Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935 (Title II, Section 22). The general descriptive language of the Act with respect to Section 22 says the purpose of the Bill is the "more complete endowment and support of the land-grant colleges...." The Act "authorizes to be appropriated" two amounts: The first to be paid to the States and Puerto Rico in equal shares, and the second in proportion to their total population.

1960 Amendment to Title II, Section 22, of the Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935. The House-Senate Committee report states that the purpose of this bill is "to restore the level of support by the Federal government for teaching in the national system of land-grant colleges and universities to the level authorized by Congress in 1935," by taking into account the inflation (100 percent) and population increases (40 percent) which had occurred since the 1935 Act.

Title XIV of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. This Act authorized transfer of the administration of Section 22 of the Bankhead-Jones Act from the U.S. Office of Education to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Department of Education Organization Act (1979). The Department of Education Organization Act transferred the authority to administer the second Morrill Act to the Secretary of Education. While no explicit mention is made of the first Morrill Act, it appears that the Secretary of Education holds that authority as well. This means that the Secretary of Education currently holds oversight authority with respect to compliance by land-grant colleges with the statutory terms and conditions governing the Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson Acts.

Summary. The enabling legislation for both the Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson programs authorizes use of the funds for instruction in a number of fields of study. Decisionmaking about the actual use of the funds is left to the institution "in such a manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe...." Where more than one land-grant institution exists in a State, its legislature determines the distribution of Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson funds, subject to review by the Secretary of Education.

Designation of Land-Grant Institutions

Land-grant institutions are colleges or universities designated by a State legislature to receive the benefits of the Morrill Act of 1862, the Morrill Act of 1890, and subsequent legislation, including the Nelson Amendment of 1907 and the Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935, as amended. Those institutions designated as land-grant institutions under the Morrill Act of 1862 are known as "1862 institutions"; those designated under the Morrill Act of 1890 are known as "1890 institutions." Appendix K identifies land-grant institutions and their land-grant status (1862/1890) by State. Tuskegee Institute does not appear in this listing, though it is frequently mentioned with 1890 institutions, since it is not designated as a land-grant institution by the State of Alabama and hence does not receive Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson funds.

Land-grant institutions now exist in all 50 States. In addition, land-grant institutions were designated in Puerto Rico in 1908; in the District of Columbia in 1969; and in both Guam and the Virgin Islands in 1973. Legislation is now pending on the designation of a land-grant institution in American Samoa (Appendix C). Currently there are 71 land-grant institutions. Sixteen States have 1862 and 1890 institutions. One State, Massachusetts, has two 1862 institutions.

Funding Level

The

Current Allocations Under Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson. Bankhead-Jones Act currently authorizes payment of up to $12,460,000 annually. Of this, $8,100,000 is allocated among all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands in uniform grants of $150,000 each. The balance of the authorization (up to $4,360,000) is distributed among all States and eligible jurisdictions (hereafter "States") in proportion to population. Specifically, each State receives a variable grant calculated in terms of the proportion which the total population of that State bears to the total population of all States, as determined by the last preceding decennial census. Funds must be appropriated annually.

In 1980, with appropriations under Bankhead-Jones at $11,500,000, support varied from $479,252 for California to $151,031 for the Virgin Islands, as Table 1 shows. Also presented in Table 1 is the size of the variable grant received by each State under Bankhead-Jones. In the right-hand column, that amount is expressed as a percentage of the total amount of variable grants distributed. California, for example, received 9.7 percent of the variable funds distributed to all States under BankheadJones in 1980.

Juxtaposition of the data in Table 1 with 1970 decennial census data reveals that the States did receive variable sums in 1979 corresponding to the proportion which the total State population bears to the total population of all States. 3/ In other words, the funds were distributed in accordance with the statutes.

The amount of support received by specific land-grant institutions in 1979 appears in Table 2. Grants varied from $479,252 for the University of California (going to campuses located in Berkeley, Davis, Riverside, and Santa Barbara) to $14,199 for Lincoln University, Missouri.

The Morrill-Nelson Act provided for, a permanent appropriation of $2,700,000 in 1979, with each of the eligible jurisdictions receiving a sum of $50,000. The distribution of Morrill-Nelson funds by institution is shown in Table 2.

3/ The total population of States and eligible jurisdictions appears in The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1980, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc., New York: 1979, pp. 193 and 246.

Table 1

Total and variable grant payments under the Bankhead-Jones Act by State: fiscal year 1980

Percentage
of total

Variable grant 17

variable

grant

* Indicates less than one half of 1 percent (0.005).

1/ Each State (i.e. eligible jurisdition) receives a uniform grant of $150,000 and a variable grant reflecting the proportion which the total population of that State bears to the total population of all States, as determined by the last preceding decennial census.

SOURCE: 1981 Budget, Explanatory Notes, Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, p. 253.

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Table 2

Amount of Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson Funds reported by land-grant institutions: fiscal year 1979

Table 2

Amount of Bankhead-Jones and Morrill-Nelson funds reported by land-grant institutions: fiscal year 1979--Continued

1/ The total amount reported by institutions was slightly greater than that appropriated for fiscal year 1979. In that year appropriations for BankheadJones were $11,500,000; Morrill-Nelson, $2,700,000; for a combined total of $14,200,000. This represents a reporting error of less than 1/100 of one percent and does not significantly affect the study's findings.

SOURCE: 1979 mail survey conducted by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. -11