Much as I predicted last week, the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program remains intact for the next fiscal year.

Instead of recommending its first originating bill to reform the Hope program, the House Finance Committee recommended a new originating bill that only changed the payment frequency to Hope families from two times per year to four times.

Some are saying the committee buckled under pressure from current home school and private school families. That’s a complete misunderstanding of what happened.

The reason the first originating bill was drafted was to deal with a major problem beginning in the first month of the new fiscal year in July. When the state begins a new fiscal year, it starts with zero dollars from a cash flow standpoint. In fact, the state has to borrow from the Revenue Shortfall Fund (the Rainy Day Fund) for the first two months to pay its bills until tax revenues come in; then those monies are paid back.

The Hope Scholarship’s budget for FY207 is around $230 million. Under the current law, approximately half of that amount, as much as $115 million or less, would be paid to Hope families by Aug. 1. That’s a big bill coming due when the state is building up its cash flow.

So, the reason for the House Finance Committee’s first originating bill was to change the payout to Hope families from twice to four times per year, meaning when the state has to transfer money from the general revenue fund to Hope families, it’s less of a hit in those first two months.

But House Finance Committee leadership and other lawmakers understand that with the Hope program opening up to all eligible students in the state in FY27, it’s going to be a major expenditure for the general revenue budget going forward. Some compare Hope to how the Promise Scholarship started back in 2001. While it started as a wide open program, eventually lawmakers had to slowly make changes to the program to keep its spending from going wild.

The first originating bill had a number of reforms to the Hope Scholarship program, ending the current reimbursement program and awarding up to $5,250 per student that paid directly for tuition, curriculum, transportation and technology. It required private schools receiving Hope funding to be located in-state. It would have still paid for certain educational therapies, but reimbursements for extracurriculars would have come to a halt.

Republicans in the House Finance Committee caucused off and on for nearly a week, working the originating bill to see what members could support. Ultimately, it was decided to do a new originating bill focused only on the payment structure. Lawmakers plan to observe Hope between now and the 2027 session, and if changes or guardrails are needed, they’ll come back next year.

So, I’m hoping all of that money used on social media and “grassroots” organizing pushing the message that Hope was being dismantled was well spent. Because it sure seems like a waste in hindsight, given that the first originating bill would not have remotely dismantled Hope and the new originating bill doesn’t, either.

—

While I understand why the House Finance Committee did its originating bills on Hope, I otherwise hate originating bills. And it sure seems like the state Senate is abusing that process.

The last day to introduce bills in the Senate was Feb. 23. Bills must be out of committees today and out of the house of origin Wednesday, also called Crossover Day. But the rules of both the House and the Senate allow standing and select committees to originate bills even after deadlines for bills to be introduced in both chambers.

Lawmakers have had more than enough time to introduce bills since the start of the session on Jan. 14. But some lawmakers are using the originating bill process through committees to bypass any kind of review by legislative staff, committee counsels and even proofreaders.

In some cases, originating bills are popping up in committees in order to punish some lawmakers who introduced bills the proper way. For whatever reason, some committee members don’t like the lawmaker in question and an originating bill is a way to move a bill they like but ensure a lawmaker they don’t like doesn’t get credit. And I’m talking about members of the same political party.

We truly live in childish times.

—

We now have less than two weeks left in the 2026 legislative session, which ends at midnight on March 14. And trust me, I’m counting down the days.