| Members Present: Sen. Keith Grover, Senate Chair Rep. Michael K. McKell, House Chair Rep. Susan Duckworth, House Vice Chair Sen. Deidre M. Henderson Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard Sen. Karen Mayne Sen. Ann Millner Sen. Jerry W. Stevenson Sen. Evan J. Vickers Rep. Melissa G. Ballard | Rep. Jon Hawkins Rep. John Knotwell Rep. Kelly B. Miles Rep. Rex P. Shipp Rep. Mark A. Strong Rep. Mark A. Wheatley Staff Present: Ms. Emily Willis, Financial Analyst Mr. Sean C. Faherty, Fiscal Analyst Ms. Karen C. Allred, Committee Secretary |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the
meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| Senate Chair Grover called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. |
| 1. Higher Education Budget Presentation |
| Mr. Sean Faherty, Fiscal Analyst, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (OLFA), gave an overview and background of the Higher Education Budget. His presentation included the budget structure, funding amounts, and requests for the programs under each department, as well as the agencies funding requests. |
| 2a-LFA Higher Education Budget Presentation - 2-11-2019 |
| Chair Grover made a comment that funding priorities will need to be ranked at the meeting on Friday. Each funding item needs to stand on its own merit. |
| Sen. Mayne asked for clarification and made a comment on funding for the Custom Fit program with a response from Mr. Faherty. |
| Mr. Faherty mentioned the four large categories will be broken out separately for prioritization. |
| 2. Higher Education System Cost Controls |
| Mr. Kade Minchey, Legislative Auditor, Office of the Legislative Auditor General (OLAG), Mr. Jesse Martinson, Audit Supervisor, OLAG, and Mr. Matt Harvey, Legislative Auditor, OLAG, gave a presentation of a performance audit of the Utah Board of Regents. Mr. Minchey introduced the audit, and Mr. Martinson discussed the audit. |
| 3a-Legislative Auditor Tuition Presentation |
| 3b-Legislative Auditor Board of Regents Performance Audit |
| Sen. Hillyard asked about the legislative and tuition matches, with a response by Mr. Minchey. |
| Sen. Henderson asked about the Council of Presidents meetings not being public, with a response by Mr. Martinson, Mr. Harvey, and Mr. Minchey. |
| Sen. Stevenson asked about the reactions of the recommendations made from the audit. Mr. Martinson responded and continued with the presentation. |
| Chair Grover asked which institution was benefited in the report. Mr. Martinson, and Mr. Minchey responded, and Mr. Martinson continued with the explanation of the audit. |
| Sen. Stevenson asked if there has been any resistance in adopting the recommendations. Mr. Minchey responded. |
| Chair Grover asked about the resistance mentioned in the audit, with a response from Mr. Harvey. Sen. Stevenson also commented on this issue. |
| Sen. Henderson asked about the recommendation of keeping minutes, and if that change has been made, with a response from Mr. Minchey. |
| Rep. McKell asked about the recommendation of the audit staff, and performance metrics, with a response from Mr. Minchey. |
| Rep. Ballard asked if the Regents Chair attends the Council of the Presidents, and centralized audits, with a response from Mr. Minchey. |
| Rep. McKell asked about an update of mandated goals mentioned in the audit, with a response from Mr. Minchey. |
| Sen. Hillyard asked about student tuition, with a response from Mr. Minchey. |
| Chair Grover commented about student tuition and the legislative match. |
| Commissioner Buhler, Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), assisted by Dr. Kimberly Henrie, Associate Commissioner, Finance and Facilities Research, USHE, gave a presentation of the Board of Regents response to the audit. |
| 3c-USHE Audit Response Tuition and Affordability |
| Dr. Henrie explained the expanded use of the Board's Audit Function. Commissioner Buhler continued his explanation of the response to the audit. |
| Sen. Mayne expressed concern, and asked about the closed meetings and compensation, with a response from Commissioner Buhler. |
| Sen. Hillyard asked about student tuition, with a response from Dr. Henry and Commissioner Buhler. |
| Sen. Vickers and Rep. Ballard made a comment about the Board of Regents, with a response from Commissioner Buhler. |
| Rep. McKell asked for an update on the institutional specific goals from the audit, with a response from Commissioner Buhler. |
| Commissioner Buhler gave a presentation on tuition and affordability, and that it is a Regent's commitment to have affordable college. |
| Rep. Hawkins asked about the cost of going to college, with a response from Commissioner Buhler. Commissioner Buhler continued with his presentation. |
| Rep. Miles asked about getting access to the slides from this presentation. Mr. Faherty responded. |
| Dr. Henrie gave a presentation about Space Utilization for the USHE, including the USHE policy used for space utilization and strategies for utilization improvement. |
| 3e-2017-18 USHE Space Utilization Report |
| 3d-USHE Space Utilization Presentation |
| Rep. Strong asked about plans for summer utilization, with a response from Commissioner Buhler and Dr. Henrie. |
| Interim Commissioner, Jared Haines, Utah System of Technical Colleges (UTECH), assisted by Mr. Tyler Brinkerhoff, Assistant Commissioner, UTECH, gave a presentation of the tuition and fees of the technical colleges. |
| 3f-UTECH Tuition and Fees Presentation |
| 3. Requests for Appropriation |
