Arizona Voters to Consider In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens in 2022
David Jaroslav
State & Local Legislative Manager
FAIR Take | May 2021
A coalition of big-business Republicans and open-borders Democrats in the Arizona Legislature have managed to force through a bill that puts in-state college tuition for illegal aliens on the 2022 ballot for Arizonans to decide. Voters in the state previously banned in-state tuition along with other taxpayer-funded public benefits for illegal aliens when they approved Proposition 300 in 2006.
Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 1044, sponsored by Senator Paul Boyer (R-Glendale), was introduced on February 1. It legislatively refers placing in-state tuition on the ballot for 2022. If a majority of the voters approve it, in-state tuition rates would be authorized for anyone including illegal aliens who have lived in Arizona for at least two years and graduated from a state high school, the GED equivalent or home school. In-state tuition in Arizona averages approximately $12,000 a year while the out-of-state rates can be upwards of $36,000.
SCR 1044 passed the Senate on March 4 by a vote of 17-13 with three Republicans, Boyer, Tyler Pace (R-Mesa) and T.J. Shope (R-Casa Grande)) joining all the Democrats in support. It initially stalled for two months in the House. But a small number of Republicans used a procedural maneuver against their party’s leadership to force a floor vote. On May 10, it passed the House 33-27, with four Republicans, Michelle Udall (R-Mesa), Joel John (R-Buckeye), David Cook (R-Globe) and Joanne Osborne (R-Goodyear), joining all the Democrats to vote yes.
https://www.fairus.org/legislation/state-and-local-legislation/illegal-immigration/arizona-voters-consider-state-tuition
