The legislation was quickly put together after Patrick vetoed a previous bill that inadvertently subtracted the money from the UMass-Amherst allocation.
BOSTON – Legislation that would restore some $40 million in out-of-state tuition revenues to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has passed both the House and Senate and lacks only the signature of Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
The legislation was quickly put together after Patrick vetoed a previous bill that inadvertently subtracted the money from the UMass-Amherst allocation. Although tuition paid to public higher education institutions goes into the state’s general fund, UMass-Amherst, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design had been allowed to keep tuition paid by out-of-state students.
Some legislators wanted to extend that benefit to all public higher education institutions, but Patrick vetoed the effort as too costly. Because of the way the previous bill was written, Patrick’s veto also deprived UMass of its long-standing benefit.
State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, was among the area legislators who moved promptly to restore that money. Rosenberg said Thursday the new legislation accomplishes that and is hopeful Patrick will sign the bill.
“I don’t think anyone was intending to undo what was already there,” he said.
Mass Maritime and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design were not affected by Patrick’s veto, Rosenberg said.