A version of the governor’s college scholarship initiative has been recommended by the Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee.
The plan doesn’t go nearly as far as Governor Jim Douglas’ original plan would have, though.
The committee recommends the creation of a 12-member panel to explore how to fund a plan into the future.
That panel also would decide whether scholarships should be offered or whether students would get help repaying loans.
Douglas proposed a $175 million program that would provide $5,000 annual scholarships to graduates who agreed to work for at least three years in Vermont.
But lawmakers say the state can’t afford that because the tobacco settlement money he wanted to use already is promised for health care.