House Education Committee forwards bill to raise community college tuition cap

Representative Lance Clow, R‑District 25, presented House Bill 79 to the House Committee on Education on Feb. 3, asking lawmakers to raise the statutory tuition cap for Idaho’s community colleges from $2,500 to $3,250. "What we have is community colleges who are run by their community boards…have reached their caps and, so what we're requesting is we increase the cap from $2,500 to 3,250," Clow said in committee.

Clow told the committee the cap has not been adjusted for many years and that the colleges reached their existing caps between 2016 and 2018. He said the last statutory cap change had been set in 2008 and emphasized the bill does not change an existing state-code limit that prevents a college from increasing tuition by more than 10% in any one year.

The bill’s fiscal note, as described by Clow, estimated that if community colleges used the room provided by the higher cap they would average no more than a 5% tuition increase in the first year; Clow said that would amount to roughly $1.5 million in additional revenue spread across Idaho’s four community colleges. He framed the request as a way to help colleges cover pay increases for career‑technical staff and to support broader staffing needs without asking for an across‑the‑board doubling of tuition caps.

Committee members voiced support. Representative Nelson, whose district includes part of a college district, thanked Clow for coordinating with the colleges and said labor market pressures make it harder for colleges to hire and retain staff. There was no registered public testimony on the bill.

Representative Garner moved that the committee send House Bill 79 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion carried on a voice vote. The committee record shows the motion passed but does not record an exact roll‑call tally in the transcript.

The bill will advance to the full House for further consideration.