Bill Text: CT SB00878 | 2013 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Making Clarifying Changes To The Higher Education Statutes In Accordance With The Reorganization Of The Higher Education System.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-07-02 - Signed by the Governor [SB00878 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2013-SB00878-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 878 | ||
January Session, 2013 |
LCO No. 3100 | ||
*03100_______HED* | |||
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT |
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Introduced by: |
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(HED) |
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AN ACT MAKING CLARIFYING CHANGES TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION STATUTES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REORGANIZATION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10a-170s of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
Loan candidates for the academic scholarship graduate student loan program shall make application to the [president of the Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education on such forms and at such time as prescribed by said [president] office. Loan recipients shall be selected by the [president of the Board of Regents for] executive director of the Office of Higher Education, who shall consider affirmative action and equal opportunity goals when making such selections. In the event the number of applicants is in excess of the number of loans available, academic standing and financial need may be considered by the [president] executive director in selecting loan recipients. Loans under this program shall be in an amount not greater than five thousand dollars per year for one year for recipients attending independent colleges and universities and not greater than three thousand dollars per year for one year for recipients attending public colleges and universities. In order to maintain eligible status under this loan program, each recipient shall continue to be enrolled full time in an accredited college or university and shall demonstrate compliance with the academic standards established by the [president of the Board of Regents for] executive director of the Office of Higher Education. No student shall receive the proceeds of a loan until [he] such student has submitted a letter from an accredited college or university certifying the appropriate enrollment status pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10a-170r.
Sec. 2. Section 10a-170t of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) (1) Loan repayment and interest charges shall commence twelve months after the academic scholarship graduate student loan recipient has terminated full-time student status or two years after the initial receipt of a loan under this program whichever occurs first.
[(1)] (2) A recipient who renders services as a certified teacher in a Connecticut public school on at least a half-time basis as certified by the local superintendent of schools shall have his or her loan forgiven as follows: (A) Thirty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of one year of teaching; (B) sixty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of two years of teaching; (C) one hundred per cent forgiveness upon completion of three years of teaching. If a loan recipient is teaching less than full-time, said superintendent shall certify to the [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education that a full-time position was not available.
[(2)] (3) Recipients who teach in a priority school district as designated by the state Department of Education pursuant to section 10-266p of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to 1991, shall have their loans forgiven as follows: (A) Forty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of one year of teaching; (B) one hundred per cent forgiveness upon the completion of two years of teaching.
(4) If a recipient has taught in a priority school district and in a nonpriority school district, the [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education shall formulate an appropriate forgiveness schedule.
(b) A fixed-rate interest charge on the loan balance shall be set at a rate one per cent above the prevailing prime interest rate as listed in the first federal reserve bulletin published for the calendar year in which awards are to be made.
(c) The [president of the Board of Regents for] executive director of the Office of Higher Education may grant loan deferments to a recipient when the recipient is teaching or when it is determined by the [president] executive director that loan repayment would present an unjust hardship to the recipient. Interest charges [will] shall not accrue to the recipient during deferment periods approved by the [president] executive director. The [president] executive director may forgive loans if the [president] executive director determines that such action is required as a result of the death or disability of the recipient.
(d) A recipient meeting the forgiveness or deferment provisions of this section shall apply for loan forgiveness or deferment to the [president of the Board of Regents for] executive director of the Office of Higher Education. Requests for loan deferments shall be submitted prior to the period for which a deferment is requested. An application for loan forgiveness shall be received by the [president] executive director within one year of the last day of the period for which the recipient is applying for loan forgiveness. Forgiveness shall not be granted for teaching services performed prior to or during the loan award period. Recipients who enter into the loan repayment period [will be required to] shall make a minimum monthly payment of fifty dollars, unless exception is granted by the [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education. A recipient shall have five years in which to repay loans granted pursuant to the provisions of this section. Deferment periods shall not be included in the five-year repayment period.
(e) The [president of the Board of Regents for] executive director of the Office of Higher Education may designate a staff member to perform the duties imposed under subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
Sec. 3. Section 10a-170u of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education is authorized to contract with the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation or other public or private loan servicing agencies for servicing loans made pursuant to sections 10a-170r and 10a-170s, as amended by this act. The [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education may use not more than three per cent of the total amount of any annual bond allocation for the academic scholarship graduate student loan program, for administering such loans. Such revenue shall be held in the Academic Scholarship Graduate Student Loan Fund established under section 10a-170v, as amended by this act.
Sec. 4. Section 10a-170v of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education is authorized to establish and administer a fund to be known as the Academic Scholarship Graduate Student Loan Program Fund. All academic scholarship graduate student loans and interest repayments made to the [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education shall be added to [this] said fund. The [Board of Regents for] Office of Higher Education may make expenditures from [this] said fund to provide for administrative and loan servicing costs. [This] Said fund shall not lapse or revert to the General Fund of the state.
