HB3802 Engrossed LRB094 11569 NHT 42570 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 Section 20 as follows:
 
6     (110 ILCS 947/20)
7     Sec. 20. Functions of Commission.
8     (a) The Commission, in accordance with this Act, shall
9 prepare and supervise the issuance of public information
10 concerning its provisions; prescribe the form and regulate the
11 submission of applications for assistance; provide for and
12 conduct, or cause to be conducted, all eligibility
13 determinations of applicants; award the appropriate financial
14 assistance; and, upon request by a member of the General
15 Assembly, nominate or evaluate and recommend for nomination
16 applicants for General Assembly scholarships in accordance
17 with criteria specified by the member under Section 30-9 of the
18 School Code.
19     (b) The Commission is authorized to participate in any
20 programs for monetary assistance to students and to receive,
21 hold, and disburse all such funds made available by any agency
22 or organization for the purpose or purposes for which they are
23 made available. The Commission is authorized to administer a
24 program of grant assistance as authorized by the Baccalaureate
25 Savings Act. The Commission is authorized to participate in any
26 programs established to improve student financial aid services
27 or the proficiency of persons engaged in student financial aid
28 services and to receive, hold, and disburse all funds made
29 available by any agency or organization for the purpose or
30 purposes for which they are made available subject to the
31 appropriations of the General Assembly.
32     (c) The Commission is authorized to deny a scholarship or a

 

 

HB3802 Engrossed - 2 - LRB094 11569 NHT 42570 b

1 grant to any person who has defaulted on a guaranteed student
2 loan and who is not maintaining a satisfactory repayment
3 record. If a person has a defaulted guaranteed student loan but
4 is otherwise eligible for assistance pursuant to Section 40,
5 the Commission shall award one term of assistance during which
6 a satisfactory repayment record must be established. If such a
7 repayment record is not established, additional assistance
8 shall be denied until a satisfactory repayment record is
9 established.
10     (d) The Commission is authorized to participate with
11 federal, state, county, local, and university law enforcement
12 agencies in cooperative efforts to detect and prosecute
13 incidents of fraud in student assistance programs.
14     (e) The Administrative Review Law shall apply to and govern
15 all proceedings for the judicial review of final administrative
16 decisions of the Commission.
17     (f) The Commission is authorized to make all necessary and
18 proper rules, not inconsistent with this Act, for the efficient
19 exercise of the foregoing functions.
20     (g) Unless otherwise provided by statute, the functions of
21 the Commission shall be exercised without regard to any
22 applicant's race, creed, sex, color, national origin, or
23 ancestry.
24     (h) Notwithstanding any other requirement in a State or
25 federal law, all scholarships administered by the Commission
26 must be decoupled from any federal restriction that denies
27 financial assistance to persons who have been convicted of drug
28 offenses. With respect to any scholarship administered by the
29 Commission, anyone who has been denied financial assistance
30 before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
31 General Assembly is entitled to reapply for the scholarship if
32 the denial was due to the federal restriction.
33 (Source: P.A. 87-997.)
 
34     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
35 becoming law.