Pushed by new Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, the bill makes deep cuts to the HOPE scholarship as well as to pre-kindergarten to keep the cash-strapped programs afloat. Lottery proceeds have not been able to keep pace with rising tuition and skyrocketing enrollment. The program was set to go broke without changes.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill 60-2 Thursday morning a little more than an hour after the higher education subcommittee unanimously approved the measure. Deal unveiled the bill on Tuesday.
HOPE, the landmark Georgia scholarship begun in 1993, is among the biggest issues lawmakers will tackle this session.
The House made some changes to the governor's proposal, placing further restrictions on lucrative bonuses for lottery staff and boosting the amount retailers receive for selling winning lottery tickets.
State Rep. Doug Collins said Thursday the changes were vital to keep the first-in-the-nation HOPE scholarship afloat.
``We are looking ahead to keep the promise enduring for many generations to come,'' the Gainesville Republican said. ``This is not something that is going to get better if we close our eyes and click our heels and spin around.''
Under the plan, only high school students with a 3.7 grade point average and a 1200 on their SATs would continue to qualify for free public college tuition under HOPE. That's about 10 percent of current HOPE recipients.
Those with a 3.0 GPA would see a portion of their tuition covered, 90 percent next year.
The proposed changes mean at least 200,000 current students would see cuts to their HOPE awards.
Those attending private colleges in Georgia would see their awards shrink from $4,000 to $3,600.
The House moved to further limit bonuses paid to lottery employees, which in the past have sometimes doubled their salaries. Deal's plan would have capped those awards at 25 percent of salary. The amended House bill would allow bonuses to be paid only if the lottery funneled more money to education, and it would allow those bonuses to be capped at 1 percent of that additional amount.
Facing complaints from business groups, House legislators also increased the amount that store owners may receive for selling winning tickets. Deal had proposed lowering the retailer cut to 5 percent of the award, down from the current 7 percent. The House on Thursday boosted that to 6 percent.
At a hearing Wednesday, Jim Tudor of the Georgia Association of Convenience Store Owners argued that part of the reason the lottery has been successful is that retailers have been motivated to sell tickets. Decreasing the amount they are able to earn could result in lower lottery ticket sales, Tudor said.
The bill now moves to the Rules Committee, which will decide when it faces a full House vote.
STUDENTS VOICE CONCERN
AT Wednesday's hearing, some students warned state lawmakers that any cuts to the HOPE scholarship could keep low-income Georgians from attending college and discourage high schoolers from taking tough courses.
The comments came as the panel held the first hearing on the proposed changes.
With the program set to go broke due to rising tuition and skyrocketing enrollment, Gov. Nathan Deal wants to scale back HOPE so only those with a 3.7 grade point average would earn free tuition. Those with a 3.0 or better would receive a portion of their tuition, 90 percent next year, under the plan.
Brian Pogioli, an 18-year-old freshman at Georgia Tech, said the high bar could encourage students to take less strenuous classes in order to keep their GPA high enough to qualify for the HOPE money.
``It discourages anyone from pursuing anything outside of their comfort zone,'' said Pogioli, who said he decided to stay in Georgia specifically because of the HOPE scholarship.
Rose Dasher, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Georgia, said there should be an income cap so that HOPE is reserved for those who truly need it to be able to afford to go to college.
``I'm really disappointed in all of you,'' Dasher told legislators. ``I want you to talk about this more.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/2/236460