By Students attending South Dakota public universities would no longer be required to live on campus the first two years of their education under a bill endorsed by a legislative committee Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the Capitol in Pierre.
Jensen
Republican Rapid City Rep. Phil Jensen introduced House Bill 1193, calling the South Dakota Board of Regents’ two-year housing policy “impoverishing” for students. The legislation came from students who want to change the policy because they believe it would be cheaper to live off campus.
Students said they met with university officials about their concerns, but their request to change the housing policy was turned down.
“Making students do this for two years is completely unnecessary and, rather frankly, it is a money grab by the universities,” said Levi Taglioli, a student at the University of South Dakota and a legislative intern.
Eliminating two-year policy would make things ‘untenable’ for state universities
Heather Forney, vice president of finance and administration for the South Dakota Board of Regents, which oversees the university system, told lawmakers that the legislation would create an “untenable” situation. She said student housing fees and meal plans help to pay for infrastructure for dining, housing, student unions, book stores and wellness centers at South Dakota’s six public universities.
The system could lose up to $87 million annually if the legislation passes, Forney told lawmakers, which would cause the university system to default on roughly $263 million in bonds used to build those facilities.
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The Bureau of Finance and Management also opposed the legislation because of concerns that a potential default would affect the state’s AAA bond rating. A state’s bond rating is used by investors to evaluate the risk of a bond investment for projects, with a higher rating leading to better rates for taxpayers.
The cost will be much greater than $87 million, said Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, because it would cost the state, cities, counties and schools significantly more to borrow money for infrastructure projects if the state loses its AAA bond rating.
“I think all of us are in for saving our taxpayers’ money,” Stevens said. “You’re costing our taxpayers millions of dollars by passing this bill.”
Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell, said he supports the legislation because adults shouldn’t be forced to live somewhere to go to college. Forney told lawmakers that the housing policy does have exceptions, with about 93% of requested waivers granted for students.
Lawmakers on the House Education Committee passed the bill with an 8-7 vote. It’ll head to the House floor next.
The six state universities are Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota State in Brookings, Dakota State in Madison, South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, Black Hills State in Spearfish and the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.