97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3078

 

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. David Harris

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/30-9  from Ch. 122, par. 30-9
105 ILCS 5/30-10  from Ch. 122, par. 30-10
105 ILCS 5/30-11  from Ch. 122, par. 30-11
105 ILCS 5/30-12  from Ch. 122, par. 30-12
105 ILCS 5/30-12.5
105 ILCS 5/30-13  from Ch. 122, par. 30-13
105 ILCS 5/30-14  from Ch. 122, par. 30-14

    Amends the School Code. Makes changes in provisions concerning General Assembly scholarships. Changes references from "scholarship" to "tuition grant". Allows each member of the General Assembly to nominate annually one person (instead of 2 persons) from his or her district to receive a tuition grant for a State university. Provides that General Assembly tuition grants are subject to appropriation (now, General Assembly scholarships exempt the holder from the payment of tuition and fees). Provides that each fiscal year, grant funds may be awarded to recipients only if this State is no more than 60 days late in payments it owes to State universities and those total payments do not exceed $50 million, as certified by the Auditor General. Provides that tuition grant funds shall be paid to State universities on behalf of the recipients. Effective immediately.


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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 School Code is amended by changing Sections
530-9, 30-10, 30-11, 30-12, 30-12.5, 30-13, and 30-14 as
6follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/30-9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-9)
8    Sec. 30-9. General Assembly tuition grant scholarship;
9conditions of admission; award by competitive
10examination.    Each member of the General Assembly may
11nominate annually one person 2 persons of school age and
12otherwise eligible, from his district; each shall receive a
13tuition grant for certificate of scholarship in any State
14supported university designated by the member. General
15Assembly tuition grants are subject to appropriation. Each
16fiscal year, grant funds may be awarded to recipients only if
17this State is no more than 60 days late in payments it owes to
18State-supported universities and those total payments do not
19exceed $50 million, as certified by the Auditor General. All
20tuition grant funds distributed in accordance with this Section
21shall be paid to State-supported universities on behalf of the
22recipients. Any member of the General Assembly in making
23nominations under this Section may designate that his nominee

 

 

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1be granted a 4 year tuition grant scholarship or may instead
2designate 2 or 4 nominees for that particular tuition grant
3scholarship, each to receive a 2 year or a one year tuition
4grant scholarship, respectively. The nominee, if a graduate of
5a school accredited by the University to which nominated, shall
6be admitted to the university on the same conditions as to
7educational qualifications as are other graduates of
8accredited schools. If the nominee is not a graduate of a
9school accredited by the university to which nominated, he
10must, before being entitled to the benefits of the tuition
11grant scholarship, pass an examination given by the
12superintendent of schools of the county where he resides at the
13time stated in Section 30-7 for the competitive examination.
14The president of each university shall prescribe the rules
15governing the examination for a tuition grant scholarship to
16his university.
17    A member of the General Assembly may award the tuition
18grant scholarship by competitive examination conducted under
19like rules as prescribed in Section 30-7 even though one or
20more of the applicants are graduates of schools accredited by
21the university.
22    A member of the General Assembly may delegate to the
23Illinois Student Assistance Commission the authority to
24nominate persons for General Assembly tuition grants
25scholarships which that member would otherwise be entitled to
26award, or may direct the Commission to evaluate and make

 

 

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1recommendations to the member concerning candidates for such
2tuition grants scholarships. In the event a member delegates
3his nominating authority or directs the Commission to evaluate
4and make recommendations concerning candidates for General
5Assembly tuition grants scholarships, the member shall inform
6the Commission in writing of the criteria which he wishes the
7Commission to apply in nominating or recommending candidates.
8Those criteria may include some or all of the criteria provided
9in Section 25 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. A
10delegation of authority under this paragraph may be revoked at
11any time by the member.
12    Failure of a member of the General Assembly to make a
13nomination in any year shall not cause that tuition grant
14scholarship to lapse, but the member may make a nomination for
15such tuition grant scholarship at any time thereafter before
16the expiration of his term, and the person so nominated shall
17be entitled to the same benefits as holders of other tuition
18grants scholarships provided herein. Any such tuition grant
19scholarship for which a member has made no nomination prior to
20the expiration of the term for which he was elected shall lapse
21upon the expiration of that term.
22(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/30-10)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-10)
24    Sec. 30-10. Filing nominations-Failure to accept or
25pass-Second nomination.    Nominations, under Section 30-9,

