1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to military affairs; increasing the tuition 
  1.3             reimbursement level for members of the Minnesota 
  1.4             National Guard who are attending postsecondary 
  1.5             educational institutions; appropriating money; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.7             192.501, subdivision 2. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.10  192.501, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [TUITION AND TEXTBOOK REIMBURSEMENT GRANT 
  1.12  PROGRAM.] (a) The adjutant general shall establish a program to 
  1.13  provide tuition and textbook reimbursement grants to eligible 
  1.14  members of the Minnesota National Guard within the limitations 
  1.15  of this subdivision. 
  1.16     (b) Eligibility is limited to a member of the National 
  1.17  Guard who: 
  1.18     (1) is serving satisfactorily as defined by the adjutant 
  1.19  general; 
  1.20     (2) is attending a postsecondary educational institution, 
  1.21  as defined by section 136A.15, subdivision 6, including a 
  1.22  vocational or technical school operated or regulated by this 
  1.23  state or another state or province; and 
  1.24     (3) provides proof of satisfactory completion of 
  1.25  coursework, as defined by the adjutant general. 
  1.26     In addition, if a member of the Minnesota National Guard is 
  2.1   killed in the line of state active service or federally funded 
  2.2   state active service, as defined in section 190.05, subdivisions 
  2.3   5a and 5b, the member's surviving spouse, and any surviving 
  2.4   dependent who has not yet reached 24 years of age, is eligible 
  2.5   for a tuition and textbook reimbursement grant. 
  2.6      The adjutant general may, within the limitations of this 
  2.7   paragraph and other applicable laws, determine additional 
  2.8   eligibility criteria for the grant, and must specify the 
  2.9   criteria in department regulations and publish changes as 
  2.10  necessary. 
  2.11     (c) The amount of a tuition and textbook reimbursement 
  2.12  grant must be specified on a schedule as determined and 
  2.13  published in department regulations by the adjutant general, but 
  2.14  is limited to a maximum of an amount equal to the greater of: 
  2.15     (1) ~~75 percent of~~ the cost of tuition for lower division 
  2.16  programs in the College of Liberal Arts at the Twin Cities 
  2.17  campus of the University of Minnesota in the most recent 
  2.18  academic year; or 
  2.19     (2) ~~50 percent of~~ the cost of tuition for the program in 
  2.20  which the person is enrolled at that Minnesota public 
  2.21  institution, or if that public institution is outside the state 
  2.22  of Minnesota, for the cost of a comparable program at the 
  2.23  University of Minnesota, except that in the case of a survivor 
  2.24  as defined in paragraph (b), the amount of the tuition and 
  2.25  textbook reimbursement grant for coursework satisfactorily 
  2.26  completed by the person is limited to 100 percent of the cost of 
  2.27  tuition for postsecondary courses at a Minnesota public 
  2.28  educational institution. 
  2.29     Paragraph (b) notwithstanding, a person is no longer 
  2.30  eligible for a grant under this subdivision once the person has 
  2.31  received grants under this subdivision for the equivalent of 208 
  2.32  quarter credits or 144 semester credits of coursework. 
  2.33     (d) Tuition and textbook reimbursement grants received 
  2.34  under this subdivision may not be considered by the Minnesota 
  2.35  Higher Education Services Office or by any other state board, 
  2.36  commission, or entity in determining a person's eligibility for 
  3.1   a scholarship or grant-in-aid under sections 136A.095 to 
  3.2   136A.1311. 
  3.3      (e) If a member fails to complete a term of enlistment 
  3.4   during which a tuition and textbook reimbursement grant was 
  3.5   paid, the adjutant general may seek to recoup a prorated amount 
  3.6   as determined by the adjutant general. 
  3.7      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2004. 
  3.8      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.9      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.10  Department of Military Affairs for fiscal year 2005 to 
  3.11  administer section 1.  This amount is in addition to funding 
  3.12  provided by Laws 2003, First Special Session chapter 1, article 
  3.13  1, section 16, subdivision 4.  This amount is added to the base 
  3.14  appropriation for fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007.  The 
  3.15  appropriations for tuition and textbook reimbursement grants are 
  3.16  available until expended. 
  3.17     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2004.