HB4193eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4193 Engrossed LRB095 14585 RAS 40498 b

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Baccalaureate Savings Act is amended by changing Section 8 as follows:

(110 ILCS 920/8) (from Ch. 144, par. 2408)

Sec. 8. Grant Program. The proceedings of the Governor and the Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget authorizing the issuance of College Savings Bonds shall also provide for a grant program of additional financial incentives to be provided to holders of such Bonds to encourage the enrollment of students at Institutions of Higher Education located in the State of Illinois. The Grant Program of financial incentives shall be administered by the State Scholarship Commission pursuant to administrative rules promulgated by the Commission. Such financial incentives shall be in such forms as determined by the Governor and the Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget at the time of the authorization of such College Savings Bonds and may include, among others, supplemental payments to the holders of such Bonds at maturity to be applied to tuition costs at institutions of higher education located in the State of Illinois. The Commission may establish, by rule, administrative procedures and eligibility criteria for the Grant Program, provided that such rules are consistent with the purposes of this Act. The Commission may require bond holders, institutions of higher education and other necessary parties to assist in the determination of eligibility for financial incentives under the Grant Program. All grants shall be subject to annual appropriation of funds for such purpose by the General Assembly; however, there shall be no expiration date placed on grants awarded under this Section and any person who is denied disbursement of a grant due to a lack of funding shall remain eligible for disbursement of that grant until such time as funding becomes available, provided that he or she properly applies for disbursement of the grant on an annual basis. Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor. Such financial incentives shall be provided only if, in the sole judgment of the Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, the cost of such incentives shall not cause the cost to the State of the proceeds of the College Savings Bonds being sold to be increased by more than 1/2 of 1%. No such financial incentives shall be paid to assist in the financing of the education of a student (i) in a school or department of divinity for any religious denomination or (ii) pursuing a course of study consisting of training to become a minister, priest, rabbi or other professional person in the field of religion.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)