HB181 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Craig Ford

Independent

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program (PACT), limit on cost for certain PACT plan contract participants repealed, extend tuition caps to include any college and university in the state, Secs. 16-33C-3, 16-33C-8, 16-33C-18 am'd; Sec. 16-33C-17 repealed

Description

Pursuant to Act 2010-725, the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) Program was extensively amended to ensure financial stability for the program. A new separate PACT Board was created and appropriations from the Education Trust Fund were made to the program for fiscal years ending September 30, 2015, and, if necessary, extending through fiscal year ending 2027.

Existing law limits the cost of tuition for certain PACT plan contracts.

Also under existing law, the various boards of trustees of the public four-year institutions of higher education and the State Department of Postsecondary Education, under the governance of the State Board of Education, for the public two-year institutions of higher education in the state establish the total cost of tuition and fees for their respective institutions.

This bill would repeal the limit on the cost of tuition for certain PACT plan contract participants.

This bill would define the term tuition and mandatory fees for the PACT program, to be the same rate of the current semester the student is enrolled, thereby tying PACT program payments to fluctuation in tuition and fees expenses.

This bill would extend tuition caps to all colleges and universities in the state.

This bill would require all public institutions to limit annual increases in fees to the average percentage amount such fees were increased over the past 10 years.

This bill would restore the state's commitment to pay all benefits promised to program participants. PACT investments would be limited to no more than 60 percent equity investments.

Subjects

Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) Program