A bill that would allow illegal immigrants to attend college at the in-state tuition rate stands a good chance of passing the Colorado Senate, and supporters say the measure could even pass the Republican-controlled House.

The conventional wisdom this session had the bill unable to clear the Democrat-led Senate, where a similar measure died in 2009 after a handful of Democrats joined Republicans in voting against it.

But things have changed. The ASSET bill — standing for “Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow” — has been reworked from the 2009 version so that the students in question would not receive a direct state subsidy called the Colorado Opportunity Fund scholarship.

And Democrats this time may have 18 votes — the number needed to pass a bill in the Senate. The 2009 measure failed on a 16-18 vote, and Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, was one of five Democrats who voted against it.

Carroll now says she’s rethinking her position.