Tuition cap bill moves ahead

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Rep. Mike Gardner, R-Tempe, the bill's sponsor, said he thinks he has the necessary votes in the House to pass the bill.

The 60-member House will vote on Senate bill 2338, approved by the Committee of the Whole on a voice vote, sometime during the next few weeks.

If passed, the measure would limit the Regents' power to raise tuition rates at all three state universities to the rate of inflation, plus one percent. According to state treasurer's office statistics, the average rate of inflation over the last eight years has been 2.56 percent.

This means the Regents would have been unable to raise tuition by more than 3.56 percent over the same time period. By comparison, UA students saw tuition rates rise last November after Regents approved a 4.7 percent hike.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Gardner, R-Tempe, said he thinks he has the necessary votes in the House to pass the bill.

Critics of the bill, including University of Arizona officials, have said it would limit the Regents authority to effectively set tuition rates. UA lobbyist Greg Fahey said the university more likely would support a similar bill introduced by Gardner that is less damaging to the Regents.

The other bill, HB 2657, contains no language dealing with the amount Regents are able to raise tuition. Fahey said this alternate bill would force the board to post 10-day advance notices before determining how much to raise tuition.

This provision, he said, would give students a forum to express their concerns about the rising cost of education.