Merit career-technical scholarships.

WORKING DRAFT
2013
STATE OF WYOMING
13LSO-0485

SENATE FILE
NO.

SF0145

Merit c
areer
-
technical scholarships.

Sponsored by:
Senator(s) Meier and Hastert and Representative(s) Semlek and Teeters

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
career-technical education; establishing a
merit
career-technical education student scholarship endowment fund and
an
expenditure account; providing funding for future scholarships
;
providing for a committee to study and prepare plans for implementation of a career-technical education student
scholarship
program;
providing an appropriation and for redistribution of federal coal lease bonus revenues;
and providing for effective date
s
.

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

Section 1.

W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1701 is created to read:

ARTICLE 17
MERIT
CAREER-TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNT

21
‑
16
‑
1701.

Merit c
areer-technical education student scholarship expenditure account created; use of funds

The
merit
career-technical education student scholarship expenditure account is created to consist of earnings from the career-technical education student scholarship endowment fund established under W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
204(
u)

iii) and such other funds
appropriated
by the legislature to the expenditure account. Monies within the expenditure account shall be continuously appropriated to the state treasurer for distri
b
ution as prescribed by law.

Section
2
.

W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
204(
u)
by creating a new paragraph
(vii
i
)
, 9
‑
4
‑
601(b)(
i
)(intro), (iv)(intro) and by creating a new paragraph (vi)
and 21
‑
16
‑
1201
by creating a new subsection (e)
are amended to read:

9
‑
4
‑
204.

Funds established; use thereof.

(u)

Other funds defined as follows shall be classified by the state auditor pursuant to subsections (s) and (t) of this section:

(vi
i
i)

Merit c
areer-technical education
student scholarship endowment fund - to consist of funds appropriated or designated to the fund by
law,
or by gift from whatever source. In accordance with Wyoming Constitution
,
Article 15, Section 20, monies within the fund shall not be expended and may be invested in the same manner as other permanent funds of the state. Earnings from investment of monies within the fund shall be distributed and expended as provided by law.

9
‑
4
‑
601.

Distribution and use; funds, accounts, cities and towns benefited; exception for bonus payments.

(b)

The state treasurer shall ascertain and withhold all bonus payments received from the federal government attributable to coal, oil shale or geothermal leases of federal land within Wyoming and shall distribute it as follows:

(
i
)

Except as provided by pa
ragraph (vi) of this subsection
, f
ifty percent (50%), the first seven million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000.00) of which shall be distributed as follows, and any amount in excess of seven million five hundred thousand dollars
($7,500,000.00) per year shall be deposited into the school capital construction account established under W.S. 21
‑
15
‑
111(
a)(
i
):

(iv)

And

except as provided by paragraph (
vi
) of this subsection
:

(vi)

Effective July 1, 2013,
and until such time as one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000.00) has been ascertained and withheld under this
paragraph
,
and notwithstanding paragraphs (
i
) and (iv) of this subsection, one hundred percent (100%) of the first one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the
merit
career-technical education student scholarship endowment fund established under W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
204(
u)(viii).
Thereafter, all a
mounts in excess of
one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000.00) ascertained and withheld under this paragraph shall be distributed in accordance with paragraphs (
i
) and (
iv
) of this subsection.

21
‑
16
‑
1201.

Excellence in higher education endowment fund; Hathaway student scholarship endowment fund;
merit
career-technical education student scholarship endowment
fund;
distributions by state treasurer; legislative restrictions.

(e)

In addition to the endowment funds established under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the
merit
career-technical education student scholarship endowment fund is established as provided in W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
204(
u)(viii). Commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, earnings from the
merit
career-technical education student scholarship endowment fund established under this subsection shall be transferred by the state treasurer to the
merit
career-technical education student scholarship expenditure account created by W.S. 21
‑
16
‑
1701.

Section
3
.

