Merit career-technical scholarships.

WORKING DRAFT
2014
STATE OF
WYOMING
14LSO-0425

HOUSE BILL
NO.

HB0174

Merit career-technical scholarships.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Hunt

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 dates.

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 career-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 distribution as prescribed by law.

Section
2
.

W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
204(
u) by creating a new paragraph (viii), 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 career-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 paragraph (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, 2014, 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 amounts 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, 2014, 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 scholarships 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 postsecondary 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;

(iii)

Scholarship qualification requirements and requirements to maintain a scholarship including
consideration of high school course completion requirements, performance levels on high school assessments and postsecondary entry examinations, and academic progress requirements for scholarship eligibility maintenance;

(iv)

Reentry
requirements for students failing to maintain eligibility requirements of postsecondary institutions;

(v)

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

(vi)

Administrative
oversight of the program;

(vii)

An implementation date for the program;

(viii)

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 participants 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, 2014.

(f)

This section is repealed March 31, 2015.

Section 4.

There is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative service office fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) 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)(vi) as created by section 2 of this act, the state treasurer shall first deposit to the general fund fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) 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, 2014.

(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)

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HB0174