Full Text of HB0815 94th General Assembly
HB0815enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 40 and 45 as follows:
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| (110 ILCS 947/40)
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| Sec. 40. Illinois Veteran grant program . | 8 |
| (a) As used in this Section: | 9 |
| "Qualified applicant" means a person who served in the | 10 |
| Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the | 11 |
| Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard, excluding members | 12 |
| of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and those whose only | 13 |
| service has been attendance at a service academy, and who meets | 14 |
| all of the following qualifications: | 15 |
| (1) At the time of entering federal active duty service | 16 |
| the person was one of the following: | 17 |
| (A) An Illinois resident. | 18 |
| (B) An Illinois resident within 6 months of | 19 |
| entering such service. | 20 |
| (C) Enrolled at a State-controlled university or | 21 |
| public community college in this State. | 22 |
| (2) The person meets one of the following requirements: | 23 |
| (A) He or she served at least one year of federal | 24 |
| active duty. | 25 |
| (B) He or she served less than one year of federal | 26 |
| active duty and received an honorable discharge for | 27 |
| medical reasons directly connected with such service. | 28 |
| (C) He or she served less than one year of federal | 29 |
| active duty and was discharged prior to August 11, | 30 |
| 1967. | 31 |
| (D) He or she served less than one year of federal | 32 |
| active duty in a foreign country during a time of |
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| hostilities in that foreign country. | 2 |
| (3) The person received an honorable discharge after | 3 |
| leaving each period of federal active duty service. | 4 |
| (4) The person returned to this State within 6 months | 5 |
| after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married | 6 |
| to a person in continued military service stationed outside | 7 |
| this State, returned to this State within 6 months after | 8 |
| his or her spouse left service or was stationed within this | 9 |
| State. | 10 |
| "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces | 11 |
| of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a | 12 |
| Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order | 13 |
| and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other | 14 |
| campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential | 15 |
| executive order. | 16 |
| (b) A person who otherwise qualifies under subsection (a) | 17 |
| of this Section but has not left federal active duty service | 18 |
| and has served at least one year of federal active duty or has | 19 |
| served for less than one year of federal active duty in a | 20 |
| foreign country during a time of hostilities in that foreign | 21 |
| country and who can provide documentation demonstrating an | 22 |
| honorable service record is eligible to receive assistance | 23 |
| under this Section. | 24 |
| (c) A qualified applicant is not required to pay any | 25 |
| tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled | 26 |
| university or public community college in this State for a | 27 |
| period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, | 28 |
| including summer terms. | 29 |
| A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits | 30 |
| under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to | 31 |
| receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is enrolled | 32 |
| in a continuous program of study. The qualified applicant shall | 33 |
| no longer receive a grant covering non-mandatory fees if he or | 34 |
| she fails to enroll during an academic term, unless he or she | 35 |
| is serving federal active duty service.
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| (d) A qualified applicant who has been or is to be awarded |
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| assistance under this Section shall receive that assistance if | 2 |
| the qualified applicant notifies his or her postsecondary | 3 |
| institution of that fact by the end of the school term for | 4 |
| which assistance is requested. | 5 |
| (e) Assistance under this Section is considered an | 6 |
| entitlement that the State-controlled college or public | 7 |
| community college in which the qualified applicant is enrolled | 8 |
| shall honor without any condition other than the qualified | 9 |
| applicant's maintenance of minimum grade levels and a | 10 |
| satisfactory student loan repayment record pursuant to | 11 |
| subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act. | 12 |
| (f) The Commission shall administer the grant program | 13 |
| established by this Section and shall make all necessary and | 14 |
| proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its | 15 |
| effective implementation. | 16 |
| (g) All applications for assistance under this Section must | 17 |
| be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission shall | 18 |
| provide. The Commission shall determine the form of application | 19 |
| and the information required to be set forth in the | 20 |
| application, and the Commission shall require qualified | 21 |
| applicants to submit with their applications any supporting | 22 |
| documents that the Commission deems necessary. Upon request, | 23 |
| the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the Commission | 24 |
| in determining the eligibility of applicants for assistance | 25 |
| under this Section. | 26 |
| (h) Assistance under this Section is available as long as | 27 |
| the federal government provides educational benefits to | 28 |
| veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after | 29 |
| 6 months following the termination of educational benefits to | 30 |
| veterans by the federal government, except for persons who | 31 |
| already have begun their education with assistance under this | 32 |
| Section. If the federal government terminates educational | 33 |
| benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those | 34 |
| benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.
