A new effort to slash tuition by up to 66% for middle class California university students is underway.  California Assembly speaker John Pérez proposed a billion-dollar scholarship plan on Feb. 8 that may help middle class students afford college by ensuring out-of-state corporations pay taxes.
In 2009 the state of California  gave out-of-state corporations a tax break for helping the state create jobs according to ABC website.  Assembly democrats want to rescind the tax break, allowing the state to tax over one billion dollars per year, in order to pay for the Middle Class Scholarship Plan.
“I think it has the potential to increase people’s abilities to attend college and that can impact colleges in a number of ways,” said Ashley Fantazia (senior, Communications).  
Under the plan, families with a household income of $150,000 or less would qualify to save up to $8,100 per year on University of California tuition, or up to $4,000 per year on California State University tuition according Wyatt Buchanan of the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I think it’d be definitely beneficial for me, it could help my life greatly with less stress,” said Arianna Kennedy (senior, Psychology).  “I would not have to worry about taking out loans.  I know that when I first had to, I cried because I thought that I was going to have to be in debt forever.”
The plan is designed to help both current and new students with college funding starting in fall.  The Middle Class Scholarship Plan needs a two-thirds vote from the California legislature to pass.
“With the collapse of our economy, we’ve made our colleges and universities more expensive and less accessible,” said Assembly Speaker Pérez.  “The Middle Class Scholarship Act intends to turn that around.”