ATLANTA – State Representative Yasmin Neal (D-Jonesboro) today announced that House Bill 1530, legislation to create HOPE scholarship small business grants, was recently approved by the House Regulated Industries Lottery Oversight-Gaming Subcommittee on March, 9, 2022.
“I am humbled, and I appreciate the bipartisan co-signers and bipartisan committee members who voted unanimously on this measure,” said Rep. Neal. “The fact that we have the opportunity to change the lives of Georgia students and that we are one step closer to doing so is so encouraging.”
HB 1530 would serve as an extension of the HOPE scholarship program in which students could utilize a portion of their HOPE scholarship allotment as startup business funds in the form of a grant. Under HB 1530, a student could only receive one HOPE small business grant, and these grants could not exceed $20,000. The total amount of tuition funds awarded to a student could not exceed 30 percent of the maximum HOPE small business grant amount available to such student. The eligibility requirements for these HOPE small business grants would be in accordance with existing HOPE scholarship program requirements.
HB 1530 is now eligible for consideration by the full House Regulated Industries Committee.
For more information on HB 1530, please click here.
Representative Yasmin Neal represents the citizens of District 74, which includes portions of Clayton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Economic Development & Tourism, Juvenile Justice and Public Safety and Homeland Security committees.
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