This afternoon the Senate Ways & Means Committee held a public hearing on legislation that would establish an endowment for students studying in high-demand fields.

HB 2088 creates the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Expansion Program to mitigate the impact of tuition increases, increase the number of baccalaureate degrees in high employer demand and other programs, and invest in programs and students to meet market demand fields of study while filling middleincome jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers.

Senators asked several questions ranging from how this endowment will interact with existing state financial aid programs, the state matching requirement, and the potential size of the endowment.