Subcommittee reviews bill to extend free state tuition to children born and raised in South Carolina of wartime veterans

Columbia, S.C. — The House Subcommittee on Veterans and Military Affairs on Wednesday examined House Bill 3,453, which would let a child of a wartime veteran receive free tuition at any state-supported college, university or post-high-school technical institution if the child has been a South Carolina resident since birth.

The measure, introduced by Representative Seth Rose, would extend the current tuition-waiver benefit specifically to children who were born and raised in South Carolina even when the qualifying veteran later relocates out of state.

Supporters told the subcommittee the bill is intended to close a gap in current law that can leave children without the waiver if a qualifying veteran moves away after a divorce or separation. "So what happens is if you, if a parent is wounded in action, receives the…