Utah House approves stricter proof-of-tax rule for nonresident tuition waiver after heated debate

The Utah House passed First Substitute House Bill 191 on Feb. 28, 2011, advancing a change to nonresident tuition waivers that requires applicants to prove they or their legal guardian paid Utah individual income tax for specified prior years.

Representative Ruth Wimmer, sponsor of the substitute bill, said the measure is a compromise that seeks “to balance compassion with personal responsibility.” She told colleagues the bill aims to verify claims that beneficiaries are contributing to state tax revenues: “All we—re asking now is that they prove that they have paid the taxes that they claim to have paid.”

The debate centered on two floor amendments and sharp policy disagreements about access to higher education for students who graduated from Utah high schools but lack U.S. citizenship. Representative Keiser—s Amendment No. 2 — which struck “1 year” and replaced it with “3 years” in residency or tax-verification language and required submission of prior three years— Utah individual income tax returns as…