101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB2536

 

Introduced 1/28/2020, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/40

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an Illinois Veteran grant may be transferred to a qualified dependent beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year if, among other requirements, the qualified dependent's spouse or parent has served at least 8 years combined of federal active duty service or Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve Service. Effective July 1, 2020.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2536LRB101 17135 CMG 66536 b

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 Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 40 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
10Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the
11Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard, excluding members
12of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and those whose only
13service has been attendance at a service academy, and who meets
14all of the qualifications of either paragraphs (1) through (4)
15or paragraphs (2), (3), and (5):
16        (1) At the time of entering federal active duty service
17    the person was one of the following:
18            (A) An Illinois resident.
19            (B) An Illinois resident within 6 months of
20        entering such service.
21            (C) Enrolled at a State-controlled university or
22        public community college in this State.
23        (2) The person meets one of the following requirements:

 

 

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1            (A) He or she served at least one year of federal
2        active duty.
3            (B) He or she served less than one year of federal
4        active duty and received an honorable discharge for
5        medical reasons directly connected with such service.
6            (C) He or she served less than one year of federal
7        active duty and was discharged prior to August 11,
8        1967.
9            (D) He or she served less than one year of federal
10        active duty in a foreign country during a time of
11        hostilities in that foreign country.
12        (3) The person received an honorable discharge after
13    leaving each period of federal active duty service.
14        (4) The person returned to this State within 6 months
15    after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married
16    to a person in continued military service stationed outside
17    this State, returned to this State within 6 months after
18    his or her spouse left service or was stationed within this
19    State.
20        (5) The person does not meet the requirements of
21    paragraph (1), but (i) is a resident of Illinois at the
22    time of application to the Commission and (ii) at some
23    point after leaving federal active duty service, was a
24    resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years.
25    "Qualified dependent" means any spouse or natural born or
26legally adopted child of a veteran of the United States Armed

 

 

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1Forces who meets all of the following qualifications:
2        (1) Has earned a high school diploma or high school
3    equivalency certificate and is less than 26 years of age,
4    unless granted an extension by the Commission due to a
5    qualifying illness or debilitating condition.
6        (2) Meets the cumulative grade point average
7    requirements of the postsecondary institution.
8        (3) Is a resident of Illinois for the term in which the
9    grant under subsection (i) is transferred.
10    "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces
11of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a
12Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order
13and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other
14campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential
15executive order.
16    (b) A person who otherwise qualifies under the definition
17of "qualified applicant" under subsection (a) of this Section
18but has not left federal active duty service and has served at
19least one year of federal active duty or has served for less
20than one year of federal active duty in a foreign country
21during a time of hostilities in that foreign country and who
22can provide documentation demonstrating an honorable service
23record is eligible to receive assistance under this Section.
24    (c) A qualified applicant is not required to pay any
25tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled
26university or public community college in this State for a

 

 

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1period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment,
2including summer terms.
3    A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits
4under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to
5receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is enrolled
6in a continuous program of study. The qualified applicant shall
7no longer receive a grant covering non-mandatory fees if he or
8she fails to enroll during an academic term, unless he or she
9is serving federal active duty service.
10    (d) A person qualified applicant who has been or is to be
11awarded assistance under this Section shall receive that
12assistance if the person qualified applicant notifies his or
13her postsecondary institution of that fact by the end of the
14school term for which assistance is requested.
15    (e) Assistance under this Section is considered an
16entitlement that the State-controlled college or public
17community college in which the person qualified applicant is
18enrolled shall honor without any condition other than the
19person's qualified applicant's maintenance of minimum grade
20levels and a satisfactory student loan repayment record
21pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act.
22    (f) The Commission shall administer the grant program
23established by this Section and shall make all necessary and
24proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its
25effective implementation.
26    (g) All applications for assistance under this Section must

 

 

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1be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission shall
2provide. The Commission shall determine the form of application
3and the information required to be set forth in the
4application, and the Commission shall require qualified
5applicants to submit with their applications any supporting
6documents that the Commission deems necessary. Upon request,
7the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the Commission
8in determining the eligibility of applicants for assistance
9under this Section.
10    (h) Assistance under this Section is available as long as
11the federal government provides educational benefits to
12veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after
136 months following the termination of educational benefits to
14veterans by the federal government, except for persons who
15already have begun their education with assistance under this
16Section. If the federal government terminates educational
17benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those
18benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.
19    (i) Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, a grant
20awarded under this Section may be transferred to a qualified
21dependent if the qualified dependent's spouse or parent meets
22all of the following qualifications:
23        (1) He or she is a qualified applicant under subsection
24    (a) or (b).
25        (2) He or she has served at least 8 years combined of
26    federal active duty service or Reserve or Individual Ready

 

 

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1    Reserve service.
2        (3) He or she has no federal veterans' educational
3    benefits or no federal veterans' educational benefits
4    dedicated only to the payment of tuition and fees, such as
5    Chapter 31 or 33 benefits, for an enrolled term or semester
6    that exceed the value of a grant under this Section.
7        (4) He or she is a resident of Illinois during the term
8    of the qualified dependent's enrollment unless the veteran
9    has been recalled to active duty outside the State or has
10    rejoined the military and is outside the State pursuant to
11    military orders. However, a veteran who has a
12    service-connected disability rating, as determined by the
13    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, of 90% to 100% or is
14    unemployable based on a total disability, as determined by
15    the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is not required to
16    maintain Illinois residency while his or her qualified
17    dependent receives benefits under this subsection.
18    A qualified dependent of a person who was killed in the
19line of duty, was a prisoner of war, was missing in action, had
20a service-connected disability rating, as determined by the
21U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, of 90% to 100%, was
22unemployable based on a total disability, as determined by the
23U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or died as a result of
24injury or illness directly related to his or her military
25service is eligible for a grant transfer of no less than 120
26credit hours under this subsection if the spouse or parent

 

 

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1would have otherwise met the qualifications under this
2subsection. A dependent who is a natural born or legally
3adopted child of a veteran may still qualify for a grant under
4this subsection if he or she marries or if his or her parents
5divorce.
6    Benefits under this Section may not be used simultaneously
7by both the veteran and his or her qualified dependent. A
8veteran may revoke or otherwise change the transfer of his or
9her benefits to a qualified dependent under this subsection at
10any time but may not transfer his or her benefits to the same
11qualified dependent again once those benefits have been revoked
12for that qualified dependent.
13    A veteran may transfer benefits under this subsection to
14multiple qualified dependents; however, the total number of
15credit hours of assistance transferred may not exceed 120
16credit hours, and a veteran may transfer benefits to only one
17qualified dependent at a time.
18(Source: P.A. 101-334, eff. 8-9-19.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
202020.