Full Text of HB4364 93rd General Assembly
HB4364 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004 HB4364
Introduced 02/03/04, by Naomi D. Jakobsson SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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110 ILCS 979/5 |
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110 ILCS 979/10 |
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110 ILCS 979/15 |
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110 ILCS 979/35 |
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110 ILCS 979/45 |
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Amends the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act. Provides that at the purchaser's option, the Illinois prepaid tuition program must cover an institution of higher education's room and board charges. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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HB4364 |
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LRB093 15967 NHT 41590 b |
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| AN ACT concerning higher 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 Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 35, and 45 as follows:
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| (110 ILCS 979/5)
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| Sec. 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds and declares | 8 |
| that the
general welfare and security of the State are enhanced | 9 |
| by access to higher
education for all residents of the State | 10 |
| who desire that education and who
demonstrate the | 11 |
| qualifications necessary to pursue that education.
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| Furthermore, it is desirable that residents of the State who | 13 |
| seek to pursue
higher education be able to choose attendance at | 14 |
| the higher education
institution that offers programs and | 15 |
| services most suitable to their needs.
Accordingly, endeavors | 16 |
| that serve the higher education needs of the people of
the | 17 |
| State represent an essential function of State government.
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| During the past decade, students have been paying more and | 19 |
| borrowing more to
finance the increasing cost of higher | 20 |
| education at Illinois colleges and
universities as well as at | 21 |
| similar institutions nationwide.
Federal and state | 22 |
| governments' capacity to fund college scholarships and
grants | 23 |
| cannot fully meet the current and future demand for higher | 24 |
| education nor
is it reasonable to expect that paying for | 25 |
| college is solely a governmental
responsibility. It is -- and | 26 |
| has always been -- a shared responsibility among
the student, | 27 |
| the family, State government, and the federal government.
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| Consequently, the intent of this Act is to both encourage and
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| better enable Illinois families to help themselves finance the | 30 |
| cost of higher
education, specifically through a program that | 31 |
| provides Illinois families with
a method of State tax-free and | 32 |
| federally tax-deferred savings for college
tuition and room and |
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| board charges .
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| (Source: P.A. 90-546, eff. 12-1-97.)
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| (110 ILCS 979/10)
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| Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
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| "Illinois public university" means the University of | 6 |
| Illinois, Illinois State
University, Chicago State University, | 7 |
| Governors State University, Southern
Illinois University, | 8 |
| Northern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University,
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| Western Illinois University, or Northeastern Illinois | 10 |
| University.
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| "Illinois community college" means a public community | 12 |
| college as defined in
Section 1-2 of the Public Community | 13 |
| College Act.
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| "MAP-eligible institution" means a public institution of | 15 |
| higher
education or a nonpublic institution of higher education | 16 |
| whose students are
eligible to receive need-based student | 17 |
| financial assistance through State
Monetary Award Program | 18 |
| (MAP) grants administered by the Illinois Student
Assistance | 19 |
| Commission under the Higher Education Student Assistance Act
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| and whose students also are eligible to receive benefits under | 21 |
| Section 529(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as | 22 |
| specified by the federal Small
Business Act of
1996 and | 23 |
| subsequent amendments to this federal law.
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| "Illinois prepaid tuition contract" or "contract" means a | 25 |
| contract entered
into between the State and a Purchaser under | 26 |
| Section 45 to provide for the
higher education of a qualified | 27 |
| beneficiary.
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| "Illinois prepaid tuition program" or "program" means the | 29 |
| program created in
Section 15.
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| "Purchaser" means a person who makes or has contracted to | 31 |
| make payments under
an Illinois prepaid tuition contract.
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| "Public institution of higher education" means an Illinois | 33 |
| public university
or Illinois community college.
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| "Nonpublic institution of higher education" means any | 35 |
| MAP-eligible
educational organization, other than a public |
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| institution of higher education,
that provides a minimum of an | 2 |
| organized 2-year
program at the postsecondary level and that | 3 |
| operates in conformity with
standards substantially equivalent | 4 |
| to those of public institutions of higher
education.
