Bill Text: AZ HB2364 | 2013 | Fifty-first Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Income based tuition waiver scholarships
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-01-23 - Referred to House HEWD Committee [HB2364 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2013-HB2364-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: income based tuition waiver scholarships |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-first Legislature First Regular Session 2013
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HB 2364 |
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Introduced by Representatives Mendez: Alston, Gallego, Gonzales
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AN ACT
amending Title 15, chapter 14, article 5, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-1857; making an appropriation; relating to postsecondary education.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 15, chapter 14, article 5, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-1857, to read:
15-1857. Income based tuition waivers scholarship program; fund; annual report; program termination; definition
A. The commission for postsecondary education shall develop, implement and administer the income based tuition waiver scholarship program. The commission shall develop application forms, procedures and deadlines and shall select eligible students each year for participation in the income based tuition waiver scholarship program. The commission may establish partnerships with qualifying schools for the administration of the income based tuition waiver scholarship program. Participating full‑time students shall receive an annual tuition waiver to cover the cost of the tuition charged at a qualifying school for a maximum of five fiscal years. The amount of a tuition waiver awarded to a participating part‑time student enrolled in at least six credit hours shall be prorated in accordance with the part-time status of the student.
B. Students who provide satisfactory proof to the commission that the student has met all of the following criteria are eligible to submit an application for consideration by the commission for a tuition waiver under the income based tuition waiver scholarship program:
1. The student has graduated from a public or private high school in this state, has completed the equivalent of grade twelve in a homeschool program or has obtained a general equivalency diploma in this state.
2. the student's family has a gross income that as computed on a monthly basis is four hundred per cent or less of the current poverty level established by the United States department of health and human services, except that if the student's family has a gross income that as computed on a monthly basis is between four hundred per cent and five hundred per cent of the current poverty level established by the United States department of health and human services, that student may be awarded a tuition waiver in an amount up to half the amount prescribed in subsection A of this section.
3. The student registers for enrollment as a student in a community college in a community college district in this state or a UNIVERSITY under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents.
4. The student is currently a resident of this state and has been a resident of this state for at least the past year.
5. The student signs a pledge developed by the commission that the student will not engage in criminal activity.
6. The student has completed and submitted a free application for federal student aid.
C. The income based tuition waiver scholarship fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The commission shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The commission shall make awards for payment of tuition at qualifying schools to students who are selected to participate in the income based tuition waiver scholarship program pursuant to subsection A of this section.
D. If the amount of monies available for income based tuition waivers in any fiscal year is insufficient to provide tuition waivers to all eligible applicants, The commission shall award tuition waivers to eligible students in the order in which the applications were received by the commission, except that priority shall be given to qualifying students who received a tuition waiver in the previous fiscal year and who are still in good academic standing at the same qualifying school. the commission shall maintain a waiting list for all other applicants.
E. If the commission determines that a person has been convicted of a felony or has been adjudicated to have committed a felony during the time the person is receiving a tuition waiver pursuant to this section, that person shall reimburse the income based tuition waiver scholarship fund for all monies received pursuant to subsection A of this section.
F. The commission shall submit an annual report to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the joint legislative budget committee that includes a detailed description of the amount of monies distributed under the income based tuition waiver scholarship program during the previous fiscal year and that includes the total number of qualified applicants for tuition waivers, the total number of tuition waivers awarded, the qualifying schools attended by tuition waiver recipients and the total number of qualified applicants who were placed on the waiting list. The commission shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
G. Persons who receive a tuition waiver pursuant to this section shall be required to maintain a grade point AVERAGE of at least 2.8 on a 4.0 scale at the qualifying school and participate in at least ninety-six hours of community service each year in activities determined by the commission. If a qualifying school notifies the commission that a student who has received an income based tuition waiver has failed to maintain a grade point AVERAGE of at least 2.8 on a 4.0 scale at the qualifying school or has failed to participate in at least ninety-six hours of community service each year, the commission shall immediately discontinue the tuition waiver and the student shall reimburse the income based tuition waiver scholarship fund for any unused or used portion of a tuition waiver that was received pursuant to subsection A of this section in which the student did not satisfy the requirements of this subsection.
H. The program established by this section ends on July 1, 2023 pursuant to section 41-3102.
I. For the purposes of this section, "qualifying school" means a community college in a community college district in this state or a university under the jurisdiction of the arizona board of regents.
Sec. 2. Appropriation; income based tuition waiver scholarship fund; exemption
A. The sum of $25,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2013-2014 to the commission for postsecondary education for deposit in the income based tuition waiver scholarship fund established by section 15‑1857, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.
B. The appropriation made in subsection A of this section is exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations.
