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House
File
2654
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2654
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
PUBLIC
SAFETY
(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
716)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
providing
for
a
waiver
of
resident
tuition
at
community
1
colleges
for
dependents
of
first
responders.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
261M.1
Short
title.
1
This
chapter
shall
be
known
and
may
be
cited
as
the
“First
2
Responder
Dependent
Education
Act”
.
3
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
261M.2
Definitions.
4
1.
“Associate
degree
program”
means
a
degree
program
offered
5
by
a
community
college
that
requires
completion
of
at
least
6
sixty
semester
credit
hours
or
an
equivalent
program
of
study.
7
“Associate
degree
program”
does
not
include
a
baccalaureate
8
degree
program.
9
2.
“Dependent”
means
a
child
of
a
first
responder
who
is
10
claimed
as
a
dependent
for
state
or
federal
tax
purposes
for
11
the
most
recent
tax
year.
12
3.
“Emergency
medical
care
provider”
means
an
individual
13
certified
pursuant
to
section
147A.6.
14
4.
“Employ”
or
“employment”
includes
work
as
a
volunteer.
15
5.
“Fire
fighter”
means
a
paid
or
volunteer
member
of
a
fire
16
department
who
is
certified
under
section
100B.6.
17
6.
“First
responder”
means
a
law
enforcement
officer,
fire
18
fighter,
or
emergency
medical
care
provider.
19
7.
“Law
enforcement
officer”
means
a
person
who
is
20
responsible
for
the
prevention
or
detection
of
crime
or
the
21
enforcement
of
the
criminal,
traffic,
or
highway
laws
of
this
22
state
or
any
political
subdivision
of
this
state
for
more
than
23
one
hundred
hours
per
year,
and
who
is
authorized
by
law
to
24
make
arrests.
25
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
261M.3
Eligibility
for
tuition
waiver.
26
A
community
college
shall
grant
a
dependent
of
a
first
27
responder
a
waiver
of
resident
tuition
if
the
dependent
does
28
all
of
the
following:
29
1.
Meets
all
admission
requirements
of
the
community
30
college.
31
2.
Enrolls
in
the
community
college
and
pursues
studies
32
leading
to
any
of
the
following:
33
a.
An
associate
degree
related
to
a
career
in
public
safety
34
or
emergency
response.
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b.
A
degree
or
credential
in
a
high-demand
job
as
determined
1
by
the
workforce
development
board
pursuant
to
section
84A.1B,
2
subsection
3.
3
3.
Submits
verification
that
the
dependent’s
parent
4
or
legal
guardian
was
employed
for
at
least
six
years
as
a
5
first
responder
and
at
the
time
of
the
dependent’s
initial
6
application
for
a
waiver
is
either
an
active
first
responder
in
7
Iowa
or
is
retired.
Verification
must
include
a
certificate
of
8
satisfactory
performance
from
a
supervisor
within
the
agency
9
that
employs
or
most
recently
employed
the
first
responder.
10
Employment
by
multiple
employers
or
in
multiple
first
responder
11
occupations
shall
be
counted
for
purposes
of
the
six-year
12
period.
13
Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION
.
261M.4
Waiver
amount
and
duration.
14
1.
The
amount
of
a
waiver
under
this
chapter
shall
be
the
15
amount
of
the
dependent’s
resident
tuition
remaining
after
16
subtracting
all
of
the
following
received
by
the
dependent:
17
a.
Any
federal
grants.
18
b.
Any
state
scholarships
and
grants.
19
c.
Any
awards
from
the
future
ready
Iowa
skilled
workforce
20
last-dollar
scholarship
program
under
section
256.228.
21
2.
An
eligible
dependent
may
receive
the
tuition
waiver
22
for
no
more
than
two
academic
years,
provided
the
dependent
23
continues
to
meet
the
requirements
of
this
chapter
and
all
24
policies
of
the
community
college
on
continued
enrollment
and
25
progress
toward
completion
of
the
applicable
degree
or
program.
26
Sec.
5.
NEW
SECTION
.
261M.5
In-state
residency
requirement.
27
1.
As
a
condition
of
receiving
a
tuition
waiver
under
this
28
chapter,
a
dependent
shall
remain
a
resident
of
the
state
29
of
Iowa
for
a
period
of
not
less
than
five
years
following
30
completion
of
the
degree
or
program
for
which
the
waiver
was
31
received.
32
2.
A
dependent
who
voluntarily
relocates
outside
the
state
33
before
completing
the
required
five-year
period
shall
repay
to
34
the
community
college
the
prorated
amount
of
tuition
waived
on
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the
dependent’s
behalf.
The
community
college
shall
determine
1
the
prorated
repayment
amount
based
on
the
portion
of
the
2
five-year
residency
obligation
not
completed.
3
3.
Repayment
under
this
section
shall
not
be
required
if
the
4
dependent’s
relocation
is
due
to
death,
permanent
disability,
5
or
other
good
cause
as
determined
by
the
community
college.
6
4.
If
a
first
responder
dies
in
the
line
of
duty
after
the
7
dependent’s
initial
application
for
a
waiver
is
submitted,
the
8
dependent
shall
remain
eligible
for
the
tuition
waiver
and
9
shall
not
be
subject
to
subsection
1.
10
5.
A
community
college
shall
adopt
procedures
for
11
monitoring
compliance
with
this
section
and
for
administering
12
repayment
obligations.
13
Sec.
6.
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
ACT.
Section
25B.2,
subsection
14
3,
shall
not
apply
to
this
Act.
15
EXPLANATION
16
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
17
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
18
This
bill
provides
for
a
waiver
of
resident
tuition
at
19
community
colleges
for
dependents
of
first
responders.
The
20
bill
defines
first
responder
as
a
law
enforcement
officer,
fire
21
fighter,
or
emergency
medical
care
provider.
22
The
bill
requires
a
community
college
to
grant
a
dependent
of
23
a
first
responder
a
waiver
of
resident
tuition
if
the
dependent
24
meets
admission
requirements,
enrolls
in
the
community
25
college
and
pursues
studies
leading
to
a
specified
degree
or
26
credential,
and
submits
verification
that
the
dependent’s
27
parent
or
legal
guardian
was
employed
for
at
least
six
years
28
as
a
first
responder
and
is
either
an
active
first
responder
29
in
Iowa
or
is
retired
at
the
time
of
the
dependent’s
initial
30
application
for
a
waiver.
31
The
amount
of
a
waiver
under
the
bill
is
the
amount
of
32
the
dependent’s
resident
tuition
remaining
after
subtracting
33
federal
grants,
state
scholarships
and
grants,
and
awards
from
34
the
future
ready
Iowa
skilled
workforce
last-dollar
scholarship
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program
received
by
the
dependent.
The
bill
provides
that
1
an
eligible
dependent
may
receive
the
tuition
waiver
for
no
2
more
than
two
academic
years,
provided
the
dependent
continues
3
to
meet
the
requirements
of
the
bill
and
all
policies
of
the
4
community
college
on
continued
enrollment
and
progress
toward
5
completion
of
the
applicable
degree
or
program.
6
As
a
condition
of
receiving
a
tuition
waiver,
the
bill
7
requires
the
dependent
to
remain
a
resident
of
Iowa
for
a
8
period
of
not
less
than
five
years
following
completion
of
the
9
degree
or
program
for
which
the
waiver
was
received.
The
bill
10
provides
for
repayment
to
a
community
college
of
the
amount
11
waived
if
a
dependent
voluntarily
relocates
outside
the
state
12
and
for
exceptions
to
the
repayment
requirement.
13
The
bill
may
include
a
state
mandate
as
defined
in
Code
14
section
25B.3.
The
bill
makes
inapplicable
Code
section
25B.2,
15
subsection
3,
which
would
relieve
a
political
subdivision
from
16
complying
with
a
state
mandate
if
funding
for
the
cost
of
17
the
state
mandate
is
not
provided
or
specified.
Therefore,
18
political
subdivisions
are
required
to
comply
with
any
state
19
mandate
included
in
the
bill.
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