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| "Qualified beneficiary" means (i) anyone who has been a | 6 |
| resident of this
State for at least 12 months prior to the date | 7 |
| of the contract, or (ii) a
nonresident, so long as the | 8 |
| purchaser has been a resident of the State for at
least 12 | 9 |
| months prior to the date of the contract, or (iii) any person | 10 |
| less
than one year of age whose parent or legal guardian has | 11 |
| been a resident of this
State for at least 12 months prior
to | 12 |
| the date of the contract.
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| "Tuition" means the quarter or semester charges imposed on | 14 |
| a qualified
beneficiary to attend a MAP-eligible institution.
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| "Mandatory Fees" means those quarter or semester fees | 16 |
| imposed upon all
students enrolled at a MAP-eligible | 17 |
| institution.
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| "Registration Fees" means the charges derived by combining | 19 |
| tuition and
mandatory fees and, if applicable, an institution | 20 |
| of higher education's room and board charges .
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| "Contract Unit" means 15 credit hours of instruction at a | 22 |
| MAP-eligible
institution.
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| "Panel" means the investment advisory panel created under | 24 |
| Section 20.
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| "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance | 26 |
| Commission.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-56, eff. 7-1-03.)
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| (110 ILCS 979/15)
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| Sec. 15. Creation of Illinois prepaid tuition program. | 30 |
| There is created
the Illinois prepaid tuition program to be | 31 |
| administered by the Illinois Student
Assistance Commission.
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| This program is to be administered so that the full cost of | 33 |
| tuition
and mandatory fees and, at the purchaser's option, full | 34 |
| room and board charges at Illinois public universities and | 35 |
| Illinois community
colleges may be paid in advance of |
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| enrollment
through the prior purchase of an Illinois prepaid | 2 |
| tuition contract. The
Commission may enter into contracts as | 3 |
| may be
necessary to provide for administration of the program | 4 |
| and shall develop and
implement rules and regulations necessary | 5 |
| for the efficient administration of
the program.
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| All reasonable charges incidental to the administration of | 7 |
| the program by the
Commission shall be paid in the initial | 8 |
| start-up period for the program's
operation from
the General | 9 |
| Revenue Fund, pursuant to appropriations made for that purpose | 10 |
| by
the General Assembly. Those charges and expenses in | 11 |
| subsequent years shall be
paid exclusively from the Illinois | 12 |
| Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund established by
Section 35 of this | 13 |
| Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-546, eff. 12-1-97.)
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| (110 ILCS 979/35)
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| Sec. 35. Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund.
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| (a) The Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund is created as | 18 |
| the repository
of all moneys received by the Commission in | 19 |
| conjunction with the Illinois
prepaid
tuition program. The | 20 |
| Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund also shall be the
official | 21 |
| repository of all contributions, appropriations, interest and | 22 |
| dividend
payments, gifts, or other financial assets received by | 23 |
| the Commission in
connection with operation of the Illinois | 24 |
| prepaid tuition program. All such
moneys shall be deposited in | 25 |
| the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund
and held by the State | 26 |
| Treasurer as ex-officio custodian thereof, outside of the
State | 27 |
| Treasury, separate and apart from all public moneys or funds of | 28 |
| this
State.
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| All interest or other earnings accruing or received on | 30 |
| amounts in the
Illinois Prepaid
Tuition Trust Fund shall be | 31 |
| credited to and retained by the Fund. Moneys,
interest, or | 32 |
| other earnings paid into the Fund shall not be transferred or
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| allocated by the Commission, the State Treasurer, or the State
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| Comptroller
to any other fund, nor shall the Governor authorize | 35 |
| any such transfer or
allocation,
while any contracts are |
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| outstanding. The State Comptroller shall not offset
moneys paid | 2 |
| to institutions from the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund
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| (unless the Trust Fund
moneys are used for child support).
