Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, proposed a budget for Idaho's colleges and universities for next year that includes a 3.5 percent cut in state general funds and a 5 percent increase overall, as compared to the governor's recommendation for a 1.3 percent cut in general funds and a 6.4 percent increase overall. The motion includes $1.59 million in state general funds to pay for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls, a joint project of Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho and the Idaho National Laboratory; that funding also comes with nearly 15 staff positions. Mortimer noted that that's the same funding level for CAES as this year; this year, the project was funded from federal stimulus money. "We recognize it's a very difficult budget year," Mortimer said. "This budget has had a 20.6 percent reduction prior to this year." He called additional cuts "a tough pill for everybody to swallow - we recognize that."

Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, JFAC co-chair, has made a substitute motion for deeper cuts. The alternative proposal is identical except that it makes an additional cut in base funding of $1.59 million, offsetting the increased funding for CAES. That means the project still is funded, but universities would have to find the money for it within their existing budget. The result is a 4.3 percent cut in state general funds for colleges and universities next year, and a 4.6 percent increase overall. Cameron said he would have loved to support Mortimer's motion. "Unfortunately it doesn't help us hit our bottom line and our budget-setting target," he said. Under Cameron's motion, universities would get $9,273,700 less in state general funds next year than they got this year; under Mortimer's, that figure is $7,682,500.