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Last spring, Washington lawmakers made national headlines when they passed an  to pay some or all of the tuition bill for low- to middle-income students and adults returning to college. 

And just a few months earlier, Seattle voters approved a  that included about $40 million to send Seattle public school grads to community college tuition-free.

Free college was a winner, politically speaking. But now, a global pandemic threatens to wreak havoc on state and local budgets. Can the city and state still keep those college promises?

Officials say they have to.