99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB3534

 

Introduced , by Rep. Esther Golar

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With respect to the Monetary Award Program, provides that if an applicant is eligible for a grant under the Program but is not offered a grant due to insufficient appropriations for the Program, then the applicant is entitled to State reimbursement the following fiscal year in an amount equal to the grant amount he or she would have received had he or she been offered a grant.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/35)
7    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14    permanent resident of the United States; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice.
19    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
20student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
21the applicant:
22        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
23        (2) remains a resident of this State; and

 

 

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1        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
2    warrant assistance.
3    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
4necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
5amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
6the following amounts:
7        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
8    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
9    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
10    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
11    academic year;
12        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
13    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
14    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
15        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
16    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
17    resources.
18    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
19students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
20must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
21by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
22this subsection (c).
23    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
24include the customary charge for instruction and use of
25facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
26for specified purposes, which are required generally of

 

 

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1nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
2grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
3payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
4deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
5Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
6Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
7tuition and other necessary fees.
8    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
9scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary
10award program consideration under this Act after receiving a
11baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
12hours of award payments.
13    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
14be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
15the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
16shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
17upon the availability of appropriated funds. If an applicant is
18eligible for a grant under this Section but is not offered a
19grant due to insufficient appropriations for the program, then
20the applicant is entitled to State reimbursement the following
21fiscal year, by filing a claim with the Commission, in an
22amount equal to the grant amount he or she would have received
23had he or she been offered a grant.
24    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
25important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
26access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary

 

 

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1education immediately following high school and for those who
2pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
3Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
4who are seeking to improve their economic position through
5education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
6Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
7the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
8applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
9financial assistance even if applying later than the general
10pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
11include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
12estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
13who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
14announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
15to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
16this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
17federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
18    (f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit
19into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited
20into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be expended
21exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award Program
22grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the Monetary
23Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current
24annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
25    The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is
26to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students

 

 

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1as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program
2grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.
3Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance
4the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,
5minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of
6adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary
7Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
8    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
9make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
10institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
11Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
12for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
13        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
14    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
15    students who have attained an associate degree.
16        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
17    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
18    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
19    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
20    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
21        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
22    eligible students.
23(Source: P.A. 98-967, eff. 8-15-14.)