Full Text of HB4209 96th General Assembly
HB4209 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB4209
Introduced 2/27/2009, by Rep. Mike Bost - Ronald A. Wait - Harry R. Ramey, Jr. - JoAnn D. Osmond - Jerry L. Mitchell, et al. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
|
110 ILCS 947/40 |
|
110 ILCS 947/45 |
|
|
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With respect to Veteran grants and Illinois National Guard and Naval Militia grants, Provides that a person who otherwise qualifies for a grant may relinquish his or her entitlement to the grant and instead transfer that entitlement to his or her spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child. Effective July 1, 2009.
|
| |
|
|
| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
|
|
A BILL FOR
|
|
|
|
|
HB4209 |
|
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 |
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 |
| Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 40 and 45 as follows:
| 6 |
| (110 ILCS 947/40)
| 7 |
| 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 |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| active duty. | 2 |
| (B) He or she served less than one year of federal | 3 |
| active duty and received an honorable discharge for | 4 |
| medical reasons directly connected with such service. | 5 |
| (C) He or she served less than one year of federal | 6 |
| active duty and was discharged prior to August 11, | 7 |
| 1967. | 8 |
| (D) He or she served less than one year of federal | 9 |
| active duty in a foreign country during a time of | 10 |
| hostilities in that foreign country. | 11 |
| (3) The person received an honorable discharge after | 12 |
| leaving each period of federal active duty service. | 13 |
| (4) The person returned to this State within 6 months | 14 |
| after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married | 15 |
| to a person in continued military service stationed outside | 16 |
| this State, returned to this State within 6 months after | 17 |
| his or her spouse left service or was stationed within this | 18 |
| State. | 19 |
| "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces | 20 |
| of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a | 21 |
| Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order | 22 |
| and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other | 23 |
| campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential | 24 |
| executive order. | 25 |
| (b) A person who otherwise qualifies under subsection (a) | 26 |
| of this Section but has not left federal active duty service |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| and has served at least one year of federal active duty or has | 2 |
| served for less than one year of federal active duty in a | 3 |
| foreign country during a time of hostilities in that foreign | 4 |
| country and who can provide documentation demonstrating an | 5 |
| honorable service record is eligible to receive assistance | 6 |
| under this Section. | 7 |
| (b-5) A person who otherwise qualifies for a grant under | 8 |
| subsection (a) of (b) of this Section may relinquish his or her | 9 |
| entitlement to the grant and instead transfer that entitlement | 10 |
| to his or her spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or | 11 |
| step-child. | 12 |
| (c) A qualified applicant is not required to pay any | 13 |
| tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled | 14 |
| university or public community college in this State for a | 15 |
| period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, | 16 |
| including summer terms. | 17 |
| A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits | 18 |
| under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to | 19 |
| receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is enrolled | 20 |
| in a continuous program of study. The qualified applicant shall | 21 |
| no longer receive a grant covering non-mandatory fees if he or | 22 |
| she fails to enroll during an academic term, unless he or she | 23 |
| is serving federal active duty service.
| 24 |
| (d) A qualified applicant who has been or is to be awarded | 25 |
| assistance under this Section shall receive that assistance if | 26 |
| the qualified applicant notifies his or her postsecondary |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 4 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| institution of that fact by the end of the school term for | 2 |
| which assistance is requested. | 3 |
| (e) Assistance under this Section is considered an | 4 |
| entitlement that the State-controlled college or public | 5 |
| community college in which the qualified applicant is enrolled | 6 |
| shall honor without any condition other than the qualified | 7 |
| applicant's maintenance of minimum grade levels and a | 8 |
| satisfactory student loan repayment record pursuant to | 9 |
| subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act. | 10 |
| (f) The Commission shall administer the grant program | 11 |
| established by this Section and shall make all necessary and | 12 |
| proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its | 13 |
| effective implementation. | 14 |
| (g) All applications for assistance under this Section must | 15 |
| be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission shall | 16 |
| provide. The Commission shall determine the form of application | 17 |
| and the information required to be set forth in the | 18 |
| application, and the Commission shall require qualified | 19 |
| applicants to submit with their applications any supporting | 20 |
| documents that the Commission deems necessary. Upon request, | 21 |
| the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the Commission | 22 |
| in determining the eligibility of applicants for assistance | 23 |
| under this Section. | 24 |
| (h) Assistance under this Section is available as long as | 25 |
| the federal government provides educational benefits to | 26 |
| veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 5 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| 6 months following the termination of educational benefits to | 2 |
| veterans by the federal government, except for persons who | 3 |
| already have begun their education with assistance under this | 4 |
| Section. If the federal government terminates educational | 5 |
| benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those | 6 |
| benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.
| 7 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-583, eff. 8-15-05.)
| 8 |
| (110 ILCS 947/45)
| 9 |
| Sec. 45. Illinois National Guard and Naval Militia grant | 10 |
| program.
| 11 |
| (a) As used in this Section:
| 12 |
| "State controlled university or community college" means | 13 |
| those
institutions under the administration of the Chicago | 14 |
| State University Board
of Trustees, the Eastern Illinois | 15 |
| University Board of Trustees, the Governors
State University | 16 |
| Board of Trustees, the Illinois State University Board of
| 17 |
| Trustees, the Northeastern Illinois University Board of | 18 |
| Trustees, the Northern
Illinois University Board of Trustees, | 19 |
| the Western Illinois University Board of
Trustees, Southern | 20 |
| Illinois University
Board of Trustees, University of Illinois | 21 |
| Board of Trustees, or the Illinois
Community College Board.
| 22 |
| "Tuition and fees" shall not include expenses for any | 23 |
| sectarian
or denominational instruction, the construction or | 24 |
| maintenance of sectarian
or denominational facilities, or any | 25 |
| other sectarian or denominational
purposes or activity.
|
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 6 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| "Fees" means matriculation, graduation, activity, term, or | 2 |
| incidental fees.
