Just a week after President Bush signed off on a new GI Bill that essentially guarantees veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars full scholarships at their home state's public colleges and universities, Ohio has upped the ante by announcing that it will offer in-state tuition rates to those who attend college in the Buckeye State.

According to The New York Times, the Ohio plan, called the Ohio GI Promise, is the first of its kind in the nation. It will make all veterans "honorary Ohioans," changing residency requirements at the state's 36 colleges and universities to allow veterans, their spouses and dependents to attend at in-state tuition rates, regardless of where they currently reside.

The decision to allow out-of-state veterans access to in-state rates is part of a decade-long plan to boost the state's college enrollment by 230,000 over the next 10 years. The special rate will take effect when the new GI Bill benefits roll out in August 2009, but some veterans may immediately be able to get a free ride or pay less in Ohio, depending on how much money they are currently receiving under the GI Bill.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland — who has been mentioned as a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate — said the plan was a tribute to America's soldiers. "Who better to have as part of Ohio's colleges and universities, workforce and communities than the veterans who have served, led and protected our country?," Strickland said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Strickland said the hope is that the graduating GIs will stay in Ohio to seek work, as well as boost the numbers of the Ohio National Guard.

President Bush signed the new GI Bill into law on June 30. It doubles college benefits for eligible veterans who've served since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, giving most of them what amounts to full scholarships at their home-state colleges and universities, as well as offering housing and book stipends and benefits for spouses and family members. But according to the provisions, most veterans can only get the full benefit of the Bill by attending colleges in their home states.

The one downside for Ohio's colleges, according to the Dispatch, is the money they'll lose by not charging veterans the out-of-state rate, which has led some to call for the state to increase its support to schools. At Ohio State University, the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is $13,239.