HB6297 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 20964 NHT 36807 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB6297

Introduced 2/16/2010, by Rep. Mark L. Walker

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/30-9	from Ch. 122, par. 30-9
105 ILCS 5/30-10	from Ch. 122, par. 30-10
105 ILCS 5/30-11	from Ch. 122, par. 30-11

Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning on July 1, 2011, no scholarships may be awarded under provisions that permit members of the General Assembly to award scholarships to persons for attendance at a State sponsored university. A scholarship awarded before July 1, 2011 is valid until its stated term expires, but may not be renewed. Effective July 1, 2011.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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 30-11 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.

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.

Beginning on July 1, 2011, no scholarships may be awarded under this Section. However, a scholarship awarded under this Section before July 1, 2011 is valid until its stated term expires, but may not be renewed.

(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 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.

Beginning on July 1, 2011, no scholarships may be awarded under this Section. However, a scholarship awarded under this Section before July 1, 2011 is valid until its stated term expires, but may not be renewed.

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

(105 ILCS 5/30-11) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-11)

Sec. 30-11. Failure to use scholarship - Further nominations.

If any nominee under Section 30-9 or 30-10 discontinues his course of instruction or fails to use the scholarship, leaving 1, 2, 3, or 4 years thereof unused, the member of the General Assembly may, except as otherwise provided in this Article, nominate some other person eligible under this Article from his district who shall be entitled to the scholarship for the unexpired period thereof. Such appointment to an unexpired scholarship vacated before July 1, 1961, may be made only by the member of the General Assembly who made the original appointment and during the time he is such a member. If a scholarship is vacated on or after July 1, 1961, and the member of the General Assembly who made the original appointment has ceased to be a member, some eligible person may be nominated in the following manner to fill the vacancy: If the original appointment was made by a Senator, such nomination shall be made by the Senator from the same district; if the original appointment was made by a Representative, such nomination shall be made by the Representative from the same district. Every nomination to fill a vacancy must be accompanied either by a release of the original nominee or if he is dead then an affidavit to that effect by some competent person. The failure of a nominee to register at the university within 20 days after the opening of any semester or term shall be deemed a release by him of the nomination, unless he has been granted a leave of absence in accordance with Section 30-14 or unless his absence is by reason of his entry into the military service of the United States. The university shall immediately upon the expiration of 20 days after the beginning of the semester or term notify the State Board of Education as to the status of each scholarship, who shall forthwith notify the nominating member of any nominee's failure to register or, if the nominating member has ceased to be a member of the General Assembly, shall notify the member or members entitled to make the nomination to fill the vacancy. All nominations to unused or unexpired scholarships shall be effective as of the opening of the semester or term of the university during which they are made if they are filed with the university during the first half of the semester or term, otherwise they shall not be effective until the opening of the next following semester or term.

Beginning on July 1, 2011, no scholarships may be awarded under this Section. However, a scholarship awarded under this Section before July 1, 2011 is valid until its stated term expires, but may not be renewed.

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

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2011.