Lawmakers Will Shore Up PACT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. says he's
confident the Legislature will act this year to make sure
participants in Alabama's prepaid college tuition plan get the
payments they are expecting.
Folsom serves on a three-member committee of state officials
looking for ways to shore up the program, which has lost about half
of its assets due to the turmoil on Wall Street.
Folsom persuaded the Legislature to begin the program in 1989.
He said Thursday he will use the power of his gavel as the Senate's
presiding officer to make sure the Senate shores up the plan's
finances.
Folsom said that could include keeping colleges from passing
along tuition increases to program participants for a few years.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)