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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2074
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE PHELPS.
4849H.02I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 173, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to college tuition
for dependents of certain veterans.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 173, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 173.237, to read as follows:
173.237. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri
2 Disabled V eterans' Dependents T uition W aiver".
3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Board", the coordinating board for higher education;
5 (2) "Institution", any appr oved public institution, as defined in subdivision (3) of
6 subsection 1 of section 173.1 102;
7 (3) "T uition", any tuition or incidental fee, or both, charged by an institution for
8 attendance at the institution by a student as a res ident of this state, but not to exceed the
9 amount of tuition charged to a Missouri res ident at the University of Missouri-
10 Columbia for attendance.
11 3. A dependent of a veteran shall be eligible for a waiver of all tuition rem aining
12 due to an institution after subtracting awarded federal financial aid grants and state
13 scholarships and grants if the dependent meets the following req uire ments:
14 (1) The dependent is a r esident of this state who meets the institution's
15 r equir ements for establishing Missouri res idency for the purpose of paying in-state
16 tuition;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (2) The dependent has a par ent, step-paren t, or spouse who is or was a member
18 of the Armed For ces of the United States and who:
19 (a) Died while on active duty;
20 (b) Died of a service-connected disability;
21 (c) Died subsequent to discharge fr om the Armed For ces of the United States as
22 a res ult of injury or illness sustained while serving as a member of the Armed For ces of
23 the United States, whether the injury or illness res ulted in total disability;
24 (d) Is rated as permanently and totally disabled as a res ult of military service as
25 certified by the United States Department of V eterans Affairs, excluding temporary
26 total disability ratings or other temporary disability ratings given for conditions
27 expected to impr ove, but including ratings for total disability based on individual
28 unemployability if the unemployability is permanent; or
29 (e) Is classified as missing in action or as a prisoner of war during armed
30 hostilities while serving as a member of the Armed For ces of the United States; and
31 (3) If the dependent is a child or stepchild of a veteran described in subdivision
32 (2) of this subsection, such dependent shall be under twenty-six years of age unless the
33 dependent serves on active duty with the Armed For ces of the United States after such
34 dependent's eighteenth birthday but before such dependent's twenty-sixth birthday , in
35 which case the eligibility period shall end five years after the date of the dependent's
36 first discharge or r elease fr om duty fr om the Armed For ces of the United States, but in
37 no event shall such eligibility period be extended beyond the dependent's thirty-first
38 birthday .
39 4. An application for a tuition waiver shall be submitted on a form to be
40 pr escribed by the executive direc tor of the Missouri veterans' commission. The
41 executive dire ctor shall ensur e that the application pr ocess is accessible, transparent ,
42 and efficiently administered.
43 5. The executive director of the Missouri veterans' commission or the executive
44 dir ector's designee shall:
45 (1) Establish application pr ocedur es by prescrib ing and prov iding all necessary
46 forms, setting application deadlines, and determining req uired documentation for
47 dependents of disabled veterans to apply for the tuition waiver;
48 (2) Review and determine applicant eligibility , verify documentation, and certify
49 appr oved applicants. Upon an applicant's certification, the executive dir ector shall
50 notify the applicant and the institution in which the applicant desires to enr oll. The
51 executive dir ector's decision shall be final and binding, absent fraud or
5 2 misr epr esentation;
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53 (3) Pro mulgate necessary rules and r egulations to ensure effective
5 4 administration of this section, including pro cedure s for eligibility verification, fraud
55 pr evention, and pr ogram oversight;
56 (4) Coordinate with the board to facilitate communication with institutions,
57 ensur e prope r implementation of waivers, and maintain pr ogram efficiency; and
58 (5) Oversee pr ogram compliance and repo rting by maintaining r ecords of
59 waiver recipi ents, monitoring participation, and pr oviding periodic rep orts to the
60 board.
61 6. The board shall:
62 (1) Ensure consistent implementation of this section acr oss all institutions,
63 including institutional compliance and re porting;
64 (2) Develop and distribute pr ocedur es and guidelines for institutions to pro cess
65 tuition waivers, ensuring that certified applicants are enr olled without tuition charges;
66 and
67 (3) Coordinate with the Missouri veterans' commission to ensur e seamless
68 communication between certifying authorities and institutions, prevent ing
6 9 administrative delays for eligible applicants.
70 7. The waiver shall be valid for one degr ee, diploma, or certificate fr om a
71 community college and one baccalaur eate degr ee fro m a state college or university .
72 Receipt of such degr ee, diploma, or certificate fro m a community college shall pre cede
73 r eceipt of such baccalaur eate degr ee.
74 8. (1) A rec ipient of a tuition waiver pursuant to this section shall be ineligible
75 for any other state-funded, veteran-dependent tuition grant, waiver , or scholarship
76 including, but not limited to, grants established in sections 173.234 and 173.236.
77 (2) A student who has pr eviously rec eived any other state-funded, veteran-
78 dependent tuition grant, waiver , or scholarship including, but not limited to, grants
79 established in sections 173.234 and 173.236 shall not be eligible to recei ve a tuition
80 waiver pursuant to this section.
81 (3) A student shall not concurr ently r eceive a tuition waiver pursuant to this
82 section and any other state-funded, veteran-dependent tuition grant, waiver , or
83 scholarship including, but not limited to, grants established in sections 173.234 and
84 173.236, but such student may elect to use the pr ogram that provi des the great est
85 financial benefit.
86 9. A reci pient of a tuition waiver pursuant to this section may transfer fr om one
87 institution to another without losing such recip ient's entitlement to such tuition waiver .
88 10. If a recip ient of a tuition waiver pursuant to this section is granted financial
89 assistance under any other student aid prog ram, whether public or private, the full
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90 amount of such financial assistance shall be repor ted to the Missouri veterans'
91 commission by the institution and the recipi ent.
92 1 1. The Missouri veterans' commission shall promul gate all necessary rules for
93 the implementation of the pr ovisions of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as
94 that term is defined in section 536.010, that is creat ed under the authority delegated in
95 this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the
96 pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter
97 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
98 pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul
99 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
100 and any rule prop osed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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