The fate of the Michigan Promise Scholarship still hangs in the balance following three votes today in the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate.
The House voted today to pass a higher education package which includes cutting the scholarship, but this morning also passed a supplemental bill to reinstate the program with $120 million in as-yet-unidentified revenue.
The scholarship provides as much as $4,000 to Michigan college and university students based on their performance on the Michigan Merit Exam. More than 7,700 MSU students and 96,000 students statewide are eligible for the scholarship during the 2009-10 school year.
The higher education package to cut the scholarship passed by a 57-51 vote in the house and is awaiting finalization in the Senate, where it tentatively was passed this morning, but the 19-18 vote was put up for reconsideration.
The supplemental bill to reinstate the scholarship has been sent to the Senate, where it could be voted on later today.
The House also passed a continuation budget today that would avoid a government shutdown if lawmakers fail to reach a budget agreement by midnight. The continuation would extend 2009 spending levels through the end of October.
The continuation must be sent back to the Senate to be be given immediate effect before it can be sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Without immediate effect, bills take 120 days to go into effect.
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