Rep. Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville, looks over a House Republican redistricting plan on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. in this file photo. Brooks is a proponent of a bill that would toughen lottery scholarship eligibility requirements.NASHVILLE – Senate majority Republicans performed major surgery on their bill that toughens lottery scholarship eligibility requirements Wednesday, inserting a provision that eliminates the 2015 change should current Tennessee Lottery growth hold steady.
The move could prevent 50 percent cuts for an estimated 5,000 students using lottery scholarships to attend four-year colleges or universities.
It remains on open question, however, whether the House Republican proponent of the bill, Rep. Harry Brooks, of Knoxville, will go along with the change.
Proponents have said the bill is necessary given that the lottery-funded Hope scholarship has been operating at a $17 million to $20 million deficit over the past few years.
But with lottery profits soaring $14 million over projections so far this fiscal year as well as a $366 million lottery reserve, Democrats have put proponents on the defensive.