Democratic State Senator Mark Hass of Beaverton says Senate Bill 1524 -- also known as Oregon's Promise is about to be passed.   

It funds a study on offering two years of free community college for Oregon students who maintain a GPA of 2.0 or above.

Senator Hass expects lawmakers to move forward on making it a reality next year.  He says it just makes economic sense.

"This population is not going anywhere and they're very expensive.  They cost about $14-thousand dollars in social services and other direct services.  So the day one of these individuals takes a job as a welder, well that 14 thousand dollar expenditure for taxpayers comes off the table.  Two years of community college is a lot cheaper than food stamps and that's what we're talking about."

Because the House added amendments to the legislation,tti now goes back to the senate for consideration.  It will then go on to the Governor for his signature.