 

 

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1showing the name and address of the nominee, and the term of
2the tuition grant scholarship, whether 4 years, 2 years or one
3year, must be filed with the State Superintendent of Education
4not later than the opening day of the semester or term with
5which the tuition grant scholarship is to become effective. The
6State Superintendent of Education shall forthwith notify the
7president of the university of such nomination.
8    If the nominee fails to accept the nomination or, not being
9a graduate of a school accredited by the university, fails to
10pass the examination for admission, the president of the
11university shall at once notify the State Superintendent of
12Education. Upon receiving such notification, the State
13Superintendent of Education shall notify the nominating
14member, who may name another person for the tuition grant
15scholarship. The second nomination must be received by the
16State Superintendent of Education not later than the middle of
17the semester or term with which the tuition grant scholarship
18was to have become effective under the original nomination in
19order to become effective as of the opening date of such
20semester or term otherwise it shall not become effective until
21the beginning of the next semester or term following the making
22of the second nomination. Upon receiving such notification, the
23State Superintendent of Education shall notify the president of
24the university of such second nomination. If any person
25nominated after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
261973 to receive a General Assembly tuition grant scholarship

 

 

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1changes his residence to a location outside of the district
2from which he was nominated, his nominating member may
3terminate that tuition grant scholarship at the conclusion of
4the college year in which he is then enrolled. For purposes of
5this paragraph, a person changes his residence if he registers
6to vote in a location outside of the district from which he was
7nominated, but does not change his residence merely by taking
8off-campus housing or living in a nonuniversity residence.
9(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/30-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-11)
11    Sec. 30-11. Failure to use tuition grant scholarship -
12Further nominations. If any nominee under Section 30-9 or 30-10
13discontinues his course of instruction or fails to use the
14tuition grant scholarship, leaving 1, 2, 3, or 4 years thereof
15unused, the member of the General Assembly may, except as
16otherwise provided in this Article, nominate some other person
17eligible under this Article from his district who shall be
18entitled to the tuition grant scholarship for the unexpired
19period thereof. Such appointment to an unexpired scholarship
20vacated before July 1, 1961, may be made only by the member of
21the General Assembly who made the original appointment and
22during the time he is such a member. If a tuition grant
23scholarship is vacated on or after July 1, 1961, and the member
24of the General Assembly who made the original appointment has
25ceased to be a member, some eligible person may be nominated in

 

 

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1the following manner to fill the vacancy: If the original
2appointment was made by a Senator, such nomination shall be
3made by the Senator from the same district; if the original
4appointment was made by a Representative, such nomination shall
5be made by the Representative from the same district. Every
6nomination to fill a vacancy must be accompanied either by a
7release of the original nominee or if he is dead then an
8affidavit to that effect by some competent person. The failure
9of a nominee to register at the university within 20 days after
10the opening of any semester or term shall be deemed a release
11by him of the nomination, unless he has been granted a leave of
12absence in accordance with Section 30-14 or unless his absence
13is by reason of his entry into the military service of the
14United States. The university shall immediately upon the
15expiration of 20 days after the beginning of the semester or
16term notify the State Board of Education as to the status of
17each tuition grant scholarship, who shall forthwith notify the
18nominating member of any nominee's failure to register or, if
19the nominating member has ceased to be a member of the General
20Assembly, shall notify the member or members entitled to make
21the nomination to fill the vacancy. All nominations to unused
22or unexpired tuition grants scholarships shall be effective as
23of the opening of the semester or term of the university during
24which they are made if they are filed with the university
25during the first half of the semester or term, otherwise they
26shall not be effective until the opening of the next following

 

 

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1semester or term.
2(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)
 
3    (105 ILCS 5/30-12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-12)
4    Sec. 30-12. Failure to begin or discontinuance of course
5because of military service. Any nominee, under Sections 30--9,
630--10, or 30--11, who fails to begin or discontinues his
7course of instruction because of his entry into the military
8service of the United States, leaving all or a portion of the
9tuition grant scholarship unused, may, upon completion of such
10service, use the tuition grant scholarship or the unused
11portion thereof, regardless of whether or not the member of the
12General Assembly who nominated him is then a member; provided
13that during the nominee's period of military service no other
14person may be nominated by such member to all or any portion of
15such unused or unfinished tuition grant scholarship unless the
16nomination is accompanied either by a release of the original
17nominee or if he is dead then an affidavit to that effect by
18some competent person.
19(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
 
