Legislative Priorities

69th North Dakota Legislative Assembly (2025-27 Biennium).

Support the SBHE Budget Proposal

Implement full needs-based budget from the Higher Ed Funding Formula, including merit pay increases for each year of the biennium.
Permanently commit to equity pay and retirement benefits initiated in the prior biennium.
Consider adding an inflation factor to the Higher Education Funding Formula and implementing key initiatives put forward by the State Board.

Fund State and Federal Agency Mandates

Decisions made by other state and federal agencies have an outsized impact upon our institutions of higher ed. The following four actions are particularly severe in their impact, yield tens of millions of dollars in unmet expense at UND, and we request an offset to these expenses to cover the burden across all NDUS institutions.

NDPERS defined benefit retirement plan closure: Creates $5.7M biennial impact on UND.
Insurance premium increases: Creates a $1.39M biennial impact on UND.
Health insurance increases: 14% increase creates a $16.3M biennial impact on UND.
Salary increases: Cost to continue 24-25 salary increases is $10.3M.
ADA Digital Accessibility: Compliance with federal law by Apr 2026 will require a significant one-time investment to address as well as require ongoing financial resources for maintaining ADA Accessibility standards.

Continue and Grow Key NDUS Initiatives

Challenge Grant Fund: Increase the NDUS appropriation to $50M to attract donor funding for scholarship and faculty endowments. Since the 2013-15 biennium, UND has used Challenge Grants to establish 319 scholarships and faculty endowments, securing $52M in private donations.
Economic Diversification Research Fund (EDRF): Increase the Economic Diversification Research fund to $25M, with UND’s share at $11.25M, to drive research and economic development through collaboration across the NDUS and Tribal colleges.
National Security Crossroads: $36M NDUS-wide initiative for Unmanned Air Systems (UAS), counter-UAS, cybersecurity, and satellite design and flight.
Nursing Education Consortium: Increase base funding by $2M to support nursing simulation technology
High-Performance Computing & Northern Tier Network: Increase base funding by $8M, split between UND and NDSU for critical computational research. This builds on $2.5M base from last biennium.

Support Statewide Initiatives

EERC’s designation State Energy Research Center: Continue $10M biennial funding and remove sunset clause
State-wide Artificial Intelligence initiative: $71M to support responsible AI adoption across state agencies
Native American Repatriation Fund: $5M for state agencies, Tribal Nations, and the ND Indian Affairs Commission
Emergency Notification System modernization: Initiative of the ND Dept of Emergency Services

UND Capital Projects

STEM Complex (Phase II) - $55.6M

Will be matched by $24M in donor funding.
Addresses high-tech workforce needs of North Dakota and private industry through modern laboratories, maker spaces, and learning environments.
Enables large decrease in square footage and deferred maintenance. Academic programs slated for this facility are UND’s fastest growing.
Last biennium, the Legislative Assembly funded Phase I and issued legislative intent for Phase II.

Health Professions Collaborative Facility – $83.4M

Will be matched by $35.8M in donor funding.
Collaboration, among four Colleges, connects health professions programs through facilities consolidation, construction, and renovation.
This new addition to the School of Medicine & Health Sciences would house College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines programs as well as biomedical research facilities, including much-needed clinic and research spaces.
Expands the number of health professionals we can develop in support of the state’s health needs.