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The Governor signed off on a bill this morning granting in-state tuition to Florida students in the country illegally. But as Matt Galka tells us, anti-immigration groups are raising questions about costs, and Democrats say this is an election year stunt.

Undocumented students from around Florida made their presence known at Florida’s Capitol this year, and their persistence paid off.  Florida’s Governor signed a bill into law providing in-state tuition for Florida students living in the country illegally.

The Governor touted the legislation at a campaign event in Fort Myers.

“We have the funding now to be able to pay for our education, we continue to grow our economy, as more people move to our state, we’ll be able to fund the education we want,” said Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida).

The new law will save some students thousands, but what isn’t clear is how much it will cost the state.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, says it will cost the state more than $20 million dollars. Legislature analysis on cost was indeterminate.

“This will be another 22.7 for people who aren’t U.S. Citizens. There’s no guarantee that these illegal aliens will stay in Florida. They can’t even get a job legally. They don’t have  a driver’s license, they don’t have a social security card,” said anti-immigration advocate Dave Jaye.

While the costs get figured out, Florida Democrats say the Governor backed the bill so he didn’t cost himself any Hispanic votes.

“The wakeup call where he’s actually looked around the state and said ‘wow’ there’s a lot of Hispanic votes. I need to make sure I can speak to something they care about,” said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant.

Illegal students who have attended Florida High Schools for three consecutive years will be eligible for tuition waivers starting July 1^st

The bill also freezes tuition increases for all colleges except the University of Florida and Florida State University. But the bill does lower their ability to increase tuition from 15 percent to 6 percent.