Sec. 5. Section 10a-132a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The [Board of Regents for Higher Education] University of Connecticut shall establish at The University of Connecticut Health Center an endowed chair in infectious diseases in accordance with the provisions of subsections (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f) of section 10a-20a. The purpose of this endowed chair [will be] is to support a senior faculty member in the school of medicine who will direct programs in teaching, research and patient care in the area of infectious diseases. This chair [will] shall provide support for an investigator or investigators who [will] shall coordinate research activities into the microbiologic, immunologic and clinical aspects of infectious diseases, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome, at The University of Connecticut Health Center and its affiliated institutions. The investigators [will] shall provide a link between ongoing basic science research in infectious diseases and the clinical application of the new knowledge that is being generated. This position [will] shall be a focal point for infectious disease research in Connecticut.
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 10a-6a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) There is established a Higher Education Coordinating Council composed of: The vice-president for each constituent unit appointed pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10a-1b, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Commissioner of Education, the president of The University of Connecticut, the chief academic officer of The University of Connecticut, the chairperson of the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut, the chairperson of the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education. The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall call an annual meeting of the council.
Sec. 7. Section 10a-55j of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
[The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall require each] Each public institution of higher education and each independent institution of higher education that receives state funding [to] shall track the unique identifiers or state-assigned student identifiers, which are assigned by the Department of Education to public school students, of all in-state students of such institution until such students graduate from or terminate enrollment at such institution.
Sec. 8. Section 10a-33 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The Board of Regents for Higher Education, The University of Connecticut and the Office of Higher Education may enter into agreements with appropriate agencies and institutions of higher education in other states and foreign countries providing for the reciprocal exchange of students in higher educational institutions in this state and such other states or countries. Such agreements may include provisions for waiver or reduction of nonresident tuition for designated categories of students and may include contractual payments to such other state or country, subject to the availability of appropriations. Such agreements shall have as their purpose the mutual improvement of educational advantages for residents of this state and such other states or countries with whom agreements may be made.
Sec. 9. Subsection (b) of section 10a-51 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(b) The board of trustees of any such constituent unit may authorize the charging of a fee or schedule of fees to any person using any child care center operated by such constituent unit. [Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 10a-77, 10a-99 and 10a-105, the fixing of any such fee or schedule of fees shall not be subject to the approval of the Board of Regents for Higher Education. Any fees so charged at any such constituent unit shall be deposited in, and become a part of the resources of, the auxiliary services fund of such constituent unit, to be used for any noneducational aspects of any auxiliary services for which such fund is used.]
Sec. 10. Section 10-8c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The [Department of Education, in cooperation with the Board of Regents for Higher Education,] Office of Higher Education shall, within available appropriations, (1) establish an accelerated cross endorsement process for each subject shortage area pursuant to section 10-8b to allow certified teachers to add a new endorsement to their certificates, and (2) establish a program for formerly certified teachers to regain certification.
Sec. 11. Subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of section 10a-1e of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) Wherever the term "Board of Governors of Higher Education" is used or referred to in the following sections of the general statutes, the term "Board of Regents for Higher Education" shall be substituted in lieu thereof: 3-22e, 4-38c, 4-67x, 4-89, as amended by this act, 4-186, 4d-80, 4d-82, 5-160, 5-177, 10-16p, 10-19, 10-145a, 10-145b, 10-145m, 10-145n, 10-145p, [10-155e,] 10-155l, 10-183n, 10-220a, 10-235, 10a-6, 10a-7, 10a-10, 10a-12b, 10a-13, 10a-16, 10a-19i, 10a-20a, 10a-22, 10a-25j, [10a-25o, 10a-25p,] 10a-31, 10a-33, as amended by this act, 10a-36, 10a-42b, [10a-43,] 10a-44b, 10a-45, 10a-46, 10a-48, 10a-48b, [10a-49,] 10a-51, as amended by this act, 10a-54, 10a-66, 10a-74, 10a-78, 10a-132a, as amended by this act, 10a-149, 10a-161, 10a-162a, 10a-163, 10a-163b, 10a-166, 10a-168, 10a-169, 10a-170b, 10a-170d, 10a-170l, 10a-170m, 10a-170u, as amended by this act, 10a-170v, as amended by this act, 10a-170w, 10a-171, 10a-203, 10a-210, 12-407, 19a-75, 20-37a, 20-206bb, 30-20a and 52-279.
(b) Wherever the term "Department of Higher Education" is used or referred to in the following sections of the general statutes, the term "Board of Regents for Higher Education" shall be substituted in lieu thereof: 4-89, as amended by this act, 4-124x, 4-124y, 4-124aa, 4a-11, 4d-82, 5-155a, 5-198, 10-8c, as amended by this act, 10-76i, 10-145b, 10-221a, 10a-1, 10a-8b, 10a-8c, 10a-10, 10a-12, 10a-14, 10a-17, 10a-19c, 10a-19e, 10a-19f, 10a-19g, 10a-19i, 10a-25, [10a-25n,] 10a-48, 10a-54, 10a-55g, 10a-65, 10a-77a, 10a-99a, 10a-109i, 10a-151, [10a-161b,] 10a-163, 10a-163b, 10a-169a, 10a-169b, 10a-170a, 10a-170e, 10a-170i, as amended by this act, 10a-170l, 10a-170r, 10a-170t, as amended by this act, 10a-170u, as amended by this act, 11-1, 17a-52, 17a-215c and 20-206bb.
