Legislation to provide nearly a billion dollars in middle-class college and university scholarships passed the Assembly on Wednesday, but lawmakers have not yet taken up a companion bill to provide funding. The funding measure, Assembly Bill 1500, is fiercely opposed by most Republicans, branded a tax hike by business opponents, and faces far tougher sledding getting the required two-thirds super-majority vote in the Legislature. Middle-class scholarships will not be provided unless both bills pass the Legislature and are signed into law.