National guard educational assistance trust fund.

WORKING DRAFT
2005
STATE OF WYOMING
05LSO-0036.E1

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0044

National guard educational assistance trust fund.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Walsh, Hinckley, Illoway, Petersen, Powers, Robinson and Wasserburger and Senator(s) Boggs and Case

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to the Wyoming national guard; establishing a Wyoming national guard educational assistance trust fund; specifying use of trust fund investment income; accordingly modifying educational assistance payments for guard members and specifying full payment of tuition and fees to the extent funds are available; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 19
‑
9
‑
505 is created to read:

19
‑
9
‑
505.

Wyoming national guard educational assistance trust fund; established; corpus inviolate; investment by state treasurer; expenditure of investment earnings; annual report.

(a)

An account within the trust and agency fund is established which shall be referred to as the Wyoming national guard educational assistance trust fund. The trust fund shall consist of those funds designated to the account by law.

(b)

Monies deposited into the trust fund established pursuant to this section are inviolate and constitute a permanent or perpetual trust fund. The monies shall be transmitted to the state treasurer for credit to the trust fund and shall be invested by the state treasurer as authorized under W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
711 in a manner to obtain the highest return possible consistent with the preservation of the corpus. The interest earned from investment of the corpus of the trust fund shall be annually credited by the state treasurer not later than June 30 of each year into a separate account within the trust and agency fund. The expenditure of amounts credited to this separate investment income account shall be made by the adjutant general for educational assistance payments for active members of the Wyoming national guard authorized under W.S. 19
‑
9
‑
503.

(c)

Commencing September 1, 2006, and each September 1 thereafter, the adjutant general shall provide an annual report to the governor and the joint appropriations interim committee specifying the total amount of interest income earned from the trust fund during the preceding state fiscal year and the total amount of educational assistance provided from the interest income during the same reporting period.

Section 2.

W.S. 19
‑
9
‑
503(a)(intro), (b)(intro), (i) through (iii) and by creating a new subsection (c) is amended to read:

19
‑
9
‑
503.

Requirements for educational assistance; assistance payments.

(a)

Subject to legislative appropriation
From amounts deposited within the Wyoming national guard educational assistance trust fund investment income account pursuant to W.S. 19
‑
9
‑
505(b)
and in accordance with the provisions of this article, the adjutant general or his designee,
may
shall
authorize the payment of higher education tuition and mandatory fees for active members of the Wyoming national guard. To be eligible to participate in the plan members shall:

(b)

To the extent amounts are available within the Wyoming national guard educational assistance trust fund investment income account, m
embers meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of this section
may
shall
receive educational assistance benefit payments as follows:

(i)

For authorized courses at a Wyoming public institution of higher education, payment
may
shall
be made for
up to
the full cost of tuition and mandatory fees;

(ii)

For authorized courses at a Wyoming private institution of higher education, payment
may
shall
be made for the lesser of the actual costs of tuition and mandatory fees or an amount equal to the average resident tuition and mandatory fee charges of all Wyoming public institutions of higher education for an undergraduate student enrolled for twelve (12) semester hours;

(iii)

Eligible members who are not Wyoming residents
may
shall
receive
benefits
payments
as provided in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection, but the
benefit
payment shall not exceed the amount of tuition and mandatory fees which would have been charged if the member were a Wyoming resident;

(c)

If amounts within the Wyoming national guard trust fund investment income account established under W.S. 19
‑
9
‑
505(b) are not sufficient to make tuition and mandatory fee payments under this section, the adjutant general or his designee shall make a pro rata reduction in payments to institutions on behalf of active members until such time as sufficient amounts become available.

Section 3.

This act is effective July 1, 2005.

(END)

1
HB0044