In
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| addition, no
moneys,
interest, or
other earnings paid into the | 5 |
| Fund shall be used, temporarily or otherwise, for
interfund | 6 |
| borrowing or be
otherwise used or appropriated except as | 7 |
| expressly authorized in this Act.
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| The Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund and each individual | 9 |
| participant
account that
may be created in that Fund in | 10 |
| conjunction with the Illinois prepaid tuition
program shall be | 11 |
| subject to audit in the same manner as funds and accounts
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| belonging to
the State of Illinois and shall be protected by | 13 |
| the official bond given by the
State Treasurer.
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| (b) The Commission from time to time shall direct the State | 15 |
| Treasurer to
invest moneys in the Illinois Prepaid Tuition | 16 |
| Trust Fund that are not needed
for immediate disbursement, in | 17 |
| accordance with provisions of the investment
plan approved by | 18 |
| the Commission.
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| (c) The Executive Director of the Commission shall, at such | 20 |
| times and in
such amounts as shall
be necessary, prepare and | 21 |
| send to the State Comptroller vouchers requesting
payment from | 22 |
| the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund for: (i) tuition ,
and
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| fee , and room and board payments to MAP-eligible institutions | 24 |
| on behalf of qualified beneficiaries of
Illinois
prepaid | 25 |
| tuition contracts, and (ii) payments associated with | 26 |
| administration of
the Illinois prepaid tuition program.
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| (d) The Governor shall indicate in a separate document | 28 |
| submitted concurrent
with each annual State budget the | 29 |
| estimated
amount of moneys in the Illinois Prepaid Tuition | 30 |
| Trust Fund which shall be
necessary and sufficient, during that | 31 |
| State fiscal year, to discharge all
obligations anticipated | 32 |
| under Illinois prepaid tuition contracts. The Governor
also | 33 |
| shall indicate in a separate document submitted concurrent with | 34 |
| each
annual State budget the amount of moneys from the
Illinois | 35 |
| Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund necessary to cover anticipated | 36 |
| expenses
associated with administration of the program.
The |
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| Commission shall obtain concurrence from a nationally | 2 |
| recognized actuary
as to all amounts necessary for the program | 3 |
| to meet its obligations. These
amounts shall be certified | 4 |
| annually to the Governor by the Commission no later
than | 5 |
| January 30.
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| During the first 18 months of operation of the Illinois | 7 |
| prepaid tuition
program,
the Governor shall request an | 8 |
| appropriation to the Commission from general
funds sufficient | 9 |
| to pay for start-up costs associated with establishment of the
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| program.
This appropriation constitutes a loan that shall be | 11 |
| repaid to the General
Revenue Fund within 5 years by the | 12 |
| Commission from prepaid tuition program
contributions.
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| Subsequent program administrative costs shall be provided from
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| reasonable fees and charges equitably assessed to purchasers of | 15 |
| prepaid tuition
contracts.
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| (e) If the Commission determines that there are | 17 |
| insufficient moneys in
the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund | 18 |
| to pay contractual obligations in the
next succeeding fiscal | 19 |
| year, the Commission shall certify the amount necessary
to meet | 20 |
| these obligations to the Board of Higher Education, the | 21 |
| Governor, the
President of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the | 22 |
| House of
Representatives. The Governor shall submit the amount | 23 |
| so certified to the
General Assembly as soon as practicable, | 24 |
| but no later than the end of the
current State fiscal year.
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| (f) In the event the Commission, with the concurrence of | 26 |
| the
Governor, determines the program to be financially | 27 |
| infeasible, the Commission
may discontinue, prospectively, the | 28 |
| operation of the program. Any qualified
beneficiary who has | 29 |
| been accepted by and is enrolled or will within 5 years
enroll | 30 |
| at a MAP-eligible institution shall be entitled to
exercise the | 31 |
| complete benefits specified in the Illinois prepaid tuition
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| contract. All other contract holders shall receive an | 33 |
| appropriate refund of
all contributions and accrued interest up | 34 |
| to the time that the program is
discontinued.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-56, eff. 7-1-03.)
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| (110 ILCS 979/45)
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| Sec. 45. Illinois prepaid tuition contracts.
