An uncertain future for Alabama's prepaid college tuition program has the House and Senate searching for the appropriate solution.
The two bills being proposed offer the same amount of money, but one has a substituted effort that wants to put a 2.5 percent cap on tuition cost for PACT contractholding students.
Sen. Ted Little wrote the bill that provides $236 million to fulfill existing contracts.
"The Senate passed Ted Little's bill recently that provides
a funding source," said Richard Huckaby , cofounder and VP of Save Alabama PACT. "But not near enough to save the program."
Little believes his bill is non-biased to all students when it comes to a cap on increasing tuition.
"We want higher education to keep tuition increases as low as possible for all students," Little said. "Not one group of students should be treated differently from another group of students."
Save Alabama PACT is looking for the major universities to step-up and support the amended bill that is being proposed with tuition caps. "We ask that Auburn and Alabama lead the way and come to the table to suggest voluntary caps versus being required to accept them from the Legislature," Huckaby said. Little agrees that universities should not be forced to accept caps on tuition decided by the legislature.
"Auburn University and the University of Alabama are constitutional bodies," Little said. "For the Legislature to tell Auburn University or University of Alabama what kind of tuition they can charge would be unprecedented."
Rep. Mike Hubbard said that a lot of the burden has been put on higher education.
"Higher education did not do anything to create the problem," Hubbard said. "I offered amendments on the floor that would take the cap off because I believe it is unconstitutional."
Hubbard said if caps were found unconstitutional then the bill would be severed.
"If any part of the bill is found unconstitutional it kills the whole bill," Hubbard said. "The Alabama Education Association felt pressure to act like they were solving the problem because 44 percent of their members are PACT contract holders."
Hubbard said the last contract would be up in the year 2032.
"The version that came out of the Senate with the $236 million will get us at least through the year 2021," Hubbard said.
Hubbard wants to solve the ongoing problem with PACT, but not at the expense of the higher education institutes.
"I believe we as a state do have a moral if not legal obligation to solve the problem," Hubbard said. "But I donotwanttodoitonthebacksof higher education who have already undergone tremendous cuts in the last few years."
Huckaby said the caps issued by the Legislature are not unconstitutional and not found anywhere in Alabama's constitution.
Huckaby also proposes the question of why Auburn is so afraid of a small tuition cap.
"It's not the money," Huckaby said. "It's the power and control they want over the Legislature."
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