2 college tuition bills get unanimous OK in Nevada Legislature committee

Two bills aimed at making college easier to afford for specific groups of students unanimously passed the Assembly Education Committee on Monday.

Assembly Bill 1 expands an existing program that provides financial assistance for colleges to children of Nevada firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty. The revisions, proposed by Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, would expand the benefits to children of any public employee.

In 2015, Carlton’s bill passed the Assembly unanimously but died in the Senate.

Assembly Bill 24 would expand an existing program in which veterans are not charged out-of-state tuition.

Changes would expand to include students whose parent, guardian or spouse is on active duty and stationed at a military station in this state. It would also include active duty members or honorably discharged veterans who are or were stationed in the state.

With little discussion, the Assembly committee unanimously approved moving the bills forward.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.