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| (a) The Commission may enter into an Illinois prepaid | 4 |
| tuition contract with
a purchaser under which the Commission | 5 |
| contracts on behalf of the State to pay
full tuition and | 6 |
| mandatory fees and, if the purchaser has opted, full room and | 7 |
| board charges at an Illinois public university or Illinois
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| community college for a qualified beneficiary to attend the
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| MAP-eligible institution to which the qualified beneficiary is | 10 |
| admitted. Each
contract shall contain terms, conditions, and | 11 |
| provisions that the Commission
determines to be necessary for | 12 |
| ensuring the educational objectives and
sustainable financial | 13 |
| viability of the Illinois prepaid tuition program.
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| (b) Each contract shall have one designated purchaser and | 15 |
| one designated
qualified beneficiary. Unless otherwise | 16 |
| specified in the contract, the
purchaser
owns the contract and | 17 |
| retains any tax liability for its assets only until the
first | 18 |
| distribution of benefits. Once a partial benefit of the | 19 |
| contract has
been disbursed, any tax liability attributable to | 20 |
| the contract and its assets
becomes a tax liability of the | 21 |
| qualified beneficiary, unless otherwise
specified in the | 22 |
| contract. Contracts shall be purchased in units of 15 credit
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| hours at any MAP-eligible institution.
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| (c) Without exception, benefits may be received by a | 25 |
| qualified beneficiary
of an Illinois prepaid tuition contract | 26 |
| no earlier than 3 years from the date
the contract is | 27 |
| purchased.
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| (d) A prepaid tuition contract shall contain, but is not | 29 |
| limited to,
provisions for (i) refunds or withdrawals in | 30 |
| certain circumstances, with or
without interest or penalties;
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| (ii) conversion of the contract at the time of distribution | 32 |
| from accrued
prepayment value at one type of MAP-eligible | 33 |
| institution to the accrued
prepayment value at a different type | 34 |
| of MAP-eligible institution; (iii)
portability of the accrued | 35 |
| value of the prepayment value for use at an
out-of-state higher | 36 |
| education institution; (iv) transferability of the contract
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| benefits within the qualified beneficiary's immediate family; | 2 |
| and (v) a
specified benefit period during which the contract | 3 |
| may be redeemed.
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| (e) Each Illinois prepaid tuition contract also shall | 5 |
| contain, at minimum,
all of
the following:
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| (1) The amount of payment or payments and the number of | 7 |
| payments required
from a purchaser on behalf of a qualified | 8 |
| beneficiary.
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| (2) The terms and conditions under which purchasers | 10 |
| shall remit payments,
including, but not limited to, the | 11 |
| date or dates upon which each payment shall
be due.
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| (3) Provisions for late payment charges and for | 13 |
| default.
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| (4) Provisions for penalty fees payable incident to an | 15 |
| authorized
withdrawal.
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| (5) The name, date of birth, and social security number | 17 |
| of the qualified
beneficiary on whose behalf the contract | 18 |
| is drawn and the terms and conditions
under which the | 19 |
| contract may be transferred to another qualified | 20 |
| beneficiary.
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| (6) The name and social security number of any person | 22 |
| who may
terminate the contract, together with terms that | 23 |
| specify whether the contract
may be terminated by the
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| purchaser, the qualified beneficiary, a specific | 25 |
| designated person, or any
combination of these persons.
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| (7) The terms and conditions under which a contract may | 27 |
| be terminated, the
name and social security number of the | 28 |
| person entitled to any refund due as a
result of the | 29 |
| termination of the contract pursuant to those terms and
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| conditions,
and the method for determining the amount of a | 31 |
| refund.
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| (8) The time limitations, if any, within which the | 33 |
| qualified beneficiary
must claim his or her benefits | 34 |
| through the program.
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| (9) Other terms and conditions determined by the | 36 |
| Commission to be
appropriate.
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| (f) In addition to the contract provisions set forth in | 2 |
| subsection (e), each
Illinois prepaid tuition contract shall | 3 |
| include:
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| (1) The number of credit hours contracted by the | 5 |
| purchaser.
