Bill would give tax deduction for tuition
Lawmakers will hear two bills about tuition and funding today.
Published April 25, 2006
As the Missouri General Assembly winds down its session, lawmakers will hear about two bills today that would alter university tuition and funding.
The House of Representatives' special committee on education will hear a bill authored by Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia. The bill would allow taxpayers to deduct the cost of tuition at Missouri public universities from their state income taxes.
The Senate education committee will hear a bill authored by Rep. Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, which could redirect some higher-education funding to scholarships for both public and private schools and would cap tuition increases at Missouri public universities at the rate of inflation. Bearden's bill passed the House two weeks ago.
Harris said his bill would eliminate current guidelines on deducting tuition from state income taxes. Under current rules, tuition costs can only be deducted if the money comes from a certain type of savings account, Harris said.
The bill, though introduced late in the General Assembly session, has drawn support from other Democrats in the House.
Rep. Ed Wildberger, D-St. Joseph, who co-sponsored the bill with Harris, said the measure will make higher education more affordable, especially for parents of Missouri students. He also said the bill has the potential to keep possible job candidates in state.
"We have a responsibility to the students and to their parents," Wildberger said.
The bill also has received positive feedback from some Republicans, though they said the chances the bill will be passed this year are small.
Rep. Brian Baker, R-Belton, who is the chairman of the committee that will hear the bill, said that though he thought the bill was a "noble idea," its timing set up the measure for failure. The General Assembly adjourns in May.
"I was only assigned the bill last week," Baker said. "It probably will not have enough time to go through the House and then the Senate."
Wildberger agreed with Baker that the bill is unlikely to pass this session, but he attributed its possible failure to the mood of the General Assembly on higher education.
"We're not looking at higher education as a priority in the budget," Wildberger said. "The state has the money to appropriately fund higher education, but we're spending it on the wrong things."
Harris said that if the bill fails this time around, he might reconsider it in the fall.
"We're pleased to at least have a hearing and to begin discussion to help with the cost of higher education," Harris said. "This is an idea that is worth exploring next year."
The Senate education committee is scheduled to hear Bearden's bill at noon. Bearden said he will be present at the committee meeting to answer questions.
Bearden also said he is confident his bill will pass through committee and be approved by the Senate before the session ends in May.
"I anticipate it to be out by the end of next week," Bearden said.
The main part of Bearden's bill deals with funding scholarships for Missouri students with public money. The bill states that if higher-education funding gets to the level it was at in 2002 — approximately $1 billion — further funding increases would be limited to 2.5 percent until a scholarship fund is filled. Missouri students would be able to use the vouchers to pay for both public and private universities.
