The House Education Committee shot down a bill that would change eligibility for Louisiana's TOPS program and required repayment of the free college tuition if students lose their awards.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The House Education Committee shot down a bill that would change eligibility for Louisiana's TOPS program and required repayment of the free college tuition if students lose their awards.
Napoleonville Rep. Joe Harrison, a Republican, was pushing the TOPS changes as a way to cut costs of a program estimated to cost $235 million next year.
Several lawmakers said they were sympathetic to the concerns and worried about the long-term financial stability of the program.
But that didn't generate enough votes for Harrison's proposal Wednesday to put limits on the popular program. Four committee members supported the bill, while eight voted against it, killing it.
After that vote, lawmakers proposing other changes to the TOPS program pulled their bills from consideration.