Photo by QuartierLatin1968. CC BY-SA 3.0
Wisconsin's Senate Bill 786 would, if enacted, create a program to award "scholarships to resident 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 8, 2023, by Jeff Smith (D-District 31) along with five of his colleagues in the Senate and 21 in the House, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Universities and Revenue. A similar pair of bills were introduced in the 2021-2022 legislative session. Senate Bill 763 and Assembly Bill 785 both died in committee in March 2022.