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| (2) The type of MAP-eligible institution and the | 7 |
| prepaid tuition plan
toward which the credit hours shall be | 8 |
| applied.
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| (3) The explicit contractual obligation of the | 10 |
| Commission to the qualified
beneficiary to provide a | 11 |
| specific number of credit hours of undergraduate
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| instruction at a MAP-eligible institution, not to exceed | 13 |
| the maximum number of
credit hours required for the | 14 |
| conference of a degree that corresponds to the
plan | 15 |
| purchased on behalf of the qualified beneficiary.
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| (g) The Commission shall indicate by rule the conditions | 17 |
| under which refunds
are payable to a contract purchaser. | 18 |
| Generally, no refund shall exceed the
amount paid into the | 19 |
| Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund by the purchaser. In
the | 20 |
| event that a contract is converted from a Public University | 21 |
| Plan described
in subsection (j) of this Section to a Community | 22 |
| College Plan described in
subsection (k) of this Section, the | 23 |
| refund amount shall be reduced
by the amount transferred to the | 24 |
| Illinois community college on behalf of the
qualified | 25 |
| beneficiary. Except where the Commission may otherwise rule, | 26 |
| refunds
may exceed the amount paid into the Illinois Prepaid | 27 |
| Tuition Trust Fund only
under the following circumstances:
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| (1) If the qualified beneficiary is awarded a grant or | 29 |
| scholarship at a
public institution of higher education, | 30 |
| the
terms of
which duplicate the benefits included in the | 31 |
| Illinois prepaid tuition contract,
then moneys paid for the | 32 |
| purchase of the contract shall be returned to the
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| purchaser, upon request, in semester installments that | 34 |
| coincide with the
matriculation by the
qualified | 35 |
| beneficiary, in an amount equal to the current cost
of | 36 |
| tuition
and mandatory fees and, if applicable, current room |
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| and board charges at the MAP-eligible institution where the | 2 |
| qualified
beneficiary is enrolled.
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| (1.5) If the qualified beneficiary is awarded a grant | 4 |
| or scholarship
while enrolled at either a MAP-eligible | 5 |
| nonpublic institution of higher
education or an eligible | 6 |
| public or private out-of-state higher education
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| institution, the terms of which duplicate the benefits | 8 |
| included in the
Illinois prepaid tuition contract, then | 9 |
| money paid for the purchase of the
contract shall be | 10 |
| returned to the purchaser, upon request, in semester
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| installments that coincide with the matriculation by the | 12 |
| qualified
beneficiary. The amount paid shall not exceed the | 13 |
| current average
mean-weighted credit hour value of the | 14 |
| registration fees purchased
under the contract.
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| (2) In the event of the death or total disability of | 16 |
| the qualified
beneficiary, moneys paid for the purchase of | 17 |
| the Illinois prepaid tuition
contract shall be returned to | 18 |
| the purchaser together with all accrued earnings.
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| (3) If an Illinois prepaid tuition contract is | 20 |
| converted from a Public
University Plan to a Community | 21 |
| College Plan, then the amount refunded shall be
the value | 22 |
| of the original Illinois prepaid tuition contract minus the | 23 |
| value of
the contract after conversion.
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| No refund shall be authorized under an Illinois prepaid | 25 |
| tuition contract for
any semester partially attended but not | 26 |
| completed.
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| The Commission, by rule, shall set forth specific | 28 |
| procedures for
making contract payments in conjunction with | 29 |
| grants and scholarships awarded to
contract beneficiaries.
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| Moneys paid into or out of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition | 31 |
| Trust Fund by or on
behalf of the purchaser or the qualified | 32 |
| beneficiary of an Illinois prepaid
tuition contract are exempt | 33 |
| from all claims of creditors of the purchaser or
beneficiary, | 34 |
| so long as the contract has not been terminated.
