99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB1397

 

Introduced 2/6/2015, by Rep. Thaddeus Jones

 

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 5/30-13.5

    Amends the School Code. Allows each member of the General Assembly to nominate persons from his or her district, which persons shall receive a certificate of scholarship in a State university designated by the member. Sets forth provisions concerning such nominations, including the number of persons a member may nominate and the length of the scholarships. Provides for the waiver of confidentiality as a condition of nomination. Provides for the use of a scholarship, including that the scholarship exempts the holder from the payment of tuition and fees.


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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 30-13.5 as
6follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/30-9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-9)
8    Sec. 30-9. General Assembly scholarship; conditions of
9admission; award by competitive examination. Each member of the
10General Assembly may nominate annually 6 persons of school age
11and otherwise eligible from his or her district; 4 shall
12receive a one-year certificate of scholarship in any State
13university designated by the member and 2 shall receive a
144-year certificate of scholarship in any State university
15designated by the member. The nominee, if a graduate of a
16school accredited by the university to which nominated, shall
17be admitted to the university on the same conditions as to
18educational qualifications as are other graduates of
19accredited schools. If the nominee is not a graduate of a
20school accredited by the university to which nominated, he or
21she must, before being entitled to the benefits of the
22scholarship, pass an examination given by the regional
23superintendent of schools of the county where he or she

 

 

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1resides. The president of each university shall prescribe the
2rules governing the examination for scholarship to his or her
3university.
4    A member of the General Assembly may award the scholarship
5by competitive examination even though one or more of the
6applicants are graduates of schools accredited by the
7university.
8    A member of the General Assembly may delegate to the
9Illinois Student Assistance Commission the authority to
10nominate persons for General Assembly scholarships that the
11member would otherwise be entitled to award or may direct the
12Commission to evaluate and make recommendations to the member
13concerning candidates for such scholarships. In the event a
14member delegates his or her nominating authority or directs the
15Commission to evaluate and make recommendations concerning
16candidates for General Assembly scholarships, the member shall
17inform the Commission in writing of the criteria that he or she
18wishes the Commission to apply in nominating or recommending
19candidates. Those criteria may include some or all of the
20criteria provided in Section 25 of the Higher Education Student
21Assistance Act. A delegation of authority under this paragraph
22may be revoked at any time by the member.
23    Failure of a member of the General Assembly to make a
24nomination in any year shall not cause that scholarship to
25lapse, but the member may make a nomination for such
26scholarship at any time thereafter before the expiration of his

 

 

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1or her term, and the person so nominated shall be entitled to
2the same benefits as holders of other scholarships provided
3herein. Any such scholarship for which a member has made no
4nomination prior to the expiration of the term for which he or
5she was elected shall lapse upon the expiration of that term.
6    Any nominations made under this Section are subject to the
7approval of a bipartisan nomination review committee to be
8created jointly by the Speaker of the House and the President
9of the Senate.
10    The General Assembly scholarship of a nominee shall be
11revoked upon a determination by the State Board of Education,
12after a hearing, that the member of the General Assembly making
13the nomination awarded the scholarship in a fraudulent manner.
14Upon revocation of the scholarship, the General Assembly member
15shall personally reimburse the university for the full amount
16of any tuition waived or he or she is thereafter ineligible for
17reelection as a member of the General Assembly.
18(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 
19    (105 ILCS 5/30-10)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-10)
20    Sec. 30-10. Filing nominations; failure
21nominations-Failure to accept or pass; second pass-Second
22nomination. Nominations under Section 30-9, showing the name
23and address of the nominee and the term of the scholarship,
24whether 4 years or one year, must be filed with the State
25Superintendent of Education not later than the opening day of

 

 

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1the semester or term with which the scholarship is to become
2effective. The State Superintendent of Education shall
3forthwith notify the president of the university of such
4nomination.
5    If the nominee fails to accept the nomination or, not being
6a graduate of a school accredited by the university, fails to
7pass the examination for admission, the president of the
8university shall at once notify the State Superintendent of
9Education. Upon receiving such notification, the State
10Superintendent of Education shall notify the nominating
11member, who may name another person for the scholarship. The
12second nomination must be received by the State Superintendent
13of Education not later than the middle of the semester or term
14with which the scholarship was to have become effective under
15the original nomination in order to become effective as of the
16opening date of such semester or term, otherwise it shall not
17become effective until the beginning of the next semester or
18term following the making of the second nomination. Upon
19receiving such notification, the State Superintendent of
20Education shall notify the president of the university of such
21second nomination. If any person nominated to receive a General
22Assembly scholarship changes his or her residence to a location
23outside of the district from which he or she was nominated, his
24or her nominating member may terminate that scholarship at the
25conclusion of the academic year in which he or she is then
26enrolled. For purposes of this paragraph, a person changes his

 

 

