KY. SCHOLARSHIP BILL Ky. House Passes Scholarship Bill For Coal Counties
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Heath Harrison
Reported: Feb. 21, 2013 6:09 PM EST
Updated: Feb. 21, 2013 6:18 PM EST
Eyewitness News Photo
Frankfort, Franklin County
, Kentucky
The Kentucky House has passed a bill that would make college students from the coalfields eligible for special scholarships.
The Thursday vote was unanimous. The bill will now proceed to the Senate for consideration.
Democratic state Rep. Leslie Combs of Pikeville, the bill's sponsor, said the scholarships of up to $6,600 a year would be available only to college juniors and seniors in 34 counties.
The initiative is a compromise that came from a failed push last year to create a four-year public university in the Appalachian coalfields. Lawmakers saw that proposal, intended to boost the number of college graduates in the coalfields, as too expensive considering Kentucky's tight state budget.
The money for the scholarships will come from a tax on mined coal.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Neighboring facilities in W.Va. differ on abortion May 19, 2013 2:09 PM EDT A crisis-pregnancy center that counsels women not to have abortions has moved next door to a health facility in Charleston that provides abortions.
Lottery tickets sold in Ky. worth $1 million each May 19, 2013 1:00 PM EDT Two Powerball tickets sold in Kentucky barely missed out on an estimated $590.5 million grand prize, but they're worth $1 million each.
Body of missing Ohio man pulled from NC waters May 19, 2013 2:44 PM EDT North Carolina authorities say they've recovered the body of an Ohio man who disappeared while swimming in chilly coastal waters.
Associated Press
