MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Democratic leaders in the Alabama Legislature are sponsoring a bill to guarantee that full tuition be paid for all current participants in Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program.

House Minority leader Democratic Rep. Craig Ford of Anniston introduced a bill Tuesday that would use money accumulated in an account called the Budget Stabilization Account after 2016 to fill any shortfall in the PACT program. PACT is a two-decades-old program that parents pay into and PACT pays the tuition for participants to attend in-state colleges and universities. The program ran into financial problems in 2008 because investments lost money and tuition rose faster than expected.

A settlement of a lawsuit last year guaranteed tuition payments at 2010 rates. But the bill would guarantee full tuition for all participants.