House Finance Advances Community College Bill

The House Finance Committee considered proposed changes to a Senate bill that would provide the “last dollar in” for students attending community and technical colleges in state.

In Friday’s meeting, the committee took up Senate Bill 1. The bill was double referenced, first advancing out of House Education, which made several recommended changes to the bill.

The bill would create a new grant program that would provide tuition for qualifying students up to the amount of tuition less any other scholarships or money available from other sources.

The bill also would expand the existing ACE programs, which connect secondary schools with community and technical colleges to prepare students for post-secondary education. The bill expands this program from 1,000 participating students to 2,500.

The House Education Committee expanded the grant program established under the original bill to include four-year institutions, both public and private.

The House Finance Committee presented its proposed amendment, which took out coverage for private four-year institutions. The bill, as amended, would keep the extension to public four-year institutions that offer two-year associate’s degree programs. Six universities in the state would qualify.

The committee advanced Senate Bill 1 to the House floor.  

The House Finance Committee also advanced these bills Friday:

• Senate Bill 373, which would authorize the Division of Corrections commissioner to deduct money from civil judgments and settlements to pay court-ordered obligations before depositing money into an inmate’s account.
• Senate Bill 617, which would allow municipalities to pre-pay pensions for firemen and policemen as an option.
• Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 316, which would authorize municipalities to continue overpaying pensions of city fire department and police pensions. Some pensions were miscalculated and would cut future payments to correct that amount. This bill would authorize cities to continue making these payments if they choose to do so.
• House Bill 587, which would set the amount that PEIA would reimburse air-ambulance providers for emergency transportation.