Bills to watch: tuition and time zones

H.B. 1084: Deferred tuition pilot
The legislature would require the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to create a pilot program to dramatically change how Hoosiers pay for state universities.

Instead of paying tuition and fees each year, like they currently do, participants in the pilot program would sign a contract and agree to pay a percentage of their annual income for a specified number of years after graduating.

This money would go into a revolving fund that would pay the cost of education for students currently enrolled in college through the program.

To do this, the commission would also have to identify funding for the early years of the pilot program, which would be called Pay Forward, Pay Back.

Such a pilot would take place at identified state universities, not at every campus. The commission’s proposal for the pilot would identify where it would take place.
Participants would have to be Indiana residents.

Status: Referred to House Education Committee after first reading, although it has not been scheduled for a committee vote.

Sponsor: Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis

S.C.R. 3: Central Time Zone
This resolution urges United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to place all of Indiana in the Central Time Zone.

Right now, most of Indiana is in the Eastern Time Zone, except small clusters of counties in the northwestern and southwestern corners of the state.

The resolution reads, “The observance of time in the Central Time Zone would return most of Indiana to normal times for daylight and darkness.” It also calls time zones a
“continuing controversy” in the state.

The secretary of transportation has authority over time zones, although local and state governments are supposed to request to change time zones before initiating the decision process.

Status: Referred to Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee after first reading. The committee has not yet scheduled a vote on the resolution.

Sponsor: Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus