SENATE BILL 150
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014
INTRODUCED BY
John Arthur Smith and Luciano "Lucky" Varela
FOR THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; MAKING CHANGES TO THE LEGISLATIVE LOTTERY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO EXTEND ITS FINANCIAL SOLVENCY; CHANGING THE AMOUNT OF AWARDS; PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL AWARDS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; REQUIRING A MINIMUM BALANCE IN THE LOTTERY TUITION FUND; AMENDING, REPEALING, RECOMPILING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 6 of this act may be cited as the "Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act:
A. "community college" means a branch community college of a state educational institution or a community college or technical and vocational institute established pursuant to Chapter 21, Article 13 or 16 NMSA 1978, respectively;
B. "comprehensive institution" means eastern New Mexico university, western New Mexico university, New Mexico highlands university or northern New Mexico college;
C. "cost of attendance" means tuition, fees, textbooks and other educational materials, but does not include room and board expenses;
D. "department" means the higher education department;
E. "full time" means the maintenance of fifteen or more credit hours each semester of the regular academic year in a public post-secondary educational institution;
F. "fund" means the lottery tuition fund;
G. "legacy student" means a student who has received for three or more semesters by the end of fiscal year 2014 the legislative lottery scholarship awarded pursuant to the former provisions of Sections 21-1-4.3, 21-13-10 and
21-16-10.1 NMSA 1978 prior to the enactment of the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act;
H. "public post-secondary educational institution" means a community college, comprehensive institution, research institution or state educational institution;
I. "qualified student" means a full-time resident student who graduated from a public or accredited private New Mexico high school or who received a high school equivalency credential while maintaining residency in New Mexico and who:
(1) either:
(a) immediately upon graduation or receipt of a credential was accepted for entrance to and attended a public post-secondary educational institution; or
(b) within one hundred twenty days of completion of a high school curriculum or receipt of a high school equivalency credential began service in the United States armed forces and within one year of completion of honorable service or medical discharge from the service, attended a public post-secondary educational institution; and
(2) successfully completed the first semester at a public post-secondary educational institution with a grade point average of 2.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the first semester of full-time enrollment;
J. "research institution" means the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university or New Mexico institute of mining and technology;
K. "state educational institution" means an institution of higher education enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico; and
L. "tuition scholarship" means the scholarship that provides tuition assistance per semester for a qualified student or legacy student attending a public post-secondary educational institution.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS AUTHORIZED--QUALIFIED STUDENTS.--
A. To the extent that funds are made available by the legislature from the fund, the boards of regents or governing bodies of public post-secondary educational institutions shall award tuition scholarships in department-approved amounts to qualified students and legacy students attending their respective public post-secondary educational institutions.
B. Beginning in fiscal year 2015:
(1) a legacy student is eligible to receive the tuition scholarship for the full value of tuition until the total number of semesters for which the legislative lottery scholarship pursuant to the former provisions of Sections 21-1-4.3, 21-13-10 and 21-16-10.1 NMSA 1978 or the tuition scholarship pursuant to the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act was received reaches eight; provided that the legacy student maintains residency in New Mexico, maintains a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale and completes twelve or more credit hours per semester; and
(2) a qualified student who is not a legacy student is eligible to receive the tuition scholarship until the total number of semesters for which the legislative lottery scholarship or the tuition scholarship was received reaches seven.
C. Except as otherwise provided in this section, tuition scholarships may be awarded to a qualified student who: (1) maintains residency in New Mexico;
(2) maintains a grade point average of 2.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale; and
(3) completes:
(a) for a student attending a four-year public post-secondary educational institution, fifteen or more credit hours per semester; and
(b) for a student attending a two-year public post-secondary educational institution, twelve or more credit hours per semester.
D. For students with disabilities who may require accommodations, the department, in consultation with the student and the office at the public post-secondary educational institution that serves students with disabilities, shall review both the definition of "full time" and the maximum number of consecutive semesters of eligibility and adjust either or both as deemed reasonable and appropriate, based on the student's disability needs. In no case, however, shall "full time" mean fewer than six credit hours per semester, and in no case shall eligibility extend beyond fourteen consecutive semesters.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] TUITION SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT--FUND.--
A. Prior to May 1 of each year, based on the amount appropriated by the legislature from the fund and on the projected enrollment at all public post-secondary educational institutions, the department shall:
(1) determine the total amount of money available for tuition scholarships at all public post-secondary educational institutions;
(2) determine the amount of money available for each tuition scholarship at each public post-secondary educational institution; and
(3) notify all public post-secondary educational institutions of the determinations made pursuant to Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.
B. Beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year, a tuition scholarship shall be provided per semester by the public post-secondary educational institution for a qualified student who is not a legacy student in the following amounts, unless modified by the department pursuant to Subsection C of this section:
(1) up to two thousand one hundred dollars ($2,100) for a qualified student at a research institution or state educational institution;
(2) up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a qualified student at a comprehensive institution; and
(3) up to eight hundred dollars ($800), or the full amount of tuition for in-district resident tuition charged at a community college, whichever is less, for a qualified student at a community college.