Exemption shall not be granted from any other | 3 |
| fees, including book rental,
service, laboratory, supply, and | 4 |
| union building fees, hospital and medical
insurance fees, and | 5 |
| any fees established for the operation and maintenance of
| 6 |
| buildings, the income of which is pledged to the payment of | 7 |
| interest and
principal on bonds issued by the governing board | 8 |
| of any university or community
college.
| 9 |
| (b) Any person who has served at least one
year in the
| 10 |
| Illinois National Guard or the Illinois Naval Militia and who | 11 |
| possesses all necessary
entrance requirements shall, upon | 12 |
| application and proper proof, be
awarded a grant to the | 13 |
| State-controlled university or community
college of his or her | 14 |
| choice, consisting of exemption from tuition and
fees for not | 15 |
| more than the equivalent of 4 years of full-time enrollment, | 16 |
| including summer terms,
in relation to his or her course of | 17 |
| study at that State controlled
university or community college | 18 |
| while he or she is a member of the Illinois
National Guard or | 19 |
| the Illinois Naval Militia. Except as otherwise provided in | 20 |
| this Section, if the recipient of any grant awarded under this | 21 |
| Section
ceases to be a member of the Illinois National Guard or | 22 |
| the Illinois Naval Militia while enrolled in a
course of study | 23 |
| under that grant, the grant shall be terminated as of the date
| 24 |
| membership in the Illinois National Guard or the Illinois Naval | 25 |
| Militia ended, and the recipient shall be
permitted to complete | 26 |
| the school term in which he or she is then enrolled only
upon |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 7 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| payment of tuition and other fees allocable to the part of the | 2 |
| term then
remaining.
If the recipient of a grant awarded under | 3 |
| this Section ceases to be a member of the Illinois National | 4 |
| Guard or the Illinois Naval Militia while enrolled in a course | 5 |
| of study under that grant but (i) has served in the Illinois | 6 |
| National Guard or the Illinois Naval Militia for at least 5 | 7 |
| years and (ii) has served a cumulative total of at least 6 | 8 |
| months of active duty, then that recipient shall continue to be | 9 |
| eligible for a grant for one year after membership in the | 10 |
| Illinois National Guard or the Illinois Naval Militia ended, | 11 |
| provided that the recipient has not already received the | 12 |
| exemption from tuition and fees for the equivalent of 4 years | 13 |
| of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, under this | 14 |
| Section. If the recipient of the grant fails to complete his or | 15 |
| her
military
service obligations or requirements for | 16 |
| satisfactory participation, the
Department of Military Affairs | 17 |
| shall require the recipient to repay the amount
of the grant | 18 |
| received, prorated according to the fraction of the service
| 19 |
| obligation not completed, and, if applicable, reasonable | 20 |
| collection fees. The
Department of Military Affairs may adopt | 21 |
| rules relating to its
collection activities for repayment of | 22 |
| the grant under this Section.
Unsatisfactory participation | 23 |
| shall be defined by rules adopted
by the Department of Military | 24 |
| Affairs. Repayments shall be deposited
in the National Guard | 25 |
| and Naval Militia Grant Fund. The National Guard and Naval | 26 |
| Militia Grant Fund is created as
a special fund in the State |
|
|
|
HB4209 |
- 8 - |
LRB096 08833 NHT 18967 b |
|
| 1 |
| treasury. All money in the National Guard and Naval Militia
| 2 |
| Grant
Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the | 3 |
| Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the purposes of this | 4 |
| Section.
| 5 |
| A grant awarded under this Section shall be considered an | 6 |
| entitlement
which the State-controlled university or community | 7 |
| college in which the
holder is enrolled shall honor without any | 8 |
| condition other than the
holder's maintenance of minimum grade | 9 |
| levels and a satisfactory student
loan repayment record | 10 |
| pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20 of this
Act.
| 11 |
| (c) Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes, | 12 |
| the
Commission may reimburse the State-controlled university | 13 |
| or community
college for grants authorized by this Section.
| 14 |
| (d) A person who otherwise qualifies for a grant under | 15 |
| subsection (b) of this Section may relinquish his or her | 16 |
| entitlement to the grant and instead transfer that entitlement | 17 |
| to his or her spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or | 18 |
| step-child. | 19 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-838, eff. 7-30-04; 93-856, eff. 8-3-04; | 20 |
| 94-583, eff. 8-15-05; 94-1020, eff. 7-11-06.)
| 21 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | 22 |
| 2009.
|
|