HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 464        FILED ON: 1/22/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1333

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

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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.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 464        FILED ON: 1/22/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1333

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1216 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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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.