ANNAPOLIS -- With the General Assembly voting not to override Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of a tuition cap bill tied to a corporate tax hike last month, lawmakers this week launched new efforts to provide tuition relief.
Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda and Del. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington are proposing a 4 percent yearly cap on tuition hikes and seek to mandate additional spending to bolster the higher education budget.
The bill does not yet have a funding source, but supporters said the money -- $67 million this year -- could come from a $250 million surplus reserve in the governor's budget or from some other source.
Meanwhile, Del. Herman L. Taylor Jr. (D-Dist. 14) of Ashton has proposed a bill that would give a tax deduction to students who work to help cover their tuition costs. Taylor's plan amounts to as much as a 5 percent cut in in-state tuition.
Tuition has soared by 40 percent at the University System of Maryland since 2002, including a 5.8 percent hike that will take effect this fall. That puts the cost among the highest public college costs in the nation for in-state tuition at nearly $8,000 a year.
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