Revised MOHELA plan moves to Senate

The House passed its second version of the plan to sell MOHELA’s consolidated loan assets in the form of a supplementary appropriations bill.

The bill would give nearly $350 million to state colleges and junior colleges for capital improvement needs. About $12 million would go to scholarships for Missouri students, and the remainder would fund a life sciences business incubator program.

A previous plan for MOHELA was included in the House version of the state budget, passed in March. That plan allocated $192 million for scholarships, $160 for capital improvements and $75 million in state debt reduction.

The first plan did not receive support from Gov. Matt Blunt.

The appropriations bill has been tied to another piece of legislation, the Access Missouri scholarship bill, which would use $10 million in state general revenue to provide $1,000 scholarships to Missouri high school seniors who attend public or private schools and universities.

Some legislators say the bills should be linked, while others say each bill should be considered on its own merits.

Both bills have arrived in the Senate. Changes to each are expected, and conference committees in the House and the Senate must produce final versions, to be voted on by the House and Senate before the budget deadline Friday.