Any | 35 |
| person who served in the armed forces of the
United States, not | 36 |
| including members of the Student Army Training Corps, who at
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| the time of entering service was an Illinois resident or was an | 2 |
| Illinois
resident within 6 months of entering such service, and | 3 |
| who returned to Illinois
within 6 months after leaving service | 4 |
| or, if married to a person in continued
military service | 5 |
| stationed outside Illinois, within 6 months after his or her
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| spouse has left service or has been stationed within Illinois, | 7 |
| and who has been
honorably discharged from such service, and | 8 |
| who possesses all necessary
entrance requirements shall, | 9 |
| except as otherwise provided in this Act, upon
application and | 10 |
| proper proof, be awarded an Illinois Veteran Grant consisting
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| of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of full-time enrollment,
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| including summer terms, to the State-controlled college or | 13 |
| university or
community college of his choice. Such veterans | 14 |
| shall also be entitled, upon
proper proof and application, to | 15 |
| enroll in any extension course offered by a
State-controlled | 16 |
| college or university or community college without the payment
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| of tuition or fees.
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| Any veteran who so served, and who, at the time of entering | 19 |
| such service,
was a student at a State-controlled college or | 20 |
| university or community
college, and who was honorably | 21 |
| discharged from such service, shall, upon
application and | 22 |
| proper proof be awarded a Veteran Grant entitling
him to | 23 |
| complete his course of study at any State-controlled college or
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| university or community college of his choice, but shall not be | 25 |
| entitled to
a grant consisting of more than the equivalent of 4 | 26 |
| calendar years of
full-time enrollment including summer | 27 |
| sessions.
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| Any member of the armed forces of the United States who | 29 |
| either (i) has
served
in such armed forces at least one year, | 30 |
| or (ii) has served in the armed
forces of the United States for | 31 |
| less than one year in a time of
hostilities in a foreign | 32 |
| country, and
who would be qualified for a grant under this | 33 |
| Section if he had been discharged
from such service shall be | 34 |
| eligible to receive a Veteran Grant under this
Section.
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| The holder of a Veteran Grant to the State-controlled | 36 |
| college or
university or community college of his choice as |
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| authorized under this
Section shall not be required to pay any | 2 |
| matriculation or application
fees, tuition, activities fees, | 3 |
| graduation fees, or other fees except
multipurpose building | 4 |
| fees or similar fees for supplies and materials.
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| Any veteran who has been or shall be awarded a Veteran | 6 |
| Grant shall be
reimbursed by the appropriate college, | 7 |
| university, or community college for any
fees which he has paid | 8 |
| and for which exemption is granted under this Section,
if | 9 |
| application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following
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| the school
term for which the fees were paid.
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| A Veteran Grant shall be considered an entitlement which | 12 |
| the
State-controlled college or university or community | 13 |
| college in which the
holder is enrolled shall honor without any | 14 |
| condition other than the
holder's maintenance of minimum grade | 15 |
| levels and a satisfactory student
loan repayment record | 16 |
| pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20.
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| A grant authorized under this Section shall not be awarded | 18 |
| to
veterans who received a discharge from the armed forces of | 19 |
| the United
States under dishonorable conditions, or to any | 20 |
| veteran whose service with
the armed forces was for less than | 21 |
| one year unless he received an honorable
discharge from such | 22 |
| service for medical reasons directly connected with
such | 23 |
| service, except for those veterans discharged prior to August | 24 |
| 11, 1967
whose service may be for less than one year, and | 25 |
| except for those veterans
(i) who serve in the armed forces of | 26 |
| the United
States for less
than one year in a time of | 27 |
| hostilities in a foreign country and (ii) who receive an | 28 |
| honorable discharge.
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| The amounts that become due to any State-controlled college | 30 |
| or university
or community college shall be payable by the | 31 |
| Comptroller to that
institution on vouchers approved by the | 32 |
| Commission. The Commission, or its
designated representative | 33 |
| at that institution, shall determine the
eligibility of the | 34 |
| persons who make application for the benefits provided
for in | 35 |
| this Section. The Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist | 36 |
| the
Commission in determining the eligibility of applicants. On |
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| July 29,
1986, the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs | 2 |
| shall transfer and deliver
to the Commission all books, | 3 |
| records, papers, documents, applications and
pending business | 4 |
| in any way pertaining to the duties, responsibilities and
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| authority theretofore exercised or performed by the Illinois | 6 |
| Department of
Veterans' Affairs under and pursuant to Section | 7 |
| 4.1 of the Department of
Veterans Affairs Act.
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| The benefits provided for in this Section shall be | 9 |
| available as long as
the federal government provides | 10 |
| educational benefits to veterans. No
benefits shall be paid | 11 |
| under this Section, except for veterans who
already have begun | 12 |
| their education under this Section, after 6 months following
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| the termination of educational benefits to veterans by the | 14 |
| federal
government. If the federal government terminates | 15 |
| educational benefits to
veterans and at a later time resumes | 16 |
| those benefits, the benefits of this
Section shall resume.
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| As used in this Section, "time of hostilities in a foreign | 18 |
| country" means
any action by the armed forces of the United | 19 |
| States that is recognized by the
issuance of a Presidential | 20 |
| proclamation or a Presidential executive order and
in which the | 21 |
| armed forces expeditionary medal or other campaign service | 22 |
| medals
are awarded according to Presidential executive order.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-752, eff. 8-14-98; 91-496, eff. 8-13-99.)
