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Senate approves expansion of student scholarship tax-credit cap after heated debate
Summary
The Senate adopted a rules committee substitute that combines three House bills to broaden Student Scholarship Organization (SSO) eligibility, prohibit legislators or spouses from receiving SSO income, and raise the annual tax-credit cap to $225 million; supporters said it widens school-choice access, opponents warned of weak oversight and potential fraud.
The Senate on the floor adopted a committee substitute expanding the Student Scholarship Organization (SSO) tax-credit program and raised the program's annual cap to $225 million.
The sponsor of the substitute told colleagues the change combines three House measures to add eligibility for students with documented disabilities and military families, remove the individual scholarship cap for students with special needs, prohibit legislators and their spouses from receiving income from SSOs, and increase the annual cap to $225 million to match demand. The sponsor said the increase would serve thousands more students and estimated that an added $105 million in the cap would enable roughly 20,000 additional scholarships at an average award of about $4,800.
Opponents pressed for stronger oversight. One senator called attention to a Department of Revenue investigation that found fraud in the program's history and said that record, along with limited public reporting, made doubling the cap fiscally risky. Another senator warned that increasing tax-credit funding for private-school scholarships could divert state resources from public schools and urged accountability measures and data collection on student outcomes.
In response, the sponsor and backers said the substitute includes safeguards: documented diagnoses for special-needs eligibility, restrictions on combining particular scholarship types, and an updated method to allow electronic endorsement of awards. The sponsor also cited a 2023 state audit that estimated net cost savings for the SSO program, arguing the change more closely aligns the cap with demonstrated demand.
After floor discussion and recorded voting, the Senate passed the committee substitute. Vote tally recorded on the floor was 30 yeas and 20 nays; the clerk announced the bill as passed by substitute.
The bill moves next in the legislative process with the recorded committee action and the adopted substitute; additional details on implementation timelines and reporting requirements were discussed during debate but the Senate did not adopt further amendments on the floor.
Ending: The Senate took the vote on the engrossed substitute and then recessed for lunch; follow-up work on implementation and oversight were flagged for committee staff and members.
