Minnesota Session Laws - 1997, Regular Session

                             CHAPTER 160-S.F.No. 4 
                  An act relating to the military; changing the tuition 
                  and textbook reimbursement grant program; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 192.501, subdivision 
                  2. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 192.501, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [TUITION AND TEXTBOOK REIMBURSEMENT GRANT 
        PROGRAM.] (a) The adjutant general shall establish a program to 
        provide tuition and textbook reimbursement grants to eligible 
        members of the Minnesota national guard within the limitations 
        of this subdivision. 
           (b) Eligibility is limited to a member of the national 
        guard who: 
           (1) is serving satisfactorily as defined by the adjutant 
        general; 
           (2) is attending a post-secondary educational institution, 
        as defined by section 136A.15, subdivision 6, including a 
        vocational or technical school operated or regulated by this 
        state or another state or province; and 
           (3) provides proof of satisfactory completion of 
        coursework, as defined by the adjutant general. 
           In addition, if a member of the Minnesota national guard is 
        killed in the line of state active service or federally funded 
        state active service, as defined in section 190.05, subdivisions 
        5a and 5b, the member's surviving spouse, and any surviving 
        dependent who has not yet reached 24 years of age, shall be is 
        eligible for a tuition and textbook reimbursement grant. 
           The adjutant general may, within the limitations of this 
        paragraph and other applicable laws, determine additional 
        eligibility criteria for the grant, and must specify the 
        criteria in department regulations and publish changes as 
        necessary. 
           (c) The amount of a tuition and textbook reimbursement 
        grant must be specified on a schedule as determined and 
        published in department regulations by the adjutant general, but 
        is limited to a maximum of an amount equal to the greater of: 
           (1) 75 percent of the cost of tuition for lower division 
        programs in the college of liberal arts at the twin cities 
        campus of the University of Minnesota in the most recent 
        academic year,; or 
           (2) 50 percent of the cost of tuition for the program in 
        which the person is enrolled at that Minnesota public 
        institution, or if that public institution is outside the state 
        of Minnesota, for the cost of a comparable program at the 
        University of Minnesota, except that in the case of a survivor 
        as defined in paragraph (b), the amount of the tuition and 
        textbook reimbursement grant for coursework satisfactorily 
        completed by the person shall be is limited to 100 percent of 
        the cost of tuition for post-secondary courses at a Minnesota 
        public educational institution. 
           Paragraph (b) notwithstanding, a person is no longer 
        eligible for a grant under this subdivision once the person has 
        received grants under this subdivision for the equivalent of 208 
        quarter credits or 144 semester credits of coursework. 
           (d) Tuition and textbook reimbursement grants received 
        under this subdivision shall may not be considered by the 
        Minnesota higher education services office or by any other state 
        board, commission, or entity in determining a person's 
        eligibility for a scholarship or grant-in-aid under sections 
        136A.095 to 136A.1311. 
           (e) If a member fails to complete a term of enlistment 
        during which a tuition and textbook reimbursement grant was 
        paid, the adjutant general may seek to recoup a prorated amount 
        as determined by the adjutant general. 
           Presented to the governor May 15, 1997 
           Signed by the governor May 16, 1997, 2:05 p.m.