By Staff Reports

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a plan to authorize the South Dakota Board of Regents to spend more than $200 million in the next 10 years to construct new buildings and either renovate or demolish existing buildings at state universities.

The projects at the six universities, including SDSU, would be financed by up to $107 million in bonds, which would mostly be covered by students. No state tax dollars will be used to fund the projects and private donations are expected to cover the rest of the costs.

The bill will now be passed on to the full Senate for final approval.