1238fa

___________________ moved that HB 1238 be amended as follows:

     On the House Appropriations Committee engrossed bill, delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

"
    Section 1. There is hereby established the Higher Education Task Force. The task force shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the Governor. Not more than ten of the task force members may belong to the same political party. The initial appointments shall be made no later than thirty days after the effective date of this Act. If there is a vacancy on the task force, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The appointments shall include individuals representing the Board of Regents, public and private university systems, the Native American university system, senior administrators, faculty, and representatives from the business sector where the universities are located. The number of members appointed who represent public universities shall be the same as the number of members appointed who represent private universities. The Governor shall appoint the chair and the vice chair of the task force.
    
     Section 2. The task force shall be under the supervision of the Department of Executive Management and staffed and funded by the Department of Executive Management.
    
     Section 3. The task force shall consider the following economic impact of private universities:

             (1)    Demographics, including the number of students attending private universities;

             (2)    Contributions private universities are making to the state of South Dakota as it relates to job placement in South Dakota; and

             (3)    Types of programs offered by private universities that directly or indirectly impact occupational needs in the state.

     Section 4. The task force shall examine how other states treat public and private university systems, encourage competition, maintain educational access in rural and urban population centers, and keep educational access affordable for traditional and nontraditional students. The task force shall submit its final report to the Governor and the Legislature no later than November 1, 2007."