House File 2628 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY HOGG
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to educational benefits for children of current
2 or former members of the armed forces and providing
3 appropriations.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 35.9, Code Supplement 2005, is amended
1 2 to read as follows:
1 3 35.9 EXPENDITURE BY COMMISSION == APPROPRIATION.
1 4 1. The department of veterans affairs may expend not more
1 5 than six hundred one thousand dollars per year for any one
1 6 child who has lived in the state of Iowa for two years
1 7 preceding application for aid, and who is the child of a
1 8 person who died during active federal military service while
1 9 serving in the armed forces or during active federal military
1 10 service in the Iowa national guard or other military component
1 11 of the United States, to defray the expenses of tuition,
1 12 matriculation, laboratory and similar fees, books and
1 13 supplies, board, lodging, and any other reasonably necessary
1 14 expense for the child or children incident to attendance in
1 15 this state at an educational or training institution of
1 16 college grade, or in a business or vocational training school
1 17 with standards approved by the department of veterans affairs.
1 18 2. A child eligible to receive funds under this section
1 19 shall not receive more than three five thousand dollars under
1 20 this section during the child's lifetime.
1 21 3. There is appropriated from the general fund of the
1 22 state to the department, for each fiscal year, an amount
1 23 necessary to pay aid pursuant to this section.
1 24 Sec. 2. Section 35.10, Code Supplement 2005, is amended to
1 25 read as follows:
1 26 35.10 ELIGIBILITY AND PAYMENT OF AID.
1 27 Eligibility for aid shall be determined upon application to
1 28 the department of veterans affairs, whose decision is final.
1 29 The eligibility of eligible applicants shall be certified by
1 30 the department of veterans affairs to the director of the
1 31 department of administrative services, and all amounts that
1 32 are or become due to an individual or a training institution
1 33 under this chapter shall be paid to the individual or
1 34 institution by the director of the department of
1 35 administrative services upon receipt by the director of
2 1 certification by the president or governing board of the
2 2 educational or training institution as to accuracy of charges
2 3 made, and as to the attendance of the individual at the
2 4 educational or training institution. The department of
2 5 veterans affairs may pay over the annual sum of four hundred
2 6 dollars set forth in section 35.9 to the educational or
2 7 training institution in a lump sum, or in installments as the
2 8 circumstances warrant, upon receiving from the institution
2 9 such written undertaking as the department may require to
2 10 assure the use of funds for the child for the authorized
2 11 purposes and for no other purpose. A person is not eligible
2 12 for the benefits of this chapter until the person has
2 13 graduated from a high school or educational institution
2 14 offering a course of training equivalent to high school
2 15 training.
2 16 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 261.21 ACTIVE DUTY CHILDREN'S
2 17 SCHOLARSHIP.
2 18 1. The active duty children's scholarship is established
2 19 to be administered by the commission. A person who meets all
2 20 of the following criteria is eligible for a scholarship under
2 21 this section:
2 22 a. The person graduated from a public or accredited
2 23 nonpublic high school in Iowa.
2 24 b. The person is enrolled in a community college, an
2 25 institution of higher education governed by the state board of
2 26 regents, or an accredited private institution as defined in
2 27 section 261.9.
2 28 c. The person is the child of a person who is an eligible
2 29 member of the armed forces of the United States as defined in
2 30 subsection 4
2 31 2. The scholarship shall be for an amount not to exceed
2 32 the highest resident tuition rate set by a community college
2 33 established under chapter 260C.
2 34 3. If a person receiving scholarship moneys under this
2 35 section discontinues attendance before the end of any term,
3 1 the entire amount of any refund due that person, up to the
3 2 amount of any payments made under the scholarship, shall be
3 3 paid by the institution of enrollment to the state for deposit
3 4 in the general fund of the state.
3 5 4. For purposes of this section, "eligible member of the
3 6 armed forces of the United States" means a resident of this
3 7 state who is or was a member of the national guard, reserve,
3 8 or regular component of the armed forces of the United States
3 9 who has served at least ninety days of active duty service,
3 10 excluding initial active duty training, on or after September
3 11 11, 2001.
3 12 5. A person eligible for funds pursuant to section 35.9
3 13 who meets the requirements of subsection 1 is eligible for a
3 14 scholarship under this section.
3 15 Sec. 4. Section 261.25, Code Supplement 2005, is amended
3 16 by adding the following new subsection:
3 17 NEW SUBSECTION. 2A. There is appropriated from the
3 18 general fund of the state to the commission, for each fiscal
3 19 year, an amount necessary to award active duty children's
3 20 scholarships to persons eligible pursuant to section 261.21.
3 21 EXPLANATION
3 22 This bill establishes an active duty children's scholarship
3 23 to be administered by the college student aid commission, and
3 24 provides standing, unlimited appropriations from the general
3 25 fund of the state to the commission to provide scholarships to
3 26 all eligible persons and to the department of veterans affairs
3 27 to pay educational death benefits for children whose parent
3 28 died during active duty service. The bill raises the amount
3 29 of the educational death benefit to $1,000 per year and to
3 30 $5,000 over the child's lifetime. Current amounts are $600
3 31 and $3,000, respectively. The bill makes a conforming change
3 32 to permit the department to pay the $1,000 annual amount to
3 33 the educational or training institution in a lump sum.
3 34 A person is eligible for a scholarship if the person has
3 35 graduated from a public or accredited nonpublic high school in
4 1 Iowa; is enrolled in a community college, state university, or
4 2 an accredited private institution; and is the child of a
4 3 person who is a resident of this state who is or was a member
4 4 of the national guard, reserve, or regular component of the
4 5 armed forces of the United States, and who has served 90 days
4 6 or more on or after September 11, 2001. A person who received
4 7 educational death benefits from the department of veterans
4 8 affairs who meets the requirements for an active duty
4 9 children's scholarship is also eligible for the scholarship.
4 10 The scholarship amount is limited to not more than an
4 11 amount equivalent to the highest resident tuition rate set by
4 12 a community college.
4 13 If a person receiving a scholarship discontinues attendance
4 14 before the end of any term, the refund due that person must be
4 15 paid to the state and deposited in the general fund of the
4 16 state.
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