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1or her residence if he or she registers to vote in a location
2outside of the district from which he or she was nominated, but
3does not change his or her residence merely by taking
4off-campus housing or living in a non-university residence.
5    Any nominations made under this Section are subject to
6approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to
7Section 30-9 of this Code.
8(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/30-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-11)
10    Sec. 30-11. Failure to use scholarship; further
11scholarship - Further nominations. If any nominee under Section
1230-9 or 30-10 discontinues his or her course of instruction or
13fails to use the scholarship, leaving one, 2, 3, or 4 years
14thereof unused, the member of the General Assembly may, except
15as otherwise provided in this Article, nominate some other
16person eligible under this Article from his or her district who
17shall be entitled to the scholarship for the unexpired period
18thereof. If a scholarship is vacated and the member of the
19General Assembly who made the original appointment has ceased
20to be a member, some eligible person may be nominated in the
21following manner to fill the vacancy: if the original
22appointment was made by a Senator, such nomination shall be
23made by the Senator from the same district; if the original
24appointment was made by a Representative, such nomination shall
25be made by the Representative from the same district. Every

 

 

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1nomination to fill a vacancy must be accompanied either by a
2release of the original nominee or, if he or she is dead, an
3affidavit to that effect by some competent person. The failure
4of a nominee to register at the university within 20 days after
5the opening of any semester or term shall be deemed a release
6by him or her of the nomination, unless he or she has been
7granted a leave of absence in accordance with Section 30-14 or
8unless his or her absence is by reason of his or her entry into
9the military service of the United States. The university shall
10immediately, upon the expiration of 20 days after the beginning
11of the semester or term, notify the State Board of Education as
12to the status of each scholarship, who shall forthwith notify
13the nominating member of any nominee's failure to register or,
14if the nominating member has ceased to be a member of the
15General Assembly, shall notify the member or members entitled
16to make the nomination to fill the vacancy. All nominations to
17unused or unexpired scholarships shall be effective as of the
18opening of the semester or term of the university during which
19they are made if they are filed with the university during the
20first half of the semester or term, otherwise they shall not be
21effective until the opening of the next following semester or
22term.
23    Any nominations made under this Section are subject to
24approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to
25Section 30-9 of this Code.
26(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/30-12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-12)
2    Sec. 30-12. Failure to begin or discontinuance of course
3because of military service. Any nominee, under Section 30-9,
430-10, or 30-11, who fails to begin or discontinues his or her
5course of instruction because of his or her entry into the
6military service of the United States, leaving all or a portion
7of the scholarship unused, may, upon completion of such
8service, use the scholarship or the unused portion thereof,
9regardless of whether or not the member of the General Assembly
10who nominated him or her is then a member; provided that during
11the nominee's period of military service, no other person may
12be nominated by such member to all or any portion of such
13unused or unfinished scholarship unless the nomination is
14accompanied either by a release of the original nominee or, if
15he or she is dead, an affidavit to that effect by some
16competent person.
17    Any nominations made under this Section are subject to
18approval of the nomination review committee created pursuant to
19Section 30-9 of this Code.
20(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/30-12.5)
22    Sec. 30-12.5. Waiver of confidentiality.
23    (a) As a condition of nomination for a General Assembly
24scholarship under Section 30-9, 30-10, 30-11, or 30-12, each

 

 

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

 

 

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1false or misleading information on the waiver document. Upon
2revocation of the General Assembly scholarship, the
3scholarship nominee shall reimburse the university for the full
4amount of any tuition waived prior to revocation of the
5scholarship.
6    (c) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall
7prepare a form waiver document to be used as provided in
8subsection (a) and shall provide copies of the form upon
9request.
10(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 
11    (105 ILCS 5/30-13)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-13)
12    Sec. 30-13. Use of scholarship at public university. The
13scholarships issued under Sections 30-9 through 30-12 of this
14Article may be used at the University of Illinois, Southern
15Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern
16Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois
17State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern
18Illinois University, and Western Illinois University as
19provided in those Sections. Unless otherwise indicated, these
20scholarships shall be good for a period of not more than 4
21years while enrolled for residence credit and shall exempt the
22holder from the payment of tuition or any matriculation,
23graduation, activity, term, or incidental fee, except any
24portion of a multipurpose fee that is used for a purpose for
25which exemption is not granted under this Section. Exemption

 

 

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1shall not be granted from any other fees, including book
2rental, service, laboratory, supply, union building, hospital,
3and medical insurance fees and any fees established for the
4operation and maintenance of buildings, the income of which is
5pledged to the payment of interest and principal on bonds
6issued by the governing board of any university.
7    Any student who has been or shall be awarded a scholarship
8shall be reimbursed by the appropriate university for any fees
9that he or she has paid and for which exemption is granted
10under this Section if application for such reimbursement is
11made within 2 months following the term for which the fees were
12paid.
13    The holder of a scholarship shall be subject to all
14examinations, rules, and requirements of the university in
15which he or she is enrolled except as herein directed.
16    This Article does not prohibit the Board of Trustees of the
17University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago
18State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
19University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois
20University, Northern Illinois University, or Western Illinois
21University from granting other scholarships.
22(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/30-13.5)
24    Sec. 30-13.5. General Assembly scholarship program
25previously abolished. Before September 1, 2012, each member of

 

 

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1the General Assembly may nominate persons to receive a
2scholarship or certificate of scholarship under Sections 30-9,
330-10, 30-11, 30-12, 30-12.5, and 30-13 of this Code as they
4existed before July 11, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act
597-772) this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. A
6person nominated to receive or awarded such a scholarship or
7certificate before September 1, 2012 is entitled to the
8scholarship under the terms of Sections 30-9, 30-10, 30-11,
930-12, 30-12.5, and 30-13 of this Code as they existed before
10July 11, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-772) this
11amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and Section 30-14
12of this Code.
13(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)