HB 299 - SB 295
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
March 14, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Laura Moore | Email: laura.moore@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 299 - SB 295
SUMMARY OF BILL: Entitles dependent children under 23 years of age whose parent,
while serving honorably as a member of the United States Armed Forces during a qualifying period
of armed conflict, sustained a service-connected disability determined by the Veteran's
Administration (VA) to be a 100 percent permanent total disability, or the spouse of such veteran, to
a waiver of tuition and fees upon admission to any public institution of higher education in this
state.
Requires the veteran to be a citizen of this state when the child or spouse applies for the waiver of
tuition and fees. Requires a spouse to enroll within 10 years of the veteran’s disability determination.
Removes spouse eligibility upon dissolution of marriage.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
REVENUE TBR
University of
Tennessee
Locally Governed
Institutions
FY25-26 & Subsequent Years ($2,783,600) ($10,162,100) ($13,594,800)
EXPENDITURES Tennessee Promise Scholarship Special Reserve Account
FY25-26 & Subsequent Years $289,800
OTHER FISCAL IMPACT
Any additional reimbursement in future years to institutions for waivers is subject to appropriation
by the General Assembly pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-119(c). The precise amount of any
additional expenditures is dependent upon action by the General Assembly and cannot be
reasonably determined.
Assumptions:
• Based on data found on the United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ website, in 2023
there were 434,646 total veterans residing in Tennessee. Of those 434,646, approximately
36,446, or 8.39 percent [(36,446 /434,646) x 100], are classified as having a 100 percent
service-connected permanent and total disability. Further, an estimated 150,037 Tennessee
HB 299 - SB 295 2
veterans are between the ages of 35 and 59 and are estimated to be in an age range likely to
have dependent children of college age.
• Assuming a similar percentage rate of such disabled veterans to the 2023 population of
qualifying age range veterans, there are approximately 12,588 veterans (150,037 qualifying
veterans ages x 8.39% ranked 100 percent disability of total veteran population) estimated
to be 100 percent service-connected disabled and of an age to likely have college-aged
dependents.
• According to the “2023 Demographics Profile of the Military Community” report
published by the United States Department of Defense, an estimated 37 percent of military
families have dependent children under 22 years of age. Further, military members have an
average of two children.
• Based on demographic data, 21.7 percent of those dependents are 18-22 years of age,
resulting in approximately 2,021 dependents [((12,588 x 2) x 37% x 21.7%)] who are of
college age and whose guardian is a resident veteran ranked as 100 percent disabled.
• Found in the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) Tennessee College Going & The
Class of 2023 Report, the state-wide college-going rate was 56.7 percent in Tennessee and
approximately 73.7 percent will attend an in-state public institution of higher education. This
results in an estimated total of 845 (2,021 dependents x 56.7% x 73.7%).
• Based on information found in the “Veterans Education Transition Support 2024 Report”
issued by THEC, it is estimated that of those dependents:
o 51 percent, or 431 (845 x 51%), will attend a locally governed institution (LGI);
o 28.6 percent, or 242 (845 x 28.6%), will attend a college in the University of
Tennessee System (UT System) and;
o 20.4 percent, or 172 (845 x 20.4 %), will attend a Tennessee Board of Regents
College (TBR).
• According to the “2023 Demographics Profile of the Military Community” report, an
estimated 48.8 percent of Active Duty Members are married. The number of 100 percent
permanent total disability veterans married is unknown. For this analysis, it is assumed a
similar percentage of such veterans are also married.
• The estimated number of qualifying spouses of such veterans is 17,786 (36,446 x disability x
48.8% married). It is assumed that approximately 10 percent, or 1,779, (17,786 x 10%) of
those spouses would go to college.
• It is reasonably assumed:
o 51 percent, or 907 (1,779 x 51%), will attend a locally governed institution (LGI);
o 28.6 percent, or 509 (1,779 x 28.6%), will attend a college in the University of
Tennessee System (UT System) and;
o 20.4 percent, or 363 (1,779 x 20.4 %), will attend a Tennessee Board of Regents
College (TBR).
• The average cost of undergraduate in-state tuition and fees in FY23-24 is as follows:
o $9,766 LGIs;
o $12,255 UT System; and
o $5,001 TBR
• Assuming a minimum increase in tuition of two percent per year, the decrease to state
revenue for these dependents to use a tuition-free waiver in FY25-26 is estimated to exceed:
o $13,594,811 [($9,766 tuition x 102% growth x 102% growth) x (431 dependents +
907 spouses)] for LGIs;
HB 299 - SB 295 3
o $10,162,113 [($12,255 tuition x 102% growth x 102% growth) x (242 dependents +
509 spouses)] for UT System;
o $2,783,626 [($5,001 tuition x 102% growth x 102% growth) x (172 dependents +
363 spouses)] for TBR.
• These dependents may be eligible for other merit-based scholarships such as TN HOPE
and other education benefits; however, the dollar amount awarded to these students would
be in addition to the waived in-state tuition.
• Students receiving the waiver would be ineligible for the TN Promise scholarship as it is a
last-dollar scholarship.
• TN Promise rule 1640-01-26-.02(6), states tuition waivers and discounts for which students
or parents qualify must first be deducted from tuition and mandatory fees before gift aid
(TELS, TSAA, or Pell Grant) is credited, therefore a portion of the dependents eligible for
the waived tuition would have received a TN Promise award in the absence of this
legislation. Therefore, there will be a decrease in total TN Promise awards.
• Based on public full-time enrollment data found in the 2023-2024 Tennessee Higher
Education Fact Book an estimated 69,611 students were enrolled full-time at a TN Promise
eligible public institution.
• According the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program 2024 Summary Report
issued by THEC in 2023-2024, 12,717 of the 69,611 students, or 18.27 percent [(12,717 /
69,611 x 100)], were full-time Promise students at public institutions and received an
average award of $1,882.
• It is estimated that 154 (845 dependents x 18.27% Promise recipients) of the dependents
eligible for waived tuition would have received a Promise award in the absence of this
legislation, resulting in a recurring decrease in state expenditures exceeding $289,828 (154 x
$1,882 average award) to the Tennessee Promise Scholarship Special Reserve Account,
beginning in FY24-25.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-119(c), reimbursement to state-supported colleges,
universities, and vocational-technical schools is limited to the availability of state funds that
are specifically appropriated for fee waivers and discount programs by the General
Assembly.
• Institutions receive a proportional distribution of available funds based on each school’s
share of the total amount of tuition and fee waivers used. Historically, the amount has
averaged reimbursements of about 10.35 percent of the total amount of fee waivers and
discounts issued.
• According to the THEC, these waivers will be required to occur regardless of
reimbursement.
• Any additional reimbursement is subject to appropriations by the General Assembly
pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-7-119(c); the precise amount of any additional
expenditures is dependent upon action by the General Assembly and cannot be reasonably
determined.
HB 299 - SB 295 4
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director