SB0365eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0365 Engrossed LRB096 06396 RCE 16480 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections 30-9, 30-10, and 30-12.5 and by adding Section 30-12.7 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/30-9) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-9)

Sec. 30-9. General Assembly scholarship; conditions of admission; award by competitive examination.

Each member of the General Assembly may nominate annually 2 persons of school age and otherwise eligible, from his district; each shall receive a certificate of scholarship in any State supported university designated by the member. Any member of the General Assembly in making nominations under this Section may designate that his nominee be granted a 4 year scholarship or may instead designate 2 or 4 nominees for that particular scholarship, each to receive a 2 year or a one year scholarship, respectively. The nominee, if a graduate of a school accredited by the University to which nominated, shall be admitted to the university on the same conditions as to educational qualifications as are other graduates of accredited schools. If the nominee is not a graduate of a school accredited by the university to which nominated, he must, before being entitled to the benefits of the scholarship, pass an examination given by the superintendent of schools of the county where he resides at the time stated in Section 30-7 for the competitive examination. The president of each university shall prescribe the rules governing the examination for scholarship to his university.

A member of the General Assembly may award the scholarship by competitive examination conducted under like rules as prescribed in Section 30-7 even though one or more of the applicants are graduates of schools accredited by the university.

A member of the General Assembly may delegate to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission the authority to nominate persons for General Assembly scholarships which that member would otherwise be entitled to award, or may direct the Commission to evaluate and make recommendations to the member concerning candidates for such scholarships. In the event a member delegates his nominating authority or directs the Commission to evaluate and make recommendations concerning candidates for General Assembly scholarships, the member shall inform the Commission in writing of the criteria which he wishes the Commission to apply in nominating or recommending candidates. Those criteria may include some or all of the criteria provided in Section 25 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. A delegation of authority under this paragraph may be revoked at any time by the member.

A member of the General Assembly may forfeit the privilege of nominating persons for one or more scholarships in any year by so notifying the State Board of Education in writing. If not forfeited, then failure Failure of a member of the General Assembly to make a nomination in any year shall not cause that scholarship to lapse, but the member may make a nomination for such scholarship at any time thereafter before the expiration of his term, and the person so nominated shall be entitled to the same benefits as holders of other scholarships provided herein. Any such scholarship for which a member has made no nomination prior to the expiration of the term for which he was elected shall lapse upon the expiration of that term.

No member of the General Assembly shall nominate a person for a scholarship under this Section if that person or an immediate family member has made a contribution, as defined in the Election Code, during the then current calendar year or any of the previous 5 calendar years to a candidate political committee, as defined in the Election Code, of the member; except that this restriction does not apply to contributions made before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. No person or an immediate family member shall make a contribution, as defined by the Election Code, during any calendar year for which a scholarship has been awarded or any of the 5 following calendar years to a candidate political committee, as defined in the Election Code, of the member; except that this restriction does not apply to contributions made before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For the purposes of this Section and Sections 30-12.5 and 30-12.7, "immediate family member" means a spouse, parent, or any person living with a parent of the person seeking or awarded a General Assembly scholarship. A member of the General Assembly is prohibited from nominating a person for a scholarship under this Section if that person has not already been admitted to a State-supported university.

(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-10) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-10)

Sec. 30-10. Filing nominations-Failure to accept or pass-Second nomination.

Nominations, under Section 30-9, showing the name and address of the nominee, and the term of the scholarship, whether 4 years, 2 years or one year, must be filed with the State Superintendent of Education not later than the opening day of the semester or term with which the scholarship is to become effective. The State Superintendent of Education shall forthwith notify the president of the university of such nomination.

