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Senate committee hears bill to launch needs-based DREAM scholarship, debates lottery-reserve change and medical-school provision
Summary
A Senate higher-education committee heard House Bill 1413, which would create a needs-based DREAM scholarship (up to $3,000/year), revise lottery-reserve calculations to use expenditures rather than revenue, and add a medical-school service scholarship; the panel paused the bill for further review and scheduled follow-up discussion.
Chairman Burns opened the Higher Education Committee hearing and the bill author introduced House Bill 1413, a multi-section measure the sponsor said is intended to operationalize a DREAM scholarship and related higher-education provisions.
The author said Section 3 changes how the lottery reserve is calculated: "When you're keeping a reserve or an emergency fund, most people will tell you to keep three months personally. They'll tell you keep three months of your expenses, not three months of your income." Under the substitute, the reserve would be computed as an average of three years of lottery expenditures ("base lottery spend") rather than three years of revenue to keep the reserve stable if revenues fall.
Section 1 would create the DREAM scholarship, a need-based award for students at University System of Georgia (USG) and Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) institutions who meet HOPE-eligibility and FAFSA requirements. The author described eligibility and limits: recipients must be enrolled at least half time, cannot already hold a bachelor’s degree, maintain a 2.0 GPA and satisfactory academic progress, and complete a financial-literacy requirement. The statutory award is "up to $3,000 per academic year, not to exceed the unmet financial need," with a maximum duration of eight semesters or 12 quarters.
The proposal also creates an endowment structure the author described as two accounts: "one is $25 million, and that'll cover the first two years, and then a $300 million endowment" as the principal to generate long-term scholarship earnings. Investment and emergency-access rules would follow state standards and require GSFA-board supermajority approval to tap principal, with replenishment required if used.
Committee members questioned whether the $3,000 cap could be adjusted. The sponsor said implementation experience (citing completion-grant averages) would inform future adjustments. Senators also asked about the definition and scope of the participation requirement (paid work, internships, volunteer service or military service) and how institutions would verify compliance.
Chris Green of the Georgia Student Finance Commission told the committee GSF would administer the program similar to existing completion grants, block-granting campuses and relying on financial-aid offices to identify eligible students. He also proposed using the GA Futures platform to record completion of the financial-literacy module so credentials transfer if a student moves between USG and TCSG.
The committee paused full action on House Bill 1413 to make time for other agenda items and scheduled further review of the bill (including the medical-school service scholarship in Section Two) at a subsequent meeting. Public commenters included Jenna Kulvin of the Georgia Independent College Association, who urged the committee to consider broadening eligibility so private nonprofit colleges could participate and estimated private-college students would receive about 11% of the program budget if included.
The hearing closed with the committee scheduling follow-up discussion, noting that any medical-school scholarship funding would be subject to appropriation.
The committee did not take a final vote on HB 1413 at this session; the chair asked members to return with questions for the next scheduled meeting.