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| (110 ILCS 947/45)
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| Sec. 45. Illinois National Guard grant program.
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| (a) As used in this Section:
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| "State controlled university or community college" means | 28 |
| those
institutions under the administration of the Chicago | 29 |
| State University Board
of Trustees, the Eastern Illinois | 30 |
| University Board of Trustees, the Governors
State University | 31 |
| Board of Trustees, the Illinois State University Board of
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| Trustees, the Northeastern Illinois University Board of | 33 |
| Trustees, the Northern
Illinois University Board of Trustees, | 34 |
| the Western Illinois University Board of
Trustees, Southern | 35 |
| Illinois University
Board of Trustees, University of Illinois |
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| Board of Trustees, or the Illinois
Community College Board.
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| "Tuition and fees" shall not include expenses for any | 3 |
| sectarian
or denominational instruction, the construction or | 4 |
| maintenance of sectarian
or denominational facilities, or any | 5 |
| other sectarian or denominational
purposes or activity.
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| "Fees" means matriculation, graduation, activity, term, or | 7 |
| incidental fees.
Exemption shall not be granted from any other | 8 |
| fees, including book rental,
service, laboratory, supply, and | 9 |
| union building fees, hospital and medical
insurance fees, and | 10 |
| any fees established for the operation and maintenance of
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| buildings, the income of which is pledged to the payment of | 12 |
| interest and
principal on bonds issued by the governing board | 13 |
| of any university or community
college.
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| (b) Any enlisted person or
any company grade officer,
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| including warrant officers, First and Second Lieutenants, and | 16 |
| Captains in
the Army and Air National Guard, who has served at | 17 |
| least one
year in the
Illinois National Guard and who possesses | 18 |
| all necessary
entrance requirements shall, upon application | 19 |
| and proper proof, be
awarded a grant to the State-controlled | 20 |
| university or community
college of his or her choice, | 21 |
| consisting of exemption from tuition and
fees for not more than | 22 |
| the equivalent of 4 years of full-time enrollment , including | 23 |
| summer terms,
in relation to his or her course of study at that | 24 |
| State controlled
university or community college while he or | 25 |
| she is a member of the Illinois
National Guard. Except as | 26 |
| otherwise provided in this Section, if the recipient of any | 27 |
| grant awarded under this Section
ceases to be a member of the | 28 |
| Illinois National Guard while enrolled in a
course of study | 29 |
| under that grant, the grant shall be terminated as of the date
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| membership in the Illinois National Guard ended, and the | 31 |
| recipient shall be
permitted to complete the school term in | 32 |
| which he or she is then enrolled only
upon payment of tuition | 33 |
| and other fees allocable to the part of the term then
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| remaining.
If the recipient of a grant awarded under this | 35 |
| Section ceases to be a member of the Illinois National Guard | 36 |
| while enrolled in a course of study under that grant but (i) |
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| has served in the Illinois National Guard for at least 5 years | 2 |
| and (ii) has served a cumulative total of at least 6 months of | 3 |
| active duty, then that recipient shall continue to be eligible | 4 |
| for a grant for one year after membership in the Illinois | 5 |
| National Guard ended, provided that the recipient has not | 6 |
| already received the exemption from tuition and fees for the | 7 |
| equivalent of 4 years of full-time enrollment , including summer | 8 |
| terms, under this Section. If the recipient of the grant fails | 9 |
| to complete his or her
military
service obligations or | 10 |
| requirements for satisfactory participation, the
Department of | 11 |
| Military Affairs shall require the recipient to repay the | 12 |
| amount
of the grant received, prorated according to the | 13 |
| fraction of the service
obligation not completed, and, if | 14 |
| applicable, reasonable collection fees. The
Department of | 15 |
| Military Affairs may adopt rules relating to its
collection | 16 |
| activities for repayment of the grant under this Section.
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| Unsatisfactory participation shall be defined by rules adopted
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| by the Department of Military Affairs. Repayments shall be | 19 |
| deposited
in the National Guard Grant Fund. The National Guard | 20 |
| Grant Fund is created as
a special fund in the State treasury. | 21 |
| All money in the National Guard Grant
Fund shall be used, | 22 |
| subject to appropriation, by the Illinois Student Assistance | 23 |
| Commission for the purposes of this Section.
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| A grant awarded under this Section shall be considered an | 25 |
| entitlement
which the State-controlled university or community | 26 |
| college in which the
holder is enrolled shall honor without any | 27 |
| condition other than the
holder's maintenance of minimum grade | 28 |
| levels and a satisfactory student
loan repayment record | 29 |
| pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20 of this
Act.
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| (c) Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes, | 31 |
| the
Commission may reimburse the State-controlled university | 32 |
| or community
college for grants authorized by this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-589, eff. 7-1-02; 93-838, eff. 7-30-04; | 34 |
| 93-856, eff. 8-3-04; revised 10-22-04.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
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| 2005.
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