If the nominee fails to accept the nomination or, not being a graduate of a school accredited by the university, fails to pass the examination for admission, the president of the university shall at once notify the State Superintendent of Education. Upon receiving such notification, the State Superintendent of Education shall notify the nominating member, who may name another person for the scholarship. The second nomination must be received by the State Superintendent of Education not later than the middle of the semester or term with which the scholarship was to have become effective under the original nomination in order to become effective as of the opening date of such semester or term otherwise it shall not become effective until the beginning of the next semester or term following the making of the second nomination. Upon receiving such notification, the State Superintendent of Education shall notify the president of the university of such second nomination. If any person nominated after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1973 to receive a General Assembly scholarship changes his residence to a location outside of the district from which he was nominated, his nominating member shall may terminate that scholarship at the conclusion of the college year in which he is then enrolled. For purposes of this paragraph, a person changes his residence if he registers to vote in a location outside of the district from which he was nominated, but does not change his residence merely by taking off-campus housing or living in a nonuniversity residence.

(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-12.5)

Sec. 30-12.5. Waiver of confidentiality.

(a) As a condition of nomination for a General Assembly scholarship under Section 30-9, 30-10, or 30-11, each nominee shall provide to the member of the General Assembly making the nomination a waiver document stating that, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if the nominee receives a General Assembly scholarship, then the nominee waives all rights to confidentiality with respect to the contents of the waiver document. The waiver document shall state at a minimum the nominee's name, domicile address, attending university, degree program in which the nominee is enrolled, amount of tuition waived by the legislative scholarship and the name of the member of the General Assembly who is making the nomination. The waiver document shall also contain a statement by the nominee that, at the time of the nomination for the legislative scholarship, the domicile of the nominee is within the legislative district of the legislator making the scholarship nomination. The waiver document shall contain a statement by the nominee that the nominee has been admitted to a State-supported university. The waiver document shall also contain a statement by the nominee that neither the nominee nor an immediate family member has made a contribution in violation of Section 30-9. The waiver document must be signed by the nominee, and the nominee shall have his or her signature on the waiver document acknowledged before a notary public. The waiver document must be accompanied by an affidavit or certification as provided by Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The member of the General Assembly making the nomination shall file the signed, notarized waiver document, together with the nomination itself, with the State Superintendent of Education. By so filing the waiver document, the member waives all his or her rights to confidentiality with respect to the contents of the waiver document.

(b) The legislative scholarship of any nominee shall be revoked upon a determination by the State Board of Education after a hearing that the nominee knowingly provided false or misleading information on the waiver document. Upon revocation of the legislative scholarship, the scholarship nominee shall reimburse the university for the full amount of any tuition waived prior to revocation of the scholarship.

(c) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall prepare a form waiver document to be used as provided in subsection (a) and shall provide copies of the form upon request.

(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-12.7 new)

Sec. 30-12.7. Annual scholarship information document.

(a) As a condition of nomination for a General Assembly scholarship under Section 30-9, 30-10, or 30-11 of this Code, each nominee in receipt of a multi-year scholarship shall annually provide to the State Board of Education a scholarship information document. The document shall state, at a minimum, the nominee's name, domicile address, attending university, degree program in which the nominee is enrolled, amount of tuition waived by the legislative scholarship, and the name of the member of the General Assembly who is making the nomination. The document shall also contain a statement by the nominee that the domicile of the nominee is within the legislative district of the legislator making the scholarship nomination. The document shall also contain a statement by the nominee that neither the nominee nor an immediate family member has made a contribution in violation of Section 30-9. The document must be signed by the nominee. The document must be accompanied by an affidavit or certification as provided by Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(b) The State Board of Education shall promptly mail a copy of a nominee's scholarship information document to the member of the General Assembly who made that nomination.

(c) The legislative scholarship of any nominee shall be revoked upon a determination by the State Board of Education after a hearing that the nominee knowingly provided false or misleading information on the document. Upon revocation of the legislative scholarship, the scholarship nominee shall reimburse the University for the full amount of any tuition waived prior to revocation of the scholarship.

(d) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall prepare a form document to be used as provided in subsection (a) of this Section and shall provide copies of the form upon request.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.