C. If the balance in the fund is not sufficient to pay tuition scholarships for all qualified students at the levels specified in Subsection B of this section and maintain the minimum fund balance pursuant to Section 5 of the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act, the department may reduce tuition scholarship amounts for qualified students who are not legacy students so as to maintain the minimum fund balance. To further reduce tuition scholarship amounts, the department may consider all other state and institutional scholarships and grants-in-aid awarded to qualified students.
SECTION 5. Section 6-24-23 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 155, Section 23, as amended) is recompiled in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act and is amended to read:
"LOTTERY TUITION FUND CREATED--PURPOSE.--
A. The "lottery tuition fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund shall be administered by the [commission on higher education] department. Earnings from investment of the fund shall accrue to the credit of the fund. The fund shall maintain an annual average balance of two million dollars ($2,000,000), and any balance in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund for appropriation by the legislature as provided in this section.
B. Money in the [lottery tuition] fund [is] shall be appropriated by the legislature to the [commission on higher education] department for distribution to New Mexico's public post-secondary educational institutions to provide tuition assistance for [New Mexico resident undergraduates as provided by law] qualified students and legacy students as provided in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act."
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] DEPARTMENT RULEMAKING AND REPORTING.--
A. The department shall promulgate rules setting forth explicit criteria in accordance with the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act for:
(1) student qualification and continuing eligibility; and
(2) calculating any increase or reduction in the tuition scholarship award amount pursuant to Subsection C of Section 4 of the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act and guidelines for the administration of the tuition scholarship program.
B. The rules shall be distributed to boards of regents and governing boards of public post-secondary educational institutions to enable a uniform availability of the qualified student tuition scholarships by May 1 and October 1 of each year to inform students of any changes to student qualification, continuing eligibility or other guidelines.
C. The department shall report by September 1 of each year to the legislative finance committee and the department of finance and administration on:
(1) the status of the fund;
(2) tuition scholarship program
participation data aggregated for each public post-secondary educational institution to show:
(a) the number of qualified students and the number of legacy students who received tuition scholarships in the prior twelve-month period;
(b) the total number of students, including qualified students and legacy students, enrolled in the prior twelve-month period;
(c) for each qualified student and each legacy student, the amount of the tuition scholarship received and the amount of the tuition cost that was not offset by the tuition scholarship;
(d) for each semester, the amount of tuition scholarships funded and the amount of tuition costs that were not offset by the tuition scholarship;
(e) the number of qualified students and the number of legacy students who graduated with a degree and, for each qualified student, the number of consecutive semesters and nonconsecutive semesters attended prior to graduation; and
(f) the number of qualified students and the number of legacy students who received a tuition scholarship and subsequently became ineligible for a tuition scholarship and the reasons for ineligibility; and
(3) any additional information required or requested by the legislative finance committee and the department of finance and administration.
SECTION 7. Section 21-13-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1963, Chapter 17, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-13-10. BOARD DUTIES.--
A. It is the duty of the community college board to determine financial and educational policies of the community college. The community college board shall provide for the management of the community college and execution of these policies by selecting a competent president for the community college, and, upon the president's recommendation, the board shall employ other administrative personnel, instructional staff or other personnel as may be needed for the operation, maintenance and administration of the community college.
B. The community college board shall have the power to fix tuition and fee rates for resident and nonresident students of the community college district, to accept gifts, to accept federal aid, to purchase, hold, sell and rent property and equipment and to promote the general welfare of the institution for the best interest of educational service to the people of the community college district.
[C. To the extent that funds are made available by the legislature from the lottery tuition fund, the community college board shall award legislative lottery scholarships for qualified resident students attending their respective institutions.
D. The legislative lottery scholarships authorized in this section shall apply only to full-time resident students who, immediately upon completion of a high school curriculum at a public or accredited private New Mexico high school or upon receiving a graduate equivalent diploma, are accepted for entrance to and attend a community college. Each legislative lottery scholarship shall be awarded for up to two consecutive years beginning the second semester of the recipient's first year of enrollment, provided that the recipient has maintained residency in New Mexico and maintained a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the first semester of full-time enrollment.
E. The higher education department shall prepare guidelines setting forth explicit student continuing eligibility criteria and guidelines for administration of the legislative lottery scholarship program. Guidelines shall be distributed to community college boards to enable a uniform availability of the resident student lottery tuition scholarships.
F. For purposes of the legislative lottery scholarship program as it applies to students with disabilities who may require special accommodations, the higher education department, in consultation with the student and the office at the community college that serves students with disabilities, shall review both the definition of "full time" and the maximum number of consecutive semesters of eligibility and adjust either or both as deemed reasonable and appropriate, based on the student's disability needs. In no case, however, shall "full time" mean fewer than six credit hours per semester, and in no case shall eligibility extend beyond fourteen consecutive semesters.]"
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION.--Two million nine hundred thousand dollars ($2,900,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the lottery tuition fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2015 and subsequent fiscal years to supplement the lottery tuition fund and provide tuition scholarships for the full amount of tuition for legacy students as defined in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
SECTION 9. APPROPRIATION.--Eight million dollars ($8,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the lottery tuition fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2015 and subsequent fiscal years to supplement the lottery tuition fund and provide tuition scholarships for qualified students as defined in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
SECTION 10. REPEAL.--Sections 21-1-4.3, 21-1-4.4 and 21-16-10.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1996, Chapter 71, Sections 3, 4 and 6, as amended) are repealed.
SECTION 11. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.
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