Legislation to shorten Colorado’s residency requirement for in-state college tuition passed a major hurdle Tuesday, receiving approval from the state House of Representatives. 

If enacted, House Bill 1155 would make students eligible for in-state tuition if they have lived in the state for at least one year prior to enrollment – instead of the current three years. Students would also need to have graduated from a high school or completed a high school equivalency exam in Colorado.

“Every Coloradan should have access to higher education opportunities that will set them up to thrive,” said bill sponsor Rep. Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. “By reducing the cost of higher education, we’ll prepare more students for success and open the door for more high school graduates to access the education they need to secure better paying jobs and address our workforce shortage.”

More than 200 additional students would be eligible for in-state tuition each year under the bill, according to state estimates.

This comes as Colorado’s annual college enrollment has decreased each year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, falling by 5.2% from 2019 to 2020 alone, according to data from the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

The bipartisan-sponsored bill passed the House in a 41-19 vote Tuesday, with only Republicans voting in opposition.

Rep. Mary Bradfield, R-Colorado Springs, said she voted against the bill because it would also build off of the ASSET Bill passed in 2013, which allowed undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition. The new bill would remove ASSET’s requirement that undocumented students be admitted to college within one year of graduating high school in order to receive in-state tuition.

Bill sponsor Rep. Perry Will, R-New Castle, urged his Republican colleagues to put aside their opinions on immigration to support the bill, saying it would bolster the state’s workforce to make sure local businesses can find and retain employees who already live in their communities.

“We truly need this,” Will said. “Having a workforce in these mountain communities is critical and this really helps with serving our businesses.”

Besides Will, only two Republicans voted in support of the bill Tuesday: Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron and Rep. Janice Rich of Grand Junction.

Other Republican opponents argued that expanding in-state tuition could push the cost difference onto other Coloradans; however, the state estimates the bill would increase the number of students enrolled in higher education, actually increasing the amount of tuition revenue collected and spent by schools.