Thanks in part to active lobbying by the Association of Academic Professionals, House Bill 1058 died in the state legislature on Friday, March 26, when it failed to come to a vote. HB 1058 would have revoked partial tuition waivers for children of state university employees (see AAP Brief #3).
According to the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, over 500 UIUC employees took advantage of the tuition waivers for the 1997-98 school year, but the university took no action to defend the benefit. Rep. Rick Winkel and Rep. Tim Johnson said that they opposed HB 1058.
But the waivers may still be at risk. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Bugielski, has indicated that he might try to revoke the waivers later this year.
After a recess at the beginning of April, both the House and Senate reconvened on April 14, and they will stay in session until Memorial Day. If the bill is introduced again, AAP will renew opposition to the legislation. We hope that the university will get off the bench and join us in helping defend tuition waivers for university employees.