It may cost the state at least $7.8 million in college tuition waivers over two years for military service members if Sen. Howard Stephenson's first substitute SB13 passes the full Legislature.

The Senate already voted 25-0 in favor of the bill, which on Monday received a new fiscal note.

In the original bill, Stephenson, R-Draper, showed how the Uniform School Fund would lose $8 million in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. In its first incarnation, the bill proposed an individual income tax subtraction for certain military income.

The bill's wording changed last Friday when it hit the Senate floor. The new fiscal note shows both a $3.9 million appropriation for the waivers and a $1.1 million loss in revenue for the Uniform School Fund in fiscal year 2006 after eligible military service members take an income tax deduction — the fiscal note shows the same amounts for FY 2007.

Utah System of Higher Education officials are concerned the bill may end up costing the state more than what Stephenson anticipates.

State Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendell asked Stephenson privately Monday if he would amend the bill to say "reimbursement" instead of waiver and to make sure USHE is made whole if reimbursement applications exceed appropriated state funds.

"This is fine; just put some money into it," Kendell told the Deseret Morning News.

Stephenson, however, has decided to keep the current wording of his bill as is, according to USHE spokesman Dave Buhler. The problem now, Buhler said, is that no one knows how many of Utah's estimated 11,000 military members who might qualify will want to cash in on the new benefits. The fiscal note is based on 12 percent of those members taking advantage of the waiver.

Stephenson said he is running the bill to show military members in Utah how much the state appreciates the "sacrifice" they're making to protect the liberties of this country's citizens.

With passage of SB13, state institutions would be required, starting this fall, to give qualifying military members in Utah a full tuition waiver, regardless of whether they're full- or part-time students or whether they're undergraduate or graduate students.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com