House is expected to alter tuition tax-credit bill

A controversial tuition tax-credit bill is expected to undergo surgery — maybe even to nip and tuck the size of the credit for low-income families — when it hits the House floor today.

Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, said he postponed House discussion Thursday so at least four colleagues could draft amendments in what promises to be a contentious debate and a tight vote.

Some proposed amendments also reflect the desires of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

"This is a critical time," Ferrin said on the eve of what would be the House's first floor debate on the matter in four consecutive years. "We are going to hear the bill, and we're going to vote it up or down. I believe I've got the votes."

Second Substitute HB39 would offer parents a tax credit between $500 to $3,750, based on income, to send their children to private schools. Low-income children in private schools now and all public school children are eligible. The bill also includes $1.5 million for school districts financially hurt by the credits.

The bill, which passed committee by one vote, aims to divert a coming enrollment boom to private schools, where the state can educate students more cheaply than in public schools. It's also touted as giving parents school choices to better meet their children's needs.

But public school advocates fear tuition tax credits would drain money from a system that already spends the least per student in the country. All Utah income tax revenues fund education.

The bill would save the state $3.4 million in the first year, and cost $133,000 in the second, its fiscal analysis states. That includes a $11.3 million cut to the schools' budget, based on some 3,700 students switching to private schools. Several legislators have said that money would go back into schools; public education officials, however, are leery.

Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Sandy, wants to minimize financial harm further. He wants to raise the bill's bail-out fund to $10 million, and require a program audit in three years.

Other amendments could include:

• Limit credits to $3,000, as proposed by Rep. Ann Hardy, R-Bountiful. The credits still would be based on reduced-price school lunch guidelines, and begin at $500 for more well-off families. "I think ($3,750) is too much," Hardy said. It was not immediately known how the change might affect the fiscal note.

• Prevent fraud and abuse, proposed by Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork. The bill requires private schools to have a business license, assess student achievement and reveal teacher credentials and accreditation, among other requirements. He also wants to cross check credit claims, and establish penalties for abuse.
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