State House Of Representatives To Consider Education Savings Account Bill

The state House of Representatives was supposed to hear a bill Tuesday on education savings accounts, but now it probably won’t be heard for a couple more days. 

House Bill 2949 would establish education savings accounts so parents could take a portion of the money the state spends on their student to pay for private schools, tutoring, or school supplies. 

Any left over money could be used to help the student pay for college. 

Opponents say it will also take millions of dollars away from public schools. 

Tuesday, the state House of Representatives was supposed to hear the bill but we're told there are dozens of amendments to it; a possible delay tactic by opponents. 

“This is a deadline week and so Thursday’s kind of the deadline for getting bills off the house floor so they play those tactics, not just on this bill but on several bills, trying to slow things down to kill as many majority bills as possible,” said state Rep. Tom Newell, R-District 28.

House Minority Leader Scott Inman said he thinks Republicans are trying to build more traction. 

“Right now, the bill might not pass if it hits the house floor,” Inman said. “The author is amending the bill in a variety of different ways to try to find enough votes to switch their vote after the amendments pass in order to keep the bill alive. And we’ll wait and see in a day or so whether those amendments and those tactics are successful."

Sources in the House told News 9 they believe the bill will be heard Thursday.  The governor’s office is making a number of robo-calls trying to drum up support for the measure.