20    (105 ILCS 5/30-12.5)
21    Sec. 30-12.5. Waiver of confidentiality.
22    (a) As a condition of nomination for a General Assembly
23tuition grant scholarship under Section 30-9, 30-10, or 30-11,
24each nominee shall provide to the member of the General

 

 

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1Assembly making the nomination a waiver document stating that,
2notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if the
3nominee receives a General Assembly tuition grant scholarship,
4then the nominee waives all rights to confidentiality with
5respect to the contents of the waiver document. The waiver
6document shall state at a minimum the nominee's name, domicile
7address, attending university, degree program in which the
8nominee is enrolled, amount of tuition covered waived by the
9legislative tuition grant scholarship and the name of the
10member of the General Assembly who is making the nomination.
11The waiver document shall also contain a statement by the
12nominee that, at the time of the nomination for the legislative
13tuition grant scholarship, the domicile of the nominee is
14within the legislative district of the legislator making the
15tuition grant scholarship nomination. The waiver document must
16be signed by the nominee, and the nominee shall have his or her
17signature on the waiver document acknowledged before a notary
18public. The member of the General Assembly making the
19nomination shall file the signed, notarized waiver document,
20together with the nomination itself, with the State
21Superintendent of Education. By so filing the waiver document,
22the member waives all his or her rights to confidentiality with
23respect to the contents of the waiver document.
24    (b) The legislative tuition grant scholarship of any
25nominee shall be revoked upon a determination by the State
26Board of Education after a hearing that the nominee knowingly

 

 

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1provided false or misleading information on the waiver
2document. Upon revocation of the legislative tuition grant
3scholarship, the tuition grant scholarship nominee shall
4reimburse this State the university for the full amount of any
5tuition covered by the tuition grant waived prior to revocation
6of the tuition grant scholarship.
7    (c) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall
8prepare a form waiver document to be used as provided in
9subsection (a) and shall provide copies of the form upon
10request.
11(Source: P.A. 93-349, eff. 7-24-03.)
 
12    (105 ILCS 5/30-13)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-13)
13    Sec. 30-13. The tuition grants scholarships issued under
14Sections 30-9 through 30-12 of this Article may be used at the
15University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago
16State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
17University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois
18University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois
19University as provided in those sections. Unless otherwise
20indicated, these tuition grants scholarships shall be good for
21a period of not more than 4 years while enrolled for residence
22credit and shall cover exempt the holder from the payment of
23tuition, or any matriculation, graduation, activity, term or
24incidental fee, except any portion of a multipurpose fee which
25is used for a purpose for which coverage exemption is not

 

 

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1permitted granted under this Section. Coverage Exemption shall
2not be permitted for granted from any other fees, including
3book rental, service, laboratory, supply, union building,
4hospital and medical insurance fees and any fees established
5for the operation and maintenance of buildings, the income of
6which is pledged to the payment of interest and principal on
7bonds issued by the governing board of any university or
8community college.
9    Any student who has been or shall be awarded a tuition
10grant scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate
11university or community college for any fees which he has paid
12and for which coverage exemption is permitted granted under
13this Section, if application for such reimbursement is made
14within 2 months following the school term for which the fees
15were paid.
16    The holder of a tuition grant scholarship shall be subject
17to all examinations, rules and requirements of the university
18or community college in which he is enrolled except as herein
19directed.
20    This article does not prohibit the Board of Trustees of the
21University of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern
22Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State
23University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois
24University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State
25University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University,
26the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the

 

 

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1Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, and the
2Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University Regents of the
3Regency Universities System and the Board of Governors of State
4Colleges and Universities for the institutions under their
5respective jurisdictions from granting other scholarships or
6grants.
7(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/30-14)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14)
9    Sec. 30-14. Leaves of absence to holders of scholarships or
10tuition grants. Any student enrolled in a university to which
11he is holding a scholarship or tuition grant issued under this
12Article who satisfies the president of the university or
13someone designated by him, that he requires leave of absence
14for the purpose of earning funds to defray his expenses while
15in attendance or on account of illness or military service may
16be granted such leave and allowed a period of not to exceed 6
17years in which to complete his course at the university. The
18university shall notify the regional county superintendent of
19the county from which the scholarship or tuition grant was
20issued of the granting of the leave. Time spent in the armed
21forces shall not be part of the 6 years.
22(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.