A bill introduced by state Sen. Bob Dearing (D-Natchez) would waive out-of-state and out-of-district tuition at Mississippi community colleges for students who live within 50 miles of such a college.

That would save students who live across the state line $900 a semester, said Ronnie Nettles, dean of Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus. About 14 percent of the campus’ 790 students live in Louisiana.

&uot;It’d be great because there are others like me, people who live one mile across the river and are scraping pennies together to go to school,&uot; said Nancy Whitley of Vidalia, a Co-Lin social work major who considered moving to Natchez to save on tuition.

Similar bills died in committee in 1998 and 1999.

But the Universities and Colleges and Appropriations have until mid-March to pass it, and Dearing thinks the bill’s chances are good if it gets to the Senate floor.

There, said Dearing, &uot;it’ll at least have support of the border counties.&uot; Twelve of 15 community colleges would be affected.

And Dearing believes that if the bill is considered, it will be amended in committee to include four-year colleges as well. That would affect Alcorn State University, whose School of Nursing is in Natchez. Dean Frances Henderson was not available for comment.

&uot;We support the bill because it would increase our enrollment and help out our students,&uot;&160;Nettles said. But if out-of-state tuition decreases, he added, the state would need to reimburse community colleges for the loss in revenue.

Reimbursement is not included in the current bill, which would go into effect July 1.

But if an amendment to that affect is not added and the bill passes, the Legislature could come back and add it in the budget as a &uot;deficit appropriation&uot; next January, Dearing said.