ICCTA Action Alert January 27, 2000 After convening the year 2000 spring legislative session earlier this week, the Illinois General Assembly adjourned Thursday afternoon. Most of the week was dedicated to bill introductions and committee meetings. The House and Senate will return to Springfield on February 1 - 3 for more committee hearings on legislation that will continue to be introduced. Gov. George Ryan will deliver his budget message to the legislature on Wednesday, February 2. Scholarships for "B" Students One bill was filed Tuesday that is generating considerable interest in the media and the higher education community. House Bill 3831, introduced by Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), would provide full scholarships to Illinois university students who earn a cumulative "B" grade point average or better. The Legislative Research Unit, the research arm of the General Assembly, estimates that 76,135 university students would qualify for the program, at a cost of approximately $239 million. If community colleges were included, LRU estimates an additional 47,973 full-time community college students could become eligible, adding $40 million to the total cost. HB 3831 will be heard in the House Higher Education Committee next Wednesday, February 2, where Rep. Lang will offer an amendment to add community colleges to his legislation. The Illinois General Assembly will reconvene the 2000 spring session when both houses return to Springfield on Tuesday, February 15. The week of February 7 - 11 was dedicated to the introduction of new bills and committee hearings that were held to consider bills. The week of February 14 - 18 is the last week for House bills in House committees to be heard and Senate bills in Senate committees to be heard. The final day for bills to be reported out of committees is Thursday, February 17. For additional information on state legislative issues, contact ICCTA at 1-800-454-2282. Illinois Community College Trustees Association 401 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 200 Springfield, IL 62701-1711 217-528-2858 (phone) 217-528-8662 (fax) ICCTA@communitycolleges.org (e-mail) http://www.communitycolleges.org | Home | News | Events | Links |