JBC backs drafting legislation to shift Colorado National Guard tuition-waiver to 50/50 cost share

The Joint Budget Committee on the morning of the figure-setting hearing approved staff direction to draft legislation that would transition Colorado’s National Guard tuition-assistance program to a 50/50 cost‑sharing tuition‑waiver with institutions of higher education.

John Catlett, JBC staff, told the committee that the department’s first year of the tuition waiver produced 529 applications across fall and spring, of which 427 were approved and 102 were denied. Catlett said about 60% of denials were due to ineligibility and about 40% were due to lack of funding. He summarized staff’s view that a cost‑sharing model — in which institutions would absorb half of tuition costs and the state would pay the other half — would be budget neutral overall while expanding student capacity and eliminating campus-level caps.

Staff presented a comparison showing the proposed model would lower the state’s per‑student cost in many scenarios and double the number of students who could be assisted, based on department projections. Catlett emphasized the proposal is subject to appropriation and would not create an entitlement: eligibility and annual demand would continue to be governed by the budget process.

Representative Taggart and other members pressed staff to clarify whether the reported 529 figure represented unique students or semester applications. Catlett clarified that the figure counts total semester applications (fall plus spring) rather than unique individual students and offered to obtain a breakdown of continuing versus new students.

Vice Chair Bridges moved the staff recommendation to draft legislation; the motion passed on a recorded voice vote with the committee adopting staff’s drafting request. The committee directed staff to return with any requested data clarifications, including the unique-student breakdown and further fiscal details before final bill drafting.