New Mexico Free College Tuition Plan In Doubt

The Governor of New Mexico has a plan to make college free but, it's future now seems doubtful.

Thanks to state and federal programs, as well as proceeds from the New Mexico state lottery, New Mexico college students only pay 25% - 40% of their tuition. This new proposal would eliminate the rest of it ... if it passes. So far, no luck...

A budget bill the House passed last week for fiscal year 2021 included $35 million for financial aid programs — but no funding for the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship that Lujan Grisham had announced with fanfare in the fall. taosnews.com

That doesn't mean the plan is dead but, it is a setback. Apparently, under the new plan, the state of New Mexico would still have to pay $54 million annually to support it. That's a lot of money and, I suspect, that's the real hangup. (Side note, if they'd go ahead with their plan to legalize marijuana, they'd make that $54 mill easy.)  We'll see what happens next as the bill now moves on to the state's House Appropriations and Finance Committee.