Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund; established, report.
HB2593 creates the Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund and a new scholarship program within the Commonwealth Savers Plan framework. The bill directs the Commonwealth Savers Plan to transfer $500 million from the DB529 Fund into a new Access Fund beginning after July 1, 2025, and authorizes additional transfers over time if the fund remains actuarially sound at a 125 percent funded status. It also establishes a Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund Investment Board to advise the General Assembly on transfer amounts, using actuarial and liquidity modeling, and requires annual reporting on the fund’s status and recommendations.
The bill authorizes the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to administer a scholarship and free access program for eligible Virginia students, including low-income, first-generation, underrepresented, and other at-risk students. Scholarships may cover tuition and certain other education-related costs, including fees, room and board, books, and child care, and may also support non-credit workforce training programs tied to high-demand occupations. The program is funded only from investment income on the Access Fund, with administrative and access-program costs capped at specified percentages, and the Council must create an online application portal and publicize the program statewide.
The bill amends multiple sections of the Virginia Code governing the Commonwealth Savers Plan, the Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund, and related open-records and closed-meeting exemptions. It adds a new Article 5 in Title 23.1 establishing the scholarship fund, the Investment Board, program definitions, reporting requirements, and rules for transferring surplus assets from the DB529 prepaid tuition subfund into the new Access Fund. It also creates a surplus rebate program that provides a one-time $2,500 rebate to certain prepaid tuition contract owners and allows unclaimed rebate amounts to be redirected to the Access Fund. In addition, the bill expands Virginia Freedom of Information Act exclusions and closed-meeting provisions to protect records and discussions involving the new fund and board, alongside existing exemptions for the Commonwealth Savers Plan and related investment matters.
The bill appears to have received mixed but ultimately favorable committee support in the House Education process. It was reported from subcommittee 6-4 and then reported from the full committee 14-8 with a substitute, suggesting meaningful support but also notable opposition. The absence of committee transcripts limits insight into detailed debate, but the vote pattern indicates the proposal was considered significant and somewhat controversial rather than broadly consensus-driven.
The main points of contention are likely the use of DB529 prepaid tuition surplus funds to finance a new scholarship program, the size and timing of the required $500 million transfer, and whether the plan remains actuarially sound after those transfers. The bill tries to address those concerns by requiring actuarial and liquidity modeling, setting a 125 percent funded-status threshold for additional transfers, and creating a rebate program for certain prepaid tuition contract holders. Another likely area of debate is the policy choice to redirect resources from a prepaid tuition program to a new access scholarship program, especially because the bill also bars the Commonwealth Savers Plan from launching new access programs after July 1, 2025, except for existing SOAR Virginia and GEAR UP Virginia offerings.