House Approves State Tuition Increase
by Bill Barrow - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- The second time was the charm for a statewide college tuition bill that cleared the House of Representatives with plenty of votes to spare Monday, days after falling two votes shy of the necessary supermajority.

With the 83-18 vote, House Bill 734 now moves to the Senate, where higher education leaders promise to continue their lobbying efforts in the only state that requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to increase tuition and fees at public colleges and universities.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Don Trahan, R-Lafayette, allows a four-year window for individual governing boards to adopt annual tuition increases within a set of limitations and with approval by the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Budget.

Schools where tuition is at least 90 percent of the regional average for similar institutions could adopt no more than a 3 percent increase in a given year. Campuses with tuition ranging from 80 percent to 90 percent could impose 4 percent increases. Schools with tuition less than 80 percent of the regional figure could adopt a 5 percent increase.

The measure would require each university system to develop policies granting tuition waivers or assistance to students from lower income brackets.

The House rejected the plan last week with 68 "yeas" and 31 "nays." House rules allowed Trahan to bring up the bill again because it received more supporting than opposing votes.

In both votes, opposition came mostly from Republicans and black Democrats. But this time Trahan did not face resistance from House budget Chairman Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro.