By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-862181.mp3
Lansing, MI – A state House panel has taken a small step toward restoring the Michigan Promise college scholarship.
AUDIO:
The House Appropriations Committee adopted a budget bill to fund the scholarship close to its current level. But the effort remains largely symbolic until a revenue source is identified to generate $120 million.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman George Cushingberry says the bill won't move any further until that happens.
"I don't care what the revenue source is," Cushingberry says. "I am an old-fashioned tax-and-spend Democrat, but the reason I am is because I don't like to be in this situation."
The state House is poised to adopt a higher education budget that zeroes out the Promise scholarship. The scholarship is funded with part of Michigan's share of the national tobacco settlement. That money would be shifted to the state's general fund to help retire a deficit that's nearly $3 billion.