Appropriations Committee votes to recommend HB207, shortening residency tax-payment requirement for in-state tuition

The Appropriations Committee voted to recommend House Bill 207, sponsored by Delegate Pasteur, moving the number of years a family must show they paid state taxes for a prospective “dreamer” to qualify for in-state tuition from three years to two.

The committee chair said the measure was a carryover from last year and presented the change as reducing the required tax-payment period from three years to two. Committee members voted on the measure with no amendments on the floor; the bill was recorded as moved favorably out of the committee.

Why it matters: The bill alters the documented tax-payment window used to assess eligibility for in-state tuition in higher-education calculations for the group the transcript identified as “dreamers.” That change affects how long families must demonstrate tax payments before a student becomes eligible under the state’s in-state tuition criteria.

Committee action: A roll call recorded 15 yays and 6 nos. Members recorded as voting yes were: Delegate Smith; Delegate Lewis; Delegate Shetty; Delegate Watson; Delegate Solomon; Delegate Ivy; Delegate Jones; Delegate McCaskill; Delegate Ruff; Delegate Speegle; Delegate Schindler; Delegate Wallach; Delegate Edelson; Delegate Harris; and Delegate Forbes. Members recorded as voting no were: Delegate Grice; Delegate McComas; Delegate Beecham; Delegate Stonko; Delegate Mangione; and Delegate Hinebaugh.

There were no amendments reported on the bill during the committee’s voting session. The committee announced it would move on to bill hearings after a brief break to transfer systems.

No effective date, implementation details, or fiscal estimates were provided during the recorded portion of the session.