As the final days of Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session quickly approach, lawmakers in both houses of the state legislature are hammering out the details and policy provisions that will be included in a dozen or so omnibus bills that make up the state budget.
One of them is the Higher Education Policy and Finance Omnibus Bill which appropriates billions of dollars to various state agencies, programs, and colleges and universities.
At present, different versions of the higher education omnibus bill have been passed in the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives. As such, a select group of legislators from both chambers have been chosen to serve as “conferees” and hash out the differences between the competing versions.
In total, there are four Democratic conferees and three Republican conferees. The makeup of this group is reflective of the fact that the House is evenly split between the two parties while the Democrats have a one-seat majority in the Senate.
Among the most anticipated policy questions this legislative session is whether major reforms will be applied to the state’s North Star Promise scholarship program.
In 2023, Democrats in control of state government created the North Star Promise program which provides free tuition for students to attend college at most state universities if their families make less than $80,000 annually.
Republicans have been highly critical of the program for many different reasons, but one of the most consistent criticisms is that illegal immigrants are eligible to receive those scholarships.
During this legislative session, the GOP has put forward proposals that would significantly change the North Star Promise program and prevent illegal aliens from accessing college scholarships on the taxpayer’s dime.
Proposed reforms to the North Star program
Earlier this session, Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, introduced legislation that would require recipients of North Star Promise scholarships to be employed in Minnesota for three years after they complete their college degree.
Scott’s bill, HF 2241, would require North Star Promise recipients to sign a contract with the Office of Higher Education (OHE) that says they will reside, and be employed, in Minnesota for three years after they complete the program for which the scholarship was received.
“If the recipient fails to meet this requirement, the amount of the scholarship is converted into a loan that the recipient is required to repay with interest,” states a research summary of the bill.
Scott’s proposal was heard in a House committee earlier this session but was not included in either version of the competing higher education omnibus bills.
(Of note: the absence of a particular policy from a draft omnibus bill does not mean that it cannot be included later as negotiations progress.)
Another proposed change that would have a major impact on the North Star program is HF 10, authored by Rep. Isaac Schultz, R-Elmdale Township. Under HF 10, illegal immigrants would be barred from receiving any taxpayer-funded government service, thus precluding them from receiving a North Star Promise scholarship.
Schultz’s HF 10 was heard in committee during the legislative session, and he even tried to amend the House’s version of the higher education omnibus bill to keep illegal immigrants from receiving free scholarships. However, Schultz’s amendment failed along a party-line vote.
Alpha News reached out to the GOP conferees working on the higher education omnibus bill and asked them about Scott’s proposal and the ban on illegal immigrants receiving scholarships.
Speaking about Scott’s bill, Rep. Marion Rarick, R-Maple Lake, told Alpha News that “while it is not impossible for language to make it into a conference committee report when it doesn’t exist in either bill, it is strongly discouraged. In this 67-67 split House, it is all but impossible to add in at this point.”
As a result, major Republican reforms to the North Star program appear dead this session.
Currently, the governor and legislative leaders from both parties are negotiating a “global deal” that governs the terms of Minnesota’s next two-year state budget.
Any such deal will ultimately determine the size of the state budget and the policy changes that are enacted this year.
Luke Sprinkel contributed to this report.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.