HB1868

The introduced bill would actually have lowered the funding threshold to nine hours beginning September 1, 2025. The House committee substitute replaced that change with the study, added the instructor-workforce questions, reporting deadline and expiration, and provided for immediate effect if the vote threshold was met. The committee, House-passed, Senate committee and enrolled versions are identical. The amendment index lists no amendments; the substantive change occurred through the committee substitute, not a floor amendment. The proposed immediate formula change did not become law. Introduced bill; committee substitute; versions; amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Students, colleges and school districts may benefit from better evidence about funding incentives and instructor shortages before another policy decision. The board bears the work of collecting and analyzing information. Any later change in funding, financial assistance or credentialing would require the appropriate further action; the study alone does not provide those benefits.

The distinction between proposal and final law is especially important for cost. The March 31 introduced-version fiscal note projected about $1.105 billion in additional general-revenue costs over fiscal years 2026–27, with annual estimates rising from about $539.6 million in 2026 to $658.8 million in 2030. It assumed additional qualifying outcomes at the then-current $3,500 outcome rate. Those figures describe the abandoned immediate funding change, not the cost of the enacted study.

The May 8 note for the House-passed study bill anticipated no significant state fiscal impact, assuming costs could be absorbed within existing resources, and no local-government fiscal impact. It provides no quantified two-year or five-year study-cost estimate. No claim is made here that the report has already been completed.