve. He asked the presidents to comment on whether they believe the bill begins to address the Colorado paradox.


04:29 PM

Mr. Benson responded to Senator Romer's comments, talking about his work toward overcoming the Colorado paradox. Senator Heath spoke to Senator King's earlier comments, saying there is a desire to bring the systems together. Senator King made comments about the willingness of four-year institutions to articulate students from the community college system. He said he is concerned that the bill takes the state in the wrong direction, saying focus should be on students not institutions. Mr. Benson responded to Senator King's comments, saying he does not want to bring students in who will not succeed. Senator Romer said institutions are so revenue-starved that they cannot focus on the Colorado paradox.


04:37 PM

Dr. Jordan responded to the committee comments about focus on students, talking about work to retain full-time faculty and how that impacts student retention rates. He said the bill gives certainty about a planned process to improve outcomes with students. Senator Hudak talked about her constituents' concerns around the high cost of higher education, saying it is a concern for middle-class as well as low-income families. Mr. Benson responded to the committee's comments, saying he is committed to helping students.


04:43 PM

Committee discussion continued, with Senator Hudak talking about setting up students for success rather than failure. Senator Romer said failure to allow flexibility will mean more and more large lecture classes, which do not retain students.


04:45 PM --
Janice Sinden, representing Colorado Concern, testified in support of the bill. She provided a handout (Attachment K). She described Colorado Concern and its membership. She said the flexibility offered by the bill allows higher education institutions to increase their capacity to serve the citizens of Colorado.

090423AttachK.pdf


04:48 PM --
David McDermott, the Colorado State Controller, testified in opposition to sections 12 and 13 of the bill. He provided a handout outlining his concerns (Attachment L). He said his office has been in discussions for some time with higher education regarding the proposed exemption from fiscal rules. Mr. McDermott spoke to the implications of exempting Higher Education from the fiscal rules, stating that nearly all of the fiscal rules are based on statutes, and that exempting higher education from the fiscal rules will not remove the statutory requirement. Further, he stated that it will take extensive legal work by the Attorney General's Office to define a new relationship between the Controller's responsibilities and the various statutes underlying the fiscal rules. He stated that in some cases under the proposed exemption, higher education would actually have less flexibility.

090423AttachL.pdf


04:58 PM

Mr. McDermott responded to questions from the committee.


04:59 PM --
Kelly Fox, representing CU, testified in support of the bill. She responded to Mr. McDermott's testimony, saying CU does not want to diminish its reporting to the Controller's Office. She talked about the intent of the language permitting institutions to opt out of state fiscal rules. She said CU is working on amendment to narrow those provisions. Senator Boyd said she hoped an amendment would be ready for second reading.


05:02 PM --
Clark Bolser, representing the Department of Personnel, testified in opposition to the bill, expressing concerns about section 14 of the bill, saying it impacts central services provided by the department to all state agencies in four metro areas. He said the key to cost savings is volume, and this section impacts the leverage the department has in getting lower prices. He talked about the impact of removing higher education from these provisions. He said the department requests that this section be removed from the bill.


05:06 PM --
John Karakoulakis, representing the DHE, testified in opposition to the bill. He provided a letter from Executive Director Skaggs outlining the department's concerns (Attachment M). He said the foremost objective of higher education in the state is to assure that all students who wish to pursue higher education have access and can afford it. He said the department has concerns with sections 1 through 9 of the bill as well as section 11. He said giving governing boards authority to increase tuition, subject only to a review in 2015, would raise questions about compliance with federal law. Mr. Karakoulakis said the department would offer some amendments addressing some of their concerns. Mr. Karakoulakis responded to committee questions about the stance of the department and the governor.

090423AttachM.pdf


05:12 PM

Committee discussion with Mr. Karakoulakis ensued, with comments from Senator Romer about the bill's impact on the possibility of federal stimulus moneys. Mr. Karakoulakis responded to Senator Romer's comments and discussion between Senator Romer and Mr. Karakoulakis ensued.


