HB1397 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 06187 NHT 26246 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB1397

Introduced 2/6/2015, by Rep. Thaddeus Jones

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
105 ILCS 5/30-12	from Ch. 122, par. 30-12
105 ILCS 5/30-12.5
105 ILCS 5/30-13	from Ch. 122, par. 30-13
105 ILCS 5/30-13.5

Amends the School Code. Allows each member of the General Assembly to nominate persons from his or her district, which persons shall receive a certificate of scholarship in a State university designated by the member. Sets forth provisions concerning such nominations, including the number of persons a member may nominate and the length of the scholarships. Provides for the waiver of confidentiality as a condition of nomination. Provides for the use of a scholarship, including that the scholarship exempts the holder from the payment of tuition and fees.

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, 30-11, 30-12, 30-12.5, 30-13, and 30-13.5 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 6 persons of school age and otherwise eligible from his or her district; 4 shall receive a one-year certificate of scholarship in any State university designated by the member and 2 shall receive a 4-year certificate of scholarship in any State university designated by the member. 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 or she must, before being entitled to the benefits of the scholarship, pass an examination given by the regional superintendent of schools of the county where he or she resides. The president of each university shall prescribe the rules governing the examination for scholarship to his or her university.

A member of the General Assembly may award the scholarship by competitive examination 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 that the 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 or her 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 that he or she 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 or her 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 or she was elected shall lapse upon the expiration of that term.

Any nominations made under this Section are subject to the approval of a bipartisan nomination review committee to be created jointly by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.

The General Assembly scholarship of a nominee shall be revoked upon a determination by the State Board of Education, after a hearing, that the member of the General Assembly making the nomination awarded the scholarship in a fraudulent manner. Upon revocation of the scholarship, the General Assembly member shall personally reimburse the university for the full amount of any tuition waived or he or she is thereafter ineligible for reelection as a member of the General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

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

Sec. 30-10. Filing nominations; failure nominations-Failure to accept or pass; second 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 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 to receive a General Assembly scholarship changes his or her residence to a location outside of the district from which he or she was nominated, his or her nominating member may terminate that scholarship at the conclusion of the academic year in which he or she is then enrolled. For purposes of this paragraph, a person changes his or her residence if he or she registers to vote in a location outside of the district from which he or she was nominated, but does not change his or her residence merely by taking off-campus housing or living in a non-university residence.

Any nominations made under this Section are subject to approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to Section 30-9 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

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

Sec. 30-11. Failure to use scholarship; further scholarship - Further nominations. If any nominee under Section 30-9 or 30-10 discontinues his or her course of instruction or fails to use the scholarship, leaving one, 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 or her district who shall be entitled to the scholarship for the unexpired period thereof. If a scholarship is vacated 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 or she is dead, 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 or her of the nomination, unless he or she has been granted a leave of absence in accordance with Section 30-14 or unless his or her absence is by reason of his or her 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.

Any nominations made under this Section are subject to approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to Section 30-9 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-12)

Sec. 30-12. Failure to begin or discontinuance of course because of military service. Any nominee, under Section 30-9, 30-10, or 30-11, who fails to begin or discontinues his or her course of instruction because of his or her entry into the military service of the United States, leaving all or a portion of the scholarship unused, may, upon completion of such service, use the scholarship or the unused portion thereof, regardless of whether or not the member of the General Assembly who nominated him or her is then a member; provided that during the nominee's period of military service, no other person may be nominated by such member to all or any portion of such unused or unfinished scholarship unless the nomination is accompanied either by a release of the original nominee or, if he or she is dead, an affidavit to that effect by some competent person.

Any nominations made under this Section are subject to approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to Section 30-9 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

(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, 30-11, or 30-12, 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 General Assembly 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 General Assembly scholarship, the domicile of the nominee is within the legislative district of the legislator making the scholarship nomination. 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 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 of his or her rights to confidentiality with respect to the contents of the waiver document.

(b) The General Assembly 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 General Assembly 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. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-13) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-13)

Sec. 30-13. Use of scholarship at public university. The scholarships issued under Sections 30-9 through 30-12 of this Article may be used at the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University as provided in those Sections. Unless otherwise indicated, these scholarships shall be good for a period of not more than 4 years while enrolled for residence credit and shall exempt the holder from the payment of tuition or any matriculation, graduation, activity, term, or incidental fee, except any portion of a multipurpose fee that is used for a purpose for which exemption is not granted under this Section. Exemption shall not be granted from any other fees, including book rental, service, laboratory, supply, union building, hospital, and medical insurance fees and any fees established for the operation and maintenance of buildings, the income of which is pledged to the payment of interest and principal on bonds issued by the governing board of any university.

Any student who has been or shall be awarded a scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate university for any fees that he or she has paid and for which exemption is granted under this Section if application for such reimbursement is made within 2 months following the term for which the fees were paid.

The holder of a scholarship shall be subject to all examinations, rules, and requirements of the university in which he or she is enrolled except as herein directed.

This Article does not prohibit the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, or Western Illinois University from granting other scholarships.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/30-13.5)

Sec. 30-13.5. General Assembly scholarship program previously abolished. Before September 1, 2012, each member of the General Assembly may nominate persons to receive a scholarship or certificate of scholarship under Sections 30-9, 30-10, 30-11, 30-12, 30-12.5, and 30-13 of this Code as they existed before July 11, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-772) this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. A person nominated to receive or awarded such a scholarship or certificate before September 1, 2012 is entitled to the scholarship under the terms of Sections 30-9, 30-10, 30-11, 30-12, 30-12.5, and 30-13 of this Code as they existed before July 11, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-772) this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and Section 30-14 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)