HOUSE BILL No. 6022


     September 28, 2000, Introduced by Reps. Brewer, DeHart, Bovin and Sheltrown and referred to the Committee on
Appropriations.


        A bill to provide for a waiver of tuition at state public

   universities for veterans; and to provide for an appropriation.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the

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      "veterans tuition act".

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           Sec. 2.  As used in this act:

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           (a) "Armed forces" means the army, air force, navy, marine

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      corps, coast guard, or other military force designated by con-

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      gress as a part of the armed forces of the United States.

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           (b) "Department" means the department of military and veter-

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      ans affairs.

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           (c) "GI bill" means the federal educational assistance pro-

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      gram described in chapter 30 of title 38 of the United States

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      code, 38 U.S.C. 3001 to 3036.




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           (d) "State university" means a state university described in

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      section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of the state constitution of

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      1963.

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           (e) "Tuition" means tuition at the rate charged for resi-

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      dents of this state.

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           (f) "Veteran" means either of the following:

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           (i) A person who served on active duty in the armed forces

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      for a period of more than 180 days and separated from the armed

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      forces in a manner other than a dishonorable discharge.

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           (ii) A person discharged or released from active duty

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      because of a service related disability.

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           Sec. 3.  (1) Beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year, and

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      subject to the limitations in subsections (2), (3), and (4), a

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      state university shall waive tuition for each veteran who meets

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      all of the following requirements:

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           (a) Applies, qualifies, and is admitted as a full-time stu-

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      dent in a program of study leading to a bachelor's degree.

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           (b) Is a legal resident of the state for at least the 12

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      consecutive months immediately preceding his or her application,

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      determined in the same manner as under title IV of the higher

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      education act of 1965, Public Law 89-329.

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           (c) Applies to the department for tuition waiver under this

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      act and provides evidence satisfactory to the department that he

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      or she is a veteran, that the course or courses for which he or

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      she is seeking a tuition waiver meet the requirements of subsec-

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      tion (2), and that he or she meets the other requirements of this

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      section.



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           (d) Is certified by the financial aid officer at the state

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      university as needing the tuition waiver in order to meet recog-

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      nized educational expenses.

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           (e) Maintains satisfactory academic progress, as defined by

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      the state university, for each term or semester in which he or

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      she is enrolled.  The satisfactory progress definition used by a

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      state university for federal student assistance programs under

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      title IV of the higher education act of 1965, Public Law 89-329,

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      is acceptable for the purposes of this act.

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           (f) Has not achieved a bachelor's degree and has received

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      tuition reimbursement under this act for less than 124 semester

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      credits or 180 term credits at a state university.

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           (g) Has applied for and the state university has received

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      all tuition payment or reimbursement benefits towards a

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      bachelor's degree to which the veteran is entitled under the GI

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      bill.

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           (2) A state university shall waive tuition under this act

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      only for courses that are applicable toward the bachelor's degree

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      requirements of the program in which the veteran is enrolled.

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           (3) A veteran is eligible for tuition waiver under this sec-

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      tion for not more than a total of 9 semesters or the equivalent

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      number of terms or quarters.

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           (4) A state university shall waive tuition under this act

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      only to the extent that the tuition is not covered or paid by a

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      tuition benefit available to the veteran under the GI bill or by

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      a scholarship.





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           Sec. 4.  (1) Beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year, upon

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      receiving an application under section 3(1)(c), the department

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      shall determine whether the applicant and the courses for which

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      tuition waiver is sought meet the requirements of section 3 and,

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      if so, shall approve the application and notify the state univer-

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      sity that the application has been approved.

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           (2) Beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year, upon applica-

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      tion by the state university, the department annually shall reim-

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      burse each state university for the total amount of tuition

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      waived during the immediately preceding fiscal year under

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      section 3.  The department annually shall report to the legisla-

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      ture the number of individuals for whom tuition has been waived

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      at each state university and the total amounts to be paid under

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      this act for that fiscal year.

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           Sec. 5.  The department shall provide the necessary forms

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      and applications and shall cooperate with the state universities

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      in developing efficient procedures for implementing the purposes

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      of this act.

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           Sec. 6.  The legislature annually shall appropriate the

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      funds necessary to implement this act.

















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