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| The State or any State agency, county, municipality, or | 36 |
| other political
subdivision, by contract or collective |
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| bargaining agreement, may agree with any
employee to remit | 2 |
| payments toward the purchase of Illinois
prepaid tuition | 3 |
| contracts through payroll deductions made by the appropriate
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| officer or officers of the entity making the payments. Such | 5 |
| payments shall be
held and administered in accordance with this | 6 |
| Act.
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| (h) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a promise or | 8 |
| guarantee that a
qualified beneficiary will be admitted to a | 9 |
| MAP-eligible institution or to a
particular MAP-eligible | 10 |
| institution, will be allowed to continue enrollment at
a | 11 |
| MAP-eligible institution after admission, or will be graduated | 12 |
| from a
MAP-eligible institution.
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| (i) The Commission shall develop and make prepaid tuition | 14 |
| contracts
available under a minimum of at least 2 independent | 15 |
| plans to be known as the
Public University Plan and the | 16 |
| Community College Plan.
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| Contracts shall be purchased in units of 15 credit hours at | 18 |
| either an
Illinois public university or an Illinois community | 19 |
| college.
The minimum purchase amount per qualified beneficiary | 20 |
| shall be one unit or 15
credit hours. The maximum purchase | 21 |
| amount shall be 9 units (or 135 credit
hours) for the Public | 22 |
| University Plan and 4 units (or 60 credit hours) for the
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| Community College Plan.
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| (j) Public University Plan. Through the Public University | 25 |
| Plan, the
Illinois prepaid tuition contract shall provide | 26 |
| prepaid registration fees,
which include full tuition costs as | 27 |
| well as mandatory fees and, if applicable, full room and board | 28 |
| charges , for a specified
number of undergraduate credit hours, | 29 |
| not to exceed the maximum number of
credit hours required for | 30 |
| the conference of a baccalaureate degree. In
determining the | 31 |
| cost of participation in the Public University Plan, the
| 32 |
| Commission shall reference the combined mean-weighted current | 33 |
| registration fees
from all Illinois public universities.
| 34 |
| In the event that a qualified beneficiary for whatever | 35 |
| reason chooses to
attend an Illinois community college, the | 36 |
| qualified beneficiary may convert the
average number of credit |
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| hours required for the conference of an associate
degree from | 2 |
| the Public University Plan to the Community College
Plan and | 3 |
| may retain the remaining Public University Plan credit hours or | 4 |
| may
request a refund for prepaid credit hours in excess of | 5 |
| those required for
conference of an associate degree. In | 6 |
| determining the amount of any refund,
the Commission also shall | 7 |
| recognize the current relative credit hour cost of
the 2 plans | 8 |
| when making any conversion.
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| Qualified beneficiaries shall bear the cost of any | 10 |
| laboratory or other
non-mandatory fees associated with | 11 |
| enrollment in specific courses. Qualified
beneficiaries who | 12 |
| are not Illinois residents shall bear the difference in
cost | 13 |
| between in-state registration fees guaranteed by the prepaid | 14 |
| tuition
contract and tuition and other charges (including, if | 15 |
| applicable, room and board charges) assessed upon out-of-state | 16 |
| students by
the MAP-eligible institution.
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| (k) Community College Plan. Through the Community College | 18 |
| Plan, the
Illinois prepaid tuition contract shall provide | 19 |
| prepaid registration fees,
which include full tuition costs as | 20 |
| well as mandatory fees and, if applicable, full room and board | 21 |
| charges , for a specified
number of undergraduate credit hours, | 22 |
| not to exceed the maximum number of
credit hours required for | 23 |
| the conference of an associate degree. In
determining the cost | 24 |
| of participation in the Community College Plan, the
Commission | 25 |
| shall reference the combined mean-weighted current | 26 |
| registration fees
from all Illinois community colleges.
| 27 |
| In the event that a qualified beneficiary for whatever | 28 |
| reason chooses to
attend an Illinois public university, the | 29 |
| qualified beneficiary's prepaid
tuition contract shall be | 30 |
| converted for use at that Illinois public university
by | 31 |
| referencing the current average mean-weighted credit hour | 32 |
| value of
registration fees at Illinois community colleges | 33 |
| relative to the corresponding
value of registration fees at | 34 |
| Illinois public universities.
