Washington states expands their free public tuition program:
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/110000-washington-students-a-year-will-get-money-for-college-many-a-free-ride/
Unlike the NY program they don’t require students to stay in-state after graduation and pays in addition to other grants, not just the last dollar. It also applies to shorter programs for certifications and apprenticeships.
Assuming those kind of plans increase the application numbers towards in-state public universities, then without increasing available admission slots admission to those schools should get academically more competitive, which runs counter to the common argument that free tuition would waist tax payer money on unqualified students.