Rep. Constance A. Howard
Filed: 4/17/2007
 
 

 




 

 		












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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2184 




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    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2184  by replacing 
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everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 
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    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 

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Higher Education Equalization Act.
 
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    Section 5. Purpose.   The purpose of this Act is to address 
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the disparity in resources afforded to institutions of higher 
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learning in this State whose student populations are 
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predominately minority, by race, and larger institutions of 
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higher learning.
 
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    Section 10. Definitions.  In this Act: 

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    "Eligible institution" means an institution of higher 
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learning whose student population is more than 50% minority, by 
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race.
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    "Institution of higher learning" means an institution of 
 


 






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higher learning as defined in the Higher Education Student 
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Assistance Act.

 
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    Section 15. Student fee.   All institutions of higher 
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learning that receive any funds from this State or have 
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students who benefit from State-sponsored scholarships or 
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grants or who have higher education loans backed in any part by 
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the State must  impose on each student of the institution of 
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higher learning a fee of $10 for every 2 semesters or 3 
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quarters of student attendance.  The amount of the fee must not 
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be increased without the approval of the General Assembly by 
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the same joint resolution and, in any case, must not exceed 
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$20. A student must not be charged under this Section in an 
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amount that exceeds $100 over the course of his or her 
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undergraduate academic career or $200 over the course of his or 
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her undergraduate and post-graduate academic career combined.
 
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    Section 20. Higher Education Equalization Fund.   All fees 
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imposed under Section 15 of this Act must be deposited into the 
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Higher Education Equalization Fund.  The Higher Education 
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Equalization Fund is created as a special fund in the State 
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treasury.  All money in the Fund shall be paid, subject to 
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appropriation by the General Assembly and approval by the Board 
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of Higher Education, as a grant each fiscal year to the 
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committee created under Section 25 of this Act for use by 
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eligible institutions for the purposes set forth in Section 30 
 


 






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of this Act. 
 
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    Section 25. Committee to administer grant funds. 

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    (a)  There is created a committee, comprised of the 
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president of each eligible institution or his or her designee 
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and a liaison from the Board of  Higher Education, to administer 
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the grant funds received from the Higher Education Equalization 
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Fund.  The committee shall determine its own guidelines for 
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operation.  The committee must distribute grant funds to 
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eligible institutions based on the enrollment figures of those 
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eligible institutions, except that the committee may retain up 
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to 10% of the grant amount each fiscal year to be used for 
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administration of the grant funds.
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    (b)  For planning purposes, the committee may roll over 
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funds from a grant in one fiscal year for use in multiple 
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fiscal years, allowing the committee to plan for larger awards 
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to eligible institutions in later years.

 
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    Section 30. Use of grant funds.   Grant funds received from 
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the Higher Education Equalization Fund must be used by eligible 
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institutions for the purposes of purchasing equipment and other 
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program materials comparable to other institutions of higher 
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learning; however, the first 2 fiscal years of grant funds 
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received from the Higher Education Equalization Fund must be 
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used by eligible institutions to purchase and upgrade equipment 
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for their communication departments and their computer 
 


 






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departments.  Grant funds may also be used by eligible 
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institutions to pay for capital expansions.  Eligible 
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institutions may save grant funds received in a fiscal year 
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over multiple years to pay for larger projects.
 
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    Section 35. Exclusion from annual budget. The amount 
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distributed to eligible institutions under Section 25 of this 
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Act is additional to an eligible institution's annual operating 
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budget and shall increase the eligible institution's ability to 
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provide equal programs and services to their students.  Grant 
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funds must not be a factor in and must not be considered as any 
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part of an eligible institution's annual operating budget. 
 
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    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 
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Section 5.675 as follows:
 
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    (30 ILCS 105/5.675 new)
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    Sec. 5.675. The Higher Education Equalization Fund.
 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.".