| 35 |
| Qualified beneficiaries shall bear the cost of any | 36 |
| laboratory or other
non-mandatory fees associated with |
|
|
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LRB093 15967 NHT 41590 b |
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| 1 |
| enrollment in specific courses. Qualified
beneficiaries who | 2 |
| are not Illinois residents shall bear the difference in
cost | 3 |
| between in-state registration fees guaranteed by the prepaid | 4 |
| tuition
contract and tuition and other charges (including, if | 5 |
| applicable, room and board charges) assessed upon out-of-state | 6 |
| students by
the MAP-eligible institution.
| 7 |
| (l) A qualified beneficiary may apply the benefits of any | 8 |
| Illinois prepaid
tuition contract toward a nonpublic | 9 |
| institution of higher education. In the
event that a qualified | 10 |
| beneficiary for whatever reason chooses to attend a
nonpublic | 11 |
| institution of higher education, the qualified beneficiary's | 12 |
| prepaid
tuition contract shall be converted for use at that | 13 |
| nonpublic institution of
higher education by referencing the | 14 |
| current average mean-weighted credit hour
value of | 15 |
| registration fees purchased under the
contract. The Commission | 16 |
| shall
transfer, or cause to have transferred, this amount, less | 17 |
| a transfer fee, to
the nonpublic institution on behalf of the | 18 |
| beneficiary. In the event that the
cost of registration | 19 |
| (including, if applicable, room and board charges) charged to | 20 |
| the beneficiary at the nonpublic institution of
higher | 21 |
| education is less than the aggregate value of the Illinois | 22 |
| prepaid
tuition contract, any remaining amount shall be | 23 |
| transferred in subsequent
semesters until the transfer value is | 24 |
| fully depleted.
| 25 |
| (m) A qualified beneficiary may apply the benefits of any | 26 |
| Illinois prepaid
tuition contract toward an eligible | 27 |
| out-of-state college or university.
Institutional eligibility | 28 |
| for out-of-state colleges and universities shall be
determined | 29 |
| by the Commission, but in making those determinations the | 30 |
| Commission
shall recognize that the benefits of an Illinois | 31 |
| prepaid tuition contract may
not be used at any postsecondary | 32 |
| educational institution that is both operated
for-profit and | 33 |
| located outside of Illinois.
In the
event that a qualified | 34 |
| beneficiary for whatever reason chooses to attend an
eligible | 35 |
| out-of-state college or university, the qualified | 36 |
| beneficiary's
prepaid tuition contract shall be converted for |
|
|
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LRB093 15967 NHT 41590 b |
|
| 1 |
| use at that college or
university by referencing the current | 2 |
| average mean-weighted credit hour value
of registration fees | 3 |
| purchased under the contract. The Commission shall
transfer, or | 4 |
| cause to have
transferred, this amount, less a transfer fee, to | 5 |
| the college or university on
behalf of the beneficiary. In the | 6 |
| event that the cost of registration (including, if applicable, | 7 |
| room and board charges) charged
to the beneficiary at the | 8 |
| eligible out-of-state college or university is less
than the | 9 |
| aggregate value of the Illinois prepaid tuition contract, any
| 10 |
| remaining amount shall be transferred in subsequent semesters | 11 |
| until the
transfer value is fully depleted.
| 12 |
| (n) Illinois prepaid tuition contracts may be purchased | 13 |
| either by lump sum
or by installments. No penalty shall be | 14 |
| assessed for early
payment of installment contracts.
| 15 |
| (o) The Commission shall annually adjust the price of new | 16 |
| contracts, in
accordance with the annual changes in | 17 |
| registration fees at Illinois public
universities and | 18 |
| community colleges.
| 19 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-165, eff. 7-26-01; 93-56, eff. 7-1-03.)
| 20 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 21 |
| becoming law.
|
|