Senate Democrats warned they will introduce legislation to overturn the HOPE overhaul lawmakers approved this week should Gov. Nathan Deal sign House Bill 326.
During a news conference Friday, Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown said Democrats will continue to fight the changes that are scheduled to go into effect this fall under HB 326.
The changes are unfair to poor, rural and minority families and will make it hard for some families to afford college, Brown said while standing in front of an Atlanta convenience store that sells lottery tickets. The Georgia Lottery funds HOPE.
The bill would cut the scholarship amount for all but the very brightest students and would force most students and families to pay more for college.
Deal and others say the changes are needed to keep the scholarship financially sound and protect it for future recipients.
Lottery revenue has failed to keep up with the costs of rising enrollment and tuition. The state used reserves to cover costs last year and this year, but those accounts will soon be empty.
The changes would still keep the best and brightest in Georgia, Deal said in a news release Thursday after the House gave final passage to the bill.
Senate Democrats may have a difficult time getting support to overturn HB 326. Amendments they introduced to allow more students to get the full scholarship were rejected by the Senate. Also, the bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House.
The changes to HOPE would allow students who maintain a 3.0 GPA to still get the scholarship, but the amount would be tied to lottery revenue, not tuition, and could vary annually. For this fall, students would receive 90 percent of current tuition rates, meaning it would not cover double-digit hikes expected at some campuses.
Only high school valedictorians and salutatorians, as well as those who graduate with at least a 3.7 GPA and a combined 1200 on the math and verbal sections of the SAT would get a scholarship that fully covers tuition. They would need to maintain a 3.3 in college to keep it.
The bill would eliminate money for books and fees and cut the private college award from $4,000 to $3,600.
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