Bill Summary

• Appropriates $2,509,832,000 for higher education during fiscal years 2012-2013, distributed among the Minnesota Office of Higher Education ($368,190,000), Minnesota State Colleges and Universities ($1,093,654,000), University of Minnesota ($1,045,286,000), and Mayo Medical Foundation ($2,702,000).

• Establishes tuition increase limits of 3% annually for state colleges and 4% annually for state universities during the 2012-2013 biennium; expects University of Minnesota to limit increases to 4% annually.

• Modifies Minnesota College Savings Plan by removing matching grant provisions effective July 1, 2012, and repealing related statutory sections that governed grant administration.

• Lowers senior citizen age eligibility for tuition benefits from 66 to 62 years old and extends educational benefits for public safety officers' dependents from 9 to 10 semesters.

• Prohibits use of state and federal funds for human cloning research while preserving funding for other scientific research including stem cell research and nuclear transfer techniques for non-human applications.