| Rep. Christine Watkins explained the budget request for the Price Prehistoric Museum, for a one-time request for special storage cabinets and drawers, and a drone and microscope. There is also an ongoing request for an in-house educator. |
| 4a-Price Prehistoric Museum |
| Rep. Val Peterson distributed a handout and explained a request for funding for an Engineering Initiative, to add more engineering graduates. Mr. John Sutherland, Technology Initiative Advisory Board, Utah Technical Council (UTC), had representatives from private companies introduce themselves. He further explained the need for engineering and computer science programs. |
| 4b-Engineering Initiative |
| Sen. Vickers asked about funding floating to different institutions, with a response from Mr. Sutherland and Rep. Peterson. |
| Rep. Knotwell asked for an explanation of the program to the subcommittee, and made comments on this program, with a response from Mr. Sutherland and Rep. Peterson. |
| Sen. Hillyard made a comment on the need for engineers. |
| Rep. Ballard made a comment on the efficiency of the program. Mr. Sutherland responded. |
| Sen. Millner made a comment on the need for engineers. |
| Sen. Ann Millner distributed a handout and explained the request for Primary Care Workforce to meet the need for medical personnel. Dr. Michael Magill, Director, Utah Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), explained the request of one-time money for UAHEC. Mr. Clark Ruttinger, Director, Workforce Relations, Utah Medical Education Council, explained IBM's involvement in the primary care workforce need for funding. |
| 4c-Primary Care Workforce |
| Rep. Duckworth asked if Utah Higher Education Network (UHEN) was used in this program, with a response from Mr. Ruttinger. |
| Rep. Miles asked if this could be used statewide, with a response form Mr. Ruttinger and Sen. Millner. |
| Rep. Ballard expressed appreciation for the work on this program, with a response from Sen. Millner. |
| Sen. Karen Mayne explained the need for ongoing money for the Salt Lake Community College Teacher Education Initiative. Mr. Dale Smith, Associate Dean of Education, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), had three members of the Teacher Education Iniative Program introduce themselves. Ms. Geraldine Russom, Student, SLCC, and Ms. Bre Lonncker, Student, SLCC, who expressed appreciation for the opportunity, and Ms. Julia Triplett, scholarship receipient, SLCC, introduced themselves. Mr. Smith further explained the appropriation request. |
| 4d-Salt Lake Community College Teacher Education Initiative |
| Rep. Duckworth made a comment on the importance of investing in teachers. |
| 4. Approval of Minutes |
| MOTION: Rep. Knotwell moved to approve the minutes of the meeting of February 5, 2019. The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 10 | Nays-0 | Abs-6 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. S. Duckworth Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Henderson Sen. L. Hillyard Rep. J. Knotwell Rep. R. Shipp Rep. M. Strong Sen. E. Vickers Rep. M. Wheatley | Rep. J. Hawkins Sen. K. Mayne Rep. M. McKell Rep. K. Miles Sen. A. Millner Sen. J. Stevenson |
| Sen. Vickers concluded the presentation of the Utah Area Health Education Centers program. |
| Sen. Evan Vickers distributed a handout, and introduced the Utah Area Health Education Centers request for appropriation. The Center Directors, Mr. Frederick Henderson, Northern Utah, Area Health Education Center (AHEC); Ms. Mindy Bateman, Director, Crossroads Utah AHEC Program, Salt Lake City; Ms. Jenna Christensen, Associate Director, Statewide AHEC; further explained the need for the request for funding of the Utah Area Health Education Centers, which is a program developed by Congress to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce, especially primary care. |
| 4e-Utah Area Health Education Centers |
| Sen. Daniel Hemmert introduced the request for appropriation for Restoring KUER's Public Radio to Washington County. It is a one-time appropriation for equipment. Ms. Maria O'mara, General Manager, KUER, distributed a handout, and explained the radio station's mission and public service, and the need for appropriation. |
| 4f-Restoring KUER's Public Radio to Washington County |
| Sen. Lyle Hillyard introduced Mr. Mike Styler, Director, Department of Natural Resources, and Mr. Chris Luecke, Dean, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University. Mr. Styler explained the appropriation request for a Rare Insect Conservation Coordinator. Mr. Luecke, further explained the need for a biologist for the rare insect conservation needs. Mr. Styler and Sen. Hillyard gave further comments. |
| 4g-Rare Insect Conservation Coordinator |
| Chair Grover gave a very clever pun. |
| Rep. Logan Wilde explained the Berryman Institute at Utah State University, appropriation request to do a study of predator control. |
| 4h-Berryman Institute at USU |
| 5. Other Business |
| There was no other business. |
| 6. Adjourn |
| MOTION: House Vice Chair Duckworth moved to adjourn. The motion passed with a vote of 13-0-3. | |||
| Yeas - 13 | Nays-0 | Abs-3 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. S. Duckworth Sen. K. Grover Sen. D. Henderson Sen. L. Hillyard Rep. J. Knotwell Rep. M. McKell Rep. K. Miles Sen. A. Millner Rep. R. Shipp Rep. M. Strong Sen. E. Vickers Rep. M. Wheatley | Rep. J. Hawkins Sen. K. Mayne Sen. J. Stevenson |
| Senate Chair Grover adjourned the meeting at 10:47 a.m. |