(AP) -- A South Carolina bill that would use tax credits to help parents send their children to private school is up for debate by a House committee.

The House Ways and Means Committee is set to take up the bill Thursday afternoon. It ran out of time at its morning meeting.

The bill would give tax breaks to parents who can afford to pay the tuition up front. Poor parents could apply for scholarships.

The people and businesses who donate toward those scholarships would take the tax break.

State budget advisers estimate the plan would cost the state $133 million annually in lost revenue when fully implemented in 13 years, with a cumulative loss of $800 million over that time.

Similar bills have died repeatedly in South Carolina since 2004.

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