PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives is skeptical about Gov. Gina Raimondo’s plan to guarantee two years of free tuition at the state’s public colleges.
Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello tells WPRO-AM (https://bit.ly/2jM9wEW ) he’s getting negative feedback about the proposal from his Cranston constituents.
He says his bigger budgetary priority is phasing out municipal car taxes.
Mattiello says the no-tuition idea needs to be carefully vetted, especially if Rhode Island is the first to try it. He says it’ll go through the normal legislative hearing process.
Raimondo, a Democrat, has proposed covering in-state students’ tuition and fees for two years of community college or the final two years of a four-year degree. She estimates the cost to be $30 million a year once it’s fully implemented.
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