Wisconsin's Senate Bill 763 would, if enacted, create a program to award "scholarships to students who are enrolled in an institution of higher education [in Wisconsin] and who are engaged in studies directly related to programs preparing the students for careers in occupational areas addressing or responding to climate change."
The bill would provide $5 million biennially to fund the scholarships. The scholarships would be capped at $5000 per student per year; half of the scholarships would be awarded on the basis of academic merit and half on the basis of financial need.
Introduced on December 17, 2021, by Jeff Smith (D-District 31) with five of his colleagues in the Senate and cosponsored by Jill Billings (D-District 95) with twenty-one of her colleagues in the House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges.
On January 4, 2022, the identical Assembly Bill 785 was introduced by Jill Billings with twenty-one of her colleagues in the House of Representatives and cosponsored by Jeff Smith with five of his colleagues in the Senate, and then referred to the House Committee on Education.
[Updated on January 5, 2022, by the addition of the last paragraph.]