Burns steps up again for military families
Lawmaker reintroduces legislation for in-state tuition after near miss
Rep. Frank Burns March 19, 2021 | 9:32 AM
HARRISBURG, March 19 – State Rep. Frank Burns is stepping up to the plate again for military families, after a bill he authored last year narrowly missed being signed into law.
Burns’ new bill, H.B. 941, would guarantee the in-state tuition rate for military families as soon as a student enrolls in a public college or university, regardless of where their military parent is later reassigned.
“Last year, we came so close to getting this done only to have the Senate drop the ball,” Burn said. “I’m committed to seeing this through, however, and helping out our military families who have made so many sacrifices for each of us.”
Under current law, dependents of military personnel in Pennsylvania who enroll at a public college or university in Pennsylvania are charged in-state tuition rates. However, the U.S. Department of Defense found some students lost the in-state rate due to a parent’s reassignment outside of Pennsylvania between the day the student was accepted to the college or university and the first day of the semester.
Burns proposed a similar bill last year, which received unanimous support in the PA House before going to the state Senate where it failed to receive a vote.