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Committee approves measure easing in-state tuition for service members and veterans
Summary
The committee unanimously recommended HB 142, which clarifies and expands eligibility for in-state tuition by active service members and veterans, and placed the bill on the consent calendar.
A House committee unanimously favorably recommended House Bill 142, a measure to clarify and expand in-state tuition eligibility for active service members and veterans.
Sponsor Representative Tuscher said the bill "cleans up some of the language and expand[s] the ability for our active service military, and veterans to be able to receive in-state tuition in the state of Utah." He said the change is intended to remove administrative barriers and simplify eligibility so persons who serve can access resident tuition while they wait on documentation or relocation steps.
Robert Kahutek, director of the state approving agency for veterans education (testifying as a private citizen), told the committee the bill functions like a "miniature GI Bill" for the state by easing the first-semester residency hurdle for a small group of veterans. He said roughly 8,300 veterans attend the impacted institutions each year and the bill affects a small fraction of that population who struggle to establish residency while paperwork is pending.
Representative Cutler moved the favorable recommendation; the committee approved the bill unanimously and the sponsor and members asked that the bill be placed on the consent calendar.
Ending: The committee forwarded HB 142 with a favorable recommendation and placed it on the consent calendar.
