by Tyler Arnold
The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates passed their own versions of legislation that would guarantee in-state tuition for illegal immigrants residing in the state this week.
Under both bills, a person would be allowed to receive in-state tuition for public colleges and universities as long as the person meets all other necessary criteria, regardless of whether the person is residing in the country legally. The House version of the bill will be sent to the Senate and the Senate version to the House.
Both bills received substantial support from Democrats and opposition from Republicans within their respective chambers. House Bill 2123, sponsored by Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, passed the House 58-42 and Senate Bill 1387, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Herndon, passed the Senate 21-18.
The legislation would have an effective date of August 2022. According to a fiscal analysis of the bills, there would be a cost of no more than $200,000 for implementing the changes. This will be for updates to the online application, software for determining eligibility, communications protocol between students and other changes.
Because of the delayed effective date, the fiscal analysis stated there would not be any other additional costs to the state until the biennium is over, regarding financial aid.
Legislation that would eliminate two coal subsidy programs beginning Jan. 1, 2022, also advanced in the House. A Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report found the programs to be ineffective and cost the state $21 million in gross domestic product losses.
House Bill 1899, sponsored by Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, passed 54-45 with support from Democrats and opposition from Republicans. The legislation is part of the Democrats’ effort to move away from carbon-emitting energy sources and push the state toward green energy.
The bill will now head to the Senate.
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Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia and West Virginia for The Center Square. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute and has been published in Business Insider, USA TODAY College, National Review Online and the Washington Free Beacon.
Photo “University of Virginia Students” by the University of Virginia.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article erroneously referred to House Bill 2132 instead of House Bill 2123.
