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Rep. Tracy: Time is Right to End General Assembly Scholarship Program For Immediate Release Quincy, IL...As legislators prepare to head back to Springfield in a matter of weeks, a number of issues remain on the agenda for the 2012 session. The top priority remains dealing with the budget and other fiscal problems, but State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said there are a number of topics that lawmakers will try to address, including the much criticized General Assembly scholarship program. "For years we have passed legislation out of each separate chamber to eliminate the legislative scholarship program," said Rep. Tracy. "The problem is those measures are never voted upon by the opposite chamber, thus leaving members free to hand out the tuition waivers." Rep. Tracy said that the time is right to end the plagued scholarship program, which is why she is co-sponsoring House Bill 3901, a measure that will eliminate the program in June of this year. "The G.A. scholarships are an unfunded mandate forced upon our universities that cost upwards of $14 million per year,"" said Tracy. "As our state owes billions in overdue bills and we continue to accumulate debt, this is exactly the type of program we should be looking to cut. This is the waste in state government that the public has repeatedly asked us to eliminate." Rep. Tracy, along with a number of other legislators, has voluntarily opted out of the General Assembly scholarship program, with Tracy recently announcing she will not be awarding the tuition waivers for the upcoming year. "I don't think that it is appropriate for us to continue awarding the scholarships with the recent reports of abuse and our state's dismal financial situation. Again, the most fitting solution is to eliminate the program entirely, help restore some public trust and save our universities needed dollars," reiterated Tracy. House Bill 3901 currently awaits action by the House Rules committee. |
