Legislation supporting DSU’s cyber research initiative heads to Governor’s desk
The state House of Representatives on Monday passed two bills in favor of Dakota State University’s cyber research initiative. One of the bills provides 30-million dollars in general funding for the program to help add and retain faculty, staff and students, while the other allows for the university’s Applied Research Laboratory to be built on donated land in Sioux Falls.
District 8 Representative Randy Gross presented the first piece of legislation – Senate Bill 130 – on Monday on the House floor.
The building is part of a 90-million-dollar initiative for DSU that includes a 50-million dollar donation from T. Denny Sanford, a proposed ten-million dollars from the City of Sioux Falls, and the 30-million dollars from the state.
Representative Taffy Howard spoke against the bill.
The bill allowing the building of DSU’s cyber research laboratory in Sioux Falls passed by a vote of 56-to-9.
As far as Governor Kristi Noem’s proposed 30-million dollars in state funding for the cyber program expansion, Representative Gross offered an amendment on the House floor restoring the full amount. The bill had previously been amended in the House Appropriations Committee to include just one-dollar before going to the full House for discussion.
Gross explained that the 30-million dollars would be split three ways – with ten million dollars allocated for the recruitment and retention of faculty at DSU to help increase the number of graduates from the program. Another ten-million would go toward the recruitment of students for the program, and the final ten-million would help expand the Governor’s Cyber Academy.
Representative Mark Willadsen called it a “great project” to keep students in South Dakota.
Senate Bill 54 passed in the House by a vote of 60-to-8.
Both bills will now go to the Governor for her approval.
