Topeka ? A key lawmaker said Tuesday that a proposal to credit regents universities with interest earned on student tuition and fees probably would have to wait until next year.

A hearing was held before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Senate Bill 490, which would allow the six regents universities to keep the interest earned on tuition and fees. Currently, the funds — about $2.7 million per year — are funneled into the state budget for general spending.

Higher education officials said that wasn’t fair, but Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Morris, R-Hugoton, said the state budget was too tight this year to turn over the interest income to the schools. The committee took no action on the bill.

Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway offered a compromise — delaying adoption of the tuition interest bill for another year or two.

“Currently, all public higher education institutions earn interest on their tuition dollars except for the six regents universities,” Hemenway said. “Why should regents universities be denied access to funds given to the rest of public higher education?”

Kansas Board of Regents President and Chief Executive Reggie Robinson said the bill would help regents schools and send a positive message to students “that the state is interested in helping the universities increase the purchasing power of student dollars.”

Of the money earned on interest on tuition and student fees, $900,000 comes from KU’s Lawrence campus and $174,000 from the KU Medical Center, according to KU officials.

Morris said he sympathized with the universities and that the tuition interest issue should be analyzed between legislative sessions as part of a general study of the new method of providing “block grant” funding to universities.