ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate is expected to take up a bill overhauling the cash-strapped HOPE scholarship this week.

The bill was introduced two weeks ago by Gov. Nathan Deal and has moved at lightning speed through the Legislature, gaining approval from the House last week. The full Senate could see the bill as early as Tuesday.

The bill cuts HOPE scholarships for all but the state's highest performing students and ties the awards to revenue rather than tuition rates. It also cuts payments for books, fees and remedial classes.

Most students will have to shell out hundreds - if not thousands - more a year to attend college.

Democrats have said the cuts unfairly impacts low-income and minority students. But the GOP-led statehouse has largely ignored those concerns, saying the program must be cut or it will go bankrupt by next year.