Two months after Gov. Rick Scott vetoed legislation to boost funding for Bright Futures, the scholarship program for top-performing state university students, Senate Republican leaders are hoping the second time will be the charm.

  • Attempt to restore funding for FL Bright Futures vetoed this year
  • Republican Senate leaders will try again next year

FL Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), the chairman of the chamber's higher education committee, this week filed SB 4, which largely mirrors the measure vetoed by Scott.

The measure would restore the cuts Bright Futures endured during the Great Recession, covering 100 percent of tuition for students receiving the most program's most elite scholarships. A second tier of awards given to so-called 'Medallion Scholars' would cover 75 percent of tuition, an increase of roughly two-thirds.

Boosting funding for Bright Futures has been a top priority of Senate President Joe Negron (R-Stuart), who criticized the governor's veto.

"Higher education is not just people getting a degree," Negron said. "It's tens of thousands of students walking across a stage with a diploma in one hand and a job offer in the other hand."

Scott said his decision to nix the funding increase was motivated by another provision in last spring's bill that would have capped the growth of bachelor degree programs at state colleges, formerly known as community colleges. That explanation, however, proved to be little consolation for Bright Futures recipients and their parents.

When told of the renewed legislative effort to help defray her college expenses, Daisy Malan, a Medallion Scholar attending Florida State, was cautiously optimistic.

"It only covers $1,000 in housing, and so I need like $2,000 more," Malan said. "I'm trying to get a job working part-time, so being able to have more money would be awesome."