HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 771        FILED ON: 1/17/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 633

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Carmine L. Gentile

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act making public higher education in Massachusetts free for residents of the state.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Carmine L. Gentile

13th Middlesex

1/17/2017

Elizabeth A. Malia

11th Suffolk

 

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

 

Daniel M. Donahue

16th Worcester

 

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex

 

José F. Tosado

9th Hampden

 

Daniel Cahill

10th Essex

 

Natalie Higgins

4th Worcester

 

Jack Lewis

7th Middlesex

1/26/2017

Dylan Fernandes

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

 

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

 

Peter V. Kocot

1st Hampshire

 

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

 

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

 

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

 

Paul R. Heroux

2nd Bristol

 

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

 

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

 


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 771        FILED ON: 1/17/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 633

By Mr. Gentile of Sudbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 633) of Carmine L. Gentile and others for legislation to make public higher education free for residents of the Commonwealth.  Higher Education.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

 

An Act making public higher education in Massachusetts free for residents of the state.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.   Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 5A the following section:

Section 5B.    Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no tuition or mandatory curriculum fees shall be charged to any resident of the state at any community college listed in section 5.  The commonwealth, not the community colleges, shall bear the cost of providing free community colleges for residents of the state.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by deleting section 9B and substituting the following sections:

Section 9B(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no tuition or mandatory curriculum fees shall be charged to any resident of the state at any community college listed in section 5 nor at any state university or the university of Massachusetts.  The commonwealth, not the community colleges, state universities, or the university of Massachusetts, shall bear the cost of providing free public higher education for residents of the state.

9B(ii) There shall be a program, subject to appropriation, of needs-based financial assistance, administered by the board of higher education, to provide full or partial scholarships for non-residents of the commonwealth enrolled in and pursuing a part-time or full-time program of higher education in any of the institutions of higher education in the commonwealth. The council shall establish guidelines to govern said program. Said guidelines shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on higher education within thirty days of the approval by the council of said guidelines.