TU: PolitiJax, ‘Dream Act’ vote halted in Senate committee

[Patricia M. McBride]

This was voted down, but the Dream Act never seems to quite go away as it should.

 

A measure that would grant in-state tuition to Florida high school students who are U.S. citizens but whose parents are in the country illegally was voted down Tuesday by a Senate committee.

Following nearly an hour of emotional debate, the Senate Higher Education Committee voted down the bill (SB 1018), sometimes known as the “Dream Act.” It would allow the children of undocumented aliens to get in-state tuition if they graduate from a Florida high school and are a U.S. citizen themselves.

On a 3-3 vote, the panel struck down the measure, sponsored by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Miami, with the committee’s chairman, Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, repeatedly interrupting speakers including Miami-Dade College students who travelled to testify in favor of the bill.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-02-01/story/politijax-sen...