From Montgomery Advertiser 4-9-09

2 Alabama lawmakers make proposal to save prepaid tuition program

Two Republican legislators are working on a plan to shore up Alabama's financially troubled prepaid college tuition program without using state tax dollars.

Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale and Rep. Robert Bentley of Tuscaloosa said their plan would move the tuition program's assets from the stock market to an annuity.

They also propose doing away with a state law that allows out-of-state students living within 50 miles of an Alabama college to pay in-state tuition. They say that would generate $25 million annually in higher tuition payments that would go toward the tuition program.

They also propose requiring out-of-state students to pay the full cost of their education at a state university. That extra money would also go toward the tuition plan.
-- The Associated Press