(a)

There is created a committee on
merit

career-technical
education scholarship
s
to consist of
two (2) members of the Wyoming house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house, and two (2) members of the Wyoming senate, appointed by the president of the senate, together with the following members appointed by the governor:

(
i
)

One (1)
representative of community colleges;

(
ii
)

One (1) representative of private career-technical education institutions operating in Wyoming;

(
iii
)

Two (2) representatives from business and industry;

(
iv
)

One (1) representative of the public
at-large
;

(
v
)

One (1) representative from the Wyoming K-12
career-technical
education community
;

(
vi
)

One (1) representative from the Wyoming department of education
career-technical education program;

(
vii
)

One (1) member of the state board of
education
.

(b)

The committee shall study
the establishment of a
student
merit

career-technical education
scholarship program to be funded by the earnings from
the merit
career-
technical education
student scholarship account created by this act. The goal of the committee shall be to make recommendations to the Wyoming legislature for future legislation
necessary for a student
merit
career-technical education scholarship program
to
make career-technical education post

secondary programs in
Wyoming as free as possible to Wyoming high school graduates. The committee shall consider and make recommendations as to the following:

(
i
)

The amount of tuition, fees and other education related payments which can be sustained from anticipated earnings from the
merit

career-technical education
student scholarship account
;

(ii)

Career
-
technical institutions to be eligible for student scholarships awarded under this act, including public and private
institutions
, with consideration given to any constitutional limitations governing the expenditure of public funds for scholarship purposes;

(i
i
i)

Scholarship q
ua
lification
requirements and requirements to maintain a scholarship including
consideration of high school course completion requirements, performance levels on high school assessments and post

secondary entry examinations, and academic progress requirements for scholarship
eligibility
maintenance;

(i
v
)

Reentry
requirements for students failing to maintain
eligibility requirements of post

secondary ins
titutions;

(
v
)

Waiver provisions, if any, regarding any of the entry or continuing scholarship requirements;

(v
i
)

Administrative
oversight of the program;

(v
i
i
)

An imple
mentation date for the program
;

(v
i
i
i
)

Additional funding
for
the program.

(c)

In addition to subsection (b) of this section
, the recommendation of the committee shall include a requirement that the department of education collect such information from school districts, Wyoming community colleges and technical schools operating in this state, as
determined necessary by the department of workforce services to evaluate the impacts of the scholarship program created under this act on state employment and wages. The evaluation by the department of workforce services shall be based upon studied control groups of program participants and nonparticipants and shall be reported annually to the joint appropriations and
joint
education interim committees,
identifying
program participa
n
t
s
and student control groups. The report shall
also
identify the return on investment
of the scholarship program
,
improve
student career counseling and incorporate representative employer assessment of the skills competency of program and control participants.

(d
)

The committee may retain consultants as necessary to fulfill its duties under this act. The committee shall be staffed by the legislative service office. State agencies shall provide information to the committee as requested in order to fulfill its duties. The legislative members of the committee shall receive compensation, per diem and travel expenses in the manner and amount prescribed by W.S. 28
‑
5
‑
101. Committee members who are not legislators and are not state employees shall receive the per diem and mileage paid members of the Wyoming
legislature under W.S. 28
‑
5
‑
101 for each day of actual committee meetings and travel to those meetings.

(e
)

The committee shall report its initial findings and recommendations to the governor, the joint appropriations and joint education interim committees by November 1,
2013
.

(f
)

This section is repealed March 31, 20
1
4
.

Section
4
.

There is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative service office
fifty
thousand dollars ($
5
0,000.00) or as much thereof as is necessary to fund the
merit
career-technical education student scholarship
committee in carrying out its duties under this act. Prior to making any distribution to the
merit

career-technical education
student scholarship endowment
fund
account pursuant to W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
601(
b
)(v
i
) as created by
section 2 of
this act, the state treasurer shall first deposit to the general fund
fifty
thousand dollars ($
5
0,000.00) from those funds as
repayment of this appropriation.

Section 5.

(a)

Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2013.

(b)

Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective
immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

1
SF0145