The Washington House has passed a bill to stop the state's four-year colleges and universities from setting different tuition rates for different majors.

The Legislature had granted the authority in 2011, but no one has put the idea into practice.

House Bill 1043 was designed to stop differential tuition as a way to keep the state's prepaid tuition program solvent.

Differential tuition is a problem for the Guaranteed Education Tuition program because it makes it difficult for the GET committee to keep its prices in line with future tuition costs.

Some lawmakers have recommended doing away with the GET program, while others say getting rid of differential tuition is the answer.

This bill still needs approval from the Senate and the governor's signature before it could become law.