05:17 PM --
Toni Larson, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Larson explained that she wrote a dissertation on the topic at hand. She described the states she studied, saying those states are generally very satisfied with the outcome of allowing more flexibility to higher education institutions. Dr. Larson responded to Senator King's earlier comments about the "silo effect," talking about New Jersey. She responded to committee questions and comments.


05:22 PM --
Greg Romberg, representing the Colorado Press Association, testified in opposition to section 20 of the bill. He said there is benefit to the public at large in getting notice of capital construction projects. Mr. Romberg said the notice requirements provide a centralized place for the public to get information. He said the cost for governments to run legal notices is set in statute and is minimal. Mr. Romberg responded to committee questions about the cost of legal notices.


05:27 PM

Ms. Fox returned to the table to respond to the questions about the cost for legal notices. Committee discussion with Mr. Romberg and Ms. Fox around the cost of legal notices ensued. Mr. Romberg said this section in the bill applies to all of state government, not just higher education. He talked about benefit to the public of an interactive Press Association database of public projects. Senator Bacon responded to the testimony as did Senator Romer. Senator Romer said he would offer an amendment limiting this section of the bill to higher education.


05:36 PM

Senator Boyd made closing comments to the bill. She asked the committee to move the bill forward and allow people who are working on issues raised to continue their work and offer amendments on second reading. Senator Bacon commented on Senate Bill 09-290, saying it will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, April 24. He said he has two amendments related to that portion of this bill.
BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 05:40:07 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved amendment L.010 (Attachment N). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
Hudak
King K.
Scheffel
Spence
Romer
Bacon
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090423AttachN.pdf

BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 05:42:22 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Moved amendment L.011 (Attachment O). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
Hudak
King K.
Scheffel
Spence
Romer
Bacon
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090423AttachO.pdf

BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 05:48:36 PM
MOVED:King K.
MOTION:Moved amendment L.007 (Attachment P). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
Hudak
King K.
Scheffel
Spence
Romer
Bacon
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

090423AttachP.pdf

BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 05:52:30 PM
MOVED:King K.
MOTION:Moved amendment L.009 (Attachment Q). The amendment was WITHDRAWN.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
Hudak
King K.
Scheffel
Spence
Romer
Bacon
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

090423AttachQ.pdf

05:53 PM

Senator King explained amendment L.015 (Attachment R), which addresses the counting of international students. Ms. Fox returned to the table to speak to the amendment. She expressed concern about imposing a percentage limit and possible unintended consequences. She proposed a report instead. Committee discussion on the amendment ensued. Mr. Karakoulakis returned to the table to speak to the amendment. He said the amendment is intended to apply to all institutions. Jim Cole, representing the Colorado School of Mines, came to the table to speak to the amendment. He said Colorado School of Mines would oppose the amendment. Committee discussion on the amendment ensued.


BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 06:02:29 PM
MOVED:King K.
MOTION:Moved amendment L.015 (Attachment R). The motion failed on a 2-5-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
No
Hudak
No
King K.
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Spence
No
Romer
No
Bacon
No
Not Final YES: 2 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

090423AttachR.pdf

06:03 PM

Senator King explained amendment L.018 (Attachment S). Senator Boyd said she opposes the amendment. Committee discussion of the amendment ensued. Mr. Karakoulakis and Dr. Gianneschi came to the table to respond to committee questions about the amendment. Senator King responded to Dr. Gianneschi's testimony on the amendment, saying the amendment accomplishes the objective in a managed way. Committee discussion with Dr. Gianneschi about the amendment continued.

BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 06:21:02 PM
MOVED:King K.
MOTION:Moved amendment L.018 (Attachment S). The motion failed on a 2-5-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
No
Hudak
No
King K.
Yes
Scheffel
Yes
Spence
No
Romer
No
Bacon
No
Not Final YES: 2 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

090423AttachS.pdf

06:21 PM

Committee members explained their positions on the bill.
BILL:SB09-295
TIME: 06:23:53 PM
MOVED:Bacon
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 09-295, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 5-2-1 vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Groff
Excused
Heath
Yes
Hudak
Yes
King K.
No
Scheffel
No
Spence
Yes
Romer
Yes
Bacon
Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS