Smith to head drive to provide free tuition via state funding By Nick Bunkley Daily Staff Reporter Although an outdated Michigan law declares that students attending the University's College of Literature, Science and the Arts should not pay tuition, Ann Arbor's state senator wants to make free higher education a reality for students statewide. Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.), who recently sat on a committee that weeded out obsolete laws such as the 1851 ban on LSA tuition, wants to delay income and business tax cuts in favor of creating a trust fund to pay for Michigan students to attend four years of college. Smith said she plans to spearhead a petition drive to put the issue before voters. "It just opens the door for students who want to go to the University of Michigan, who are qualified to go to the University of Michigan, but who could not afford to go to the University of Michigan without going into severe financial debt," she said. The plan calls for implementing a .5 percent cut in the state income tax across 10 years rather than five, as well as adding an extra five years to the 23-year phase-out of the 2.3 percent Single Business Tax. Smith hopes to use that extra revenue to finance four years of tuition at any of the state's 15 public universities in the form of tax credits. Seven other states already have programs that pay for in-state tuition at public institutions. "It leaves you all with a whole lot of money to spend on your education," said Smith, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee. The tuition credit would be phased in a four-year period, beginning with the 2000-2001 academic year, when its expected to cost the state $88.3 million. Students who are currently in ninth grade would be the first class eligible to collect four years of credit from the state. Cynthia Wilbanks, the University's vice president for government relations, said it's too early to tell what kind of effect the plan could have on state appropriations and tuition prices. "Everyone is extremely sensitive to providing the highest quality of education that we can provide at a cost that every student can afford," Wilbanks said. A poll conducted last month by Lansing-based EPIC/MRA found that 62 percent of respondents favored delaying the tax cuts to pay for students' education. "No matter how we asked it, the public thought it would be a good idea," said EPIC/MRA Vice President Ed Sarpolus. Gov. John Engler last year created the Michigan Merit Award program, which provides up to $3,000 toward tuition costs for students who pass statewide achievement tests. Engler spokesperson John Truscott said increasing the amount of automatic financial assistance should not come at an added cost to taxpayers. "We're not going to delay tax cuts for all Michigan taxpayers to implement this proposal," Truscott said. Smith, who plans to run for governor in 2002, needs to collect more than 287,000 signatures from registered Michigan voters to put the question on the November ballot. "We have really good support from the general public and some help from businesses," she said. Originally on page 7A in the 1-5-2000 issue of the Daily.