(c) Wherever the term "Commissioner of Higher Education" is used or referred to in the following sections of the general statutes, the term "president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education" shall be substituted in lieu thereof: 3-22e, 4-124x, 4-124y, 4-124aa, 10-1, 10-16p, 10-16z, 10a-19d, 10a-19e, 10a-19f, 10a-19h, 10a-48, 10a-48b, 10a-55a, 10a-77a, 10a-99a, 10a-109i, 10a-112g, 10a-144, 10a-150, as amended by this act, [10a-150b,] 10a-161a, [10a-161b,] 10a-163, 10a-169a, 10a-169b, 10a-170c, 10a-170d, 10a-170i, as amended by this act, [10a-170k,] 10a-170s, as amended by this act, 10a-170t, as amended by this act, 10a-203, 10a-224, 12-413b, 17a-52, 32-4f, 32-35 and 32-39.
Sec. 12. Subsection (f) of section 4-89 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to appropriations to the Office of Higher Education for student financial assistance for the scholarship program established under section 10a-169, or for the high technology graduate scholarship program established under section 10a-170a, to the Board of Regents for Higher Education for Connecticut higher education centers of excellence established under section 10a-25h, to the Office of Higher Education for the minority advancement program established under subsection (b) of section 10a-11, [to the Board of Regents for Higher Education for the high technology doctoral fellowship program established under section 10a-25n,] or to the operating funds of the constituent units of the state system of higher education established pursuant to sections 10a-105, 10a-99 and 10a-77. Such appropriations shall not lapse until the end of the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year of the appropriation except that centers of excellence appropriations deposited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education in the Endowed Chair Investment Fund, established under section 10a-20a, shall not lapse but shall be held permanently in the Endowed Chair Investment Fund and any moneys remaining in higher education operating funds of the constituent units of the state system of higher education shall not lapse but shall be held permanently in such funds. On or before September first, annually, the Office of Higher Education and Board of Regents for Higher Education shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, through the Office of Fiscal Analysis, concerning the amount of each such appropriation carried over from the preceding fiscal year.
Sec. 13. Section 10a-47 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
Sections 10a-45 to [10a-49] 10a-48, inclusive, shall not be interpreted to apply to any federal program under which funds are payable by grant, contract or otherwise to any specific institution of higher education and where the federal legislation, or administrative ruling pursuant thereto, authorizing or appropriating funds for such program does not require administrative action by the state as a condition to the determination to pay or the payment of such funds.
Sec. 14. Section 10a-150 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
The boards of trustees of each of the constituent units of the state system of higher education are empowered to accept, on behalf of the state, any gifts of lands, money or other property donated to the institutions under their control. Said boards shall direct the application, distribution or disbursement of such lands, money or other donated property, or the income therefrom, for any purpose connected with said institutions under their respective control, consistent with the conditions, if any, upon which the gift was created. The State Treasurer shall be advised of the receipt of any such gift of money and where practicable shall hold on behalf of the respective boards of trustees, any such gift of money or income therefrom. The approval of the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the State Properties Review Board under section 4b-23 where acquisitions of real estate are involved shall be required. [The president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall also be advised of any gift which is subject to the provisions of section 10a-150b.]
Sec. 15. Subsection (a) of section 10a-170i of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(a) Loan repayment and interest charges shall commence twelve months after the loan recipient has terminated full-time student status or five years after initial receipt of a loan under this program whichever occurs first. [, except as provided in section 10a-170k.] Each recipient who renders services as a certified teacher in a Connecticut public elementary or secondary school or nonpublic elementary or secondary school approved by the State Board of Education shall have the loan forgiven based upon the following schedule: Ten per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of one year of teaching in such a school on a full-time basis; twenty-five per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of two years of teaching in such a school on a full-time basis; forty-five per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of three years of teaching in such a school on a full-time basis; seventy per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of four years of teaching in such a school on a full-time basis; and one hundred per cent forgiveness upon the completion of five years of teaching in such a school on a full-time basis. The superintendent of public schools or the director of a nonpublic school or the person holding an equivalent position, who employs such teacher shall certify annually to the president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education or a designee of the president that the loan recipient has taught that year in a Connecticut public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school.
Sec. 16. Sections 10-155e, 10a-25n, 10a-25o, 10a-25p, 10a-43, 10a-49, 10a-150b, 10a-161b and 10a-170k are repealed. (Effective July 1, 2013)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-170s |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-170t |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-170u |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-170v |
Sec. 5 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-132a |
Sec. 6 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-6a(a) |
Sec. 7 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-55j |
Sec. 8 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-33 |
Sec. 9 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-51(b) |
Sec. 10 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-8c |
Sec. 11 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-1e(a) to (c) |
Sec. 12 |
July 1, 2013 |
4-89(f) |
Sec. 13 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-47 |
Sec. 14 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-150 |
Sec. 15 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-170i(a) |
Sec. 16 |
July 1, 2013 |
Repealer section |
Statement of Purpose:
To make clarifying changes to the higher education statutes in accordance with the higher education reorganization.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]