BISMARCK - North Dakotans are closer to voting on a new section of the state Constitution dealing with the state Board of Higher Education, but it doesn't make drastic changes in the board's or the University System chancellor's powers.
Tuesday, the House Constitutional Revision Committee voted to recommend the full House approve House Concurrent Resolution 3019, which will update the section that created the board in the 1930s.
As finalized by the committee, HCR 3019 will strip the constitution of its specified nominating committee and direct the Legislature to decide who should be members of a future nominating committee.
It also specifies that the college and university presidents report directly to the chancellor, and says the chancellor is the chief executive officer of the University System. Currently, the state constitution refers to the CEO of the system by its old term, commissioner, and the committee said they liked the idea of revamping the constitution to update its language.
When HCR 3019 was introduced in January, its sponsor, Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, proposed stripping most power over the higher education system from the board and giving it to the chancellor. But he later proposed an amendment to his resolution only changing the makeup of the nominating committee.
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Skarphol had named 13 people representing the Legislature, business and various professions to be the new nominating committee. The House committee on Tuesday stripped the 13 representatives and replaced with wording empowering the Legislature to decide later what makeup the nominating committee should have.
If the House votes to approve the final version of HCR 3019, it will go to the Senate for further consideration.
The House committee also acted on two other proposed constitutional amendments.
One, HCR 3055, calls for a complete revamping of the executive branch of state government into no more than 25 agencies created by the Legislature. The agencies could be reconfigured by the legislature again and again.
"I'm having a problem with the Legislature telling the executive branch what to do," said Rep. Lawrence Klemin, in arguing against giving a blessing to the resolution.
The committee voted to recommend the House not pass HCR 3055.
The committee gave a do-pass recommendation to HCR 3045, which restricts the Legislature's ability to spend the principle of the Permanent Oil Tax Trust Fund. It limits the state to using $110 million of oil taxes per biennium, leaving the rest in the trust fund. The principle could only be used if three-fourths of both houses of the Legislature voted to do so, and the Legislature could not use more than 20 percent of the principle any biennium.
Cole works for Forum Communications' bureau in Bismarck. Forum Communications owns the Grand Forks Herald.
