Senate Study Bill 3032 



                                       SENATE/HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF
                                            VETERANS AFFAIRS BILL)


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act concerning state educational assistance to children of
  2    deceased veterans and providing an appropriation.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 5384XD 82
  5 ec/rj/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 35.9, subsection 2, Code 2007, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  a.  Upon application by a child who has lived in the
  1  4 state of Iowa for two years preceding application for state
  1  5 educational assistance, and who is the child of a person who
  1  6 died on or after September 11, 2001, during active federal
  1  7 military service while serving in the armed forces or during
  1  8 active federal military service in the Iowa national guard or
  1  9 other military component of the United States, and who at the
  1 10 time of entering into active military service had maintained
  1 11 the person's residence in the state for a period of at least
  1 12 six months immediately before entering into active military
  1 13 service, the department shall provide state educational
  1 14 assistance in the amount of five thousand five hundred dollars
  1 15 per year or the amount of the child's established financial
  1 16 need, whichever is less, to defray the expenses of tuition,
  1 17 matriculation, laboratory and similar fees, books and
  1 18 supplies, board, lodging, and any other reasonably necessary
  1 19 expense for the child or children incident to attendance in
  1 20 this state at a community college established under chapter
  1 21 260C or at an institution of higher education governed by the
  1 22 state board of regents any postsecondary educational
  1 23 institution.
  1 24    b.  A child eligible to receive state educational
  1 25 assistance under this subsection shall begin postsecondary
  1 26 education prior to reaching age twenty=six and shall not
  1 27 receive more than twenty=seven thousand five hundred dollars
  1 28 under this subsection during the child's lifetime.  Payments
  1 29 for state educational assistance for a child under this
  1 30 subsection shall be made to the applicable postsecondary
  1 31 educational institution.  The college student aid commission
  1 32 may, if requested, assist the department in administering this
  1 33 subsection.
  1 34    c.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the
  1 35 state for each fiscal year the sum of twenty=seven thousand
  2  1 five hundred dollars to the war orphans educational assistance
  2  2 fund created in section 35.8 for the purpose of providing
  2  3 educational assistance under this subsection.
  2  4                           EXPLANATION
  2  5    This bill concerns state educational assistance provided to
  2  6 children of persons who died in active military service on or
  2  7 after September 11, 2001.
  2  8    The bill eliminates the requirement that the child seeking
  2  9 assistance lived in this state for two years preceding the
  2 10 application for assistance but adds a requirement that the
  2 11 deceased veteran resided in the state for a period of at least
  2 12 six months immediately before entering into active military
  2 13 service.
  2 14    The bill also provides that the state educational
  2 15 assistance can be used at any postsecondary institutions in
  2 16 the state and not just community colleges and board of regents
  2 17 institutions.  In addition, the child seeking assistance must
  2 18 begin postsecondary education prior to reaching age 26 and
  2 19 payments of educational assistance shall be made to the
  2 20 institution, not the child.
  2 21    The bill also appropriates $27,500 to the war orphans
  2 22 educational assistance fund each fiscal year for the purpose
  2 23 of providing educational assistance for children of persons
  2 24 who died in active military service on or after September 11,
  2 25 2001.
  2 26 LSB 5384XD 82
  2 27 ec/rj/5