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| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB0686 Introduced 2/25/2021, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an Illinois Veteran grant may be transferred to a qualified dependent beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year if, among other requirements, the qualified dependent's spouse or parent has served at least 8 years combined of federal active duty service or Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve Service. Effective July 1, 2021.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
5 | | amended by changing Section 40 as follows:
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6 | | (110 ILCS 947/40)
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7 | | Sec. 40. Illinois Veteran grant program. |
8 | | (a) As used in this Section: |
9 | | "Qualified applicant" means a person who served in the |
10 | | Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the |
11 | | Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard, excluding |
12 | | members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and those |
13 | | whose only service has been attendance at a service academy, |
14 | | and who meets all of the qualifications of either paragraphs |
15 | | (1) through (4) or paragraphs (2), (3), and (5): |
16 | | (1) At the time of entering federal active duty |
17 | | service the person was one of the following: |
18 | | (A) An Illinois resident. |
19 | | (B) An Illinois resident within 6 months of |
20 | | entering such service. |
21 | | (C) Enrolled at a State-controlled university or |
22 | | public community college in this State. |
23 | | (2) The person meets one of the following |
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1 | | requirements: |
2 | | (A) He or she served at least one year of federal |
3 | | active duty. |
4 | | (B) He or she served less than one year of federal |
5 | | active duty and received an honorable discharge for |
6 | | medical reasons directly connected with such service. |
7 | | (C) He or she served less than one year of federal |
8 | | active duty and was discharged prior to August 11, |
9 | | 1967. |
10 | | (D) He or she served less than one year of federal |
11 | | active duty in a foreign country during a time of |
12 | | hostilities in that foreign country. |
13 | | (3) The person received an honorable discharge after |
14 | | leaving each period of federal active duty service. |
15 | | (4) The person returned to this State within 6 months |
16 | | after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married |
17 | | to a person in continued military service stationed |
18 | | outside this State, returned to this State within 6 months |
19 | | after his or her spouse left service or was stationed |
20 | | within this State. |
21 | | (5) The person does not meet the requirements of |
22 | | paragraph (1), but (i) is a resident of Illinois at the |
23 | | time of application to the Commission and (ii) at some |
24 | | point after leaving federal active duty service, was a |
25 | | resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years. |
26 | | "Qualified dependent" means any spouse or natural born or |
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1 | | legally adopted child of a veteran of the United States Armed |
2 | | Forces who meets all of the following qualifications: |
3 | | (1) Has earned a high school diploma or high school |
4 | | equivalency certificate and is less than 26 years of age, |
5 | | unless granted an extension by the Commission due to a |
6 | | qualifying illness or debilitating condition. |
7 | | (2) Meets the cumulative grade point average |
8 | | requirements of the postsecondary institution. |
9 | | (3) Is a resident of Illinois for the term in which the |
10 | | grant under subsection (i) is transferred. |
11 | | "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces |
12 | | of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a |
13 | | Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order |
14 | | and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other |
15 | | campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential |
16 | | executive order. |
17 | | (b) A person who otherwise qualifies under the definition |
18 | | of "qualified applicant" under subsection (a) of this Section |
19 | | but has not left federal active duty service and has served at |
20 | | least one year of federal active duty or has served for less |
21 | | than one year of federal active duty in a foreign country |
22 | | during a time of hostilities in that foreign country and who |
23 | | can provide documentation demonstrating an honorable service |
24 | | record is eligible to receive assistance under this Section. |
25 | | (c) A qualified applicant is not required to pay any |
26 | | tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled |
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1 | | university or public community college in this State for a |
2 | | period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, |
3 | | including summer terms. |
4 | | A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits |
5 | | under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to |
6 | | receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is |
7 | | enrolled in a continuous program of study. The qualified |
8 | | applicant shall no longer receive a grant covering |
9 | | non-mandatory fees if he or she fails to enroll during an |
10 | | academic term, unless he or she is serving federal active duty |
11 | | service.
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12 | | (d) A person qualified applicant who has been or is to be |
13 | | awarded assistance under this Section shall receive that |
14 | | assistance if the person qualified applicant notifies his or |
15 | | her postsecondary institution of that fact by the end of the |
16 | | school term for which assistance is requested. |
17 | | (e) Assistance under this Section is considered an |
18 | | entitlement that the State-controlled college or public |
19 | | community college in which the person qualified applicant is |
20 | | enrolled shall honor without any condition other than the |
21 | | person's qualified applicant's maintenance of minimum grade |
22 | | levels and a satisfactory student loan repayment record |
23 | | pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act. |
24 | | (f) The Commission shall administer the grant program |
25 | | established by this Section and shall make all necessary and |
26 | | proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its |
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1 | | effective implementation. |
2 | | (g) All applications for assistance under this Section |
3 | | must be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission |
4 | | shall provide. The Commission shall determine the form of |
5 | | application and the information required to be set forth in |
6 | | the application, and the Commission shall require qualified |
7 | | applicants to submit with their applications any supporting |
8 | | documents that the Commission deems necessary. Upon request, |
9 | | the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the |
10 | | Commission in determining the eligibility of applicants for |
11 | | assistance under this Section. |
12 | | (h) Assistance under this Section is available as long as |
13 | | the federal government provides educational benefits to |
14 | | veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after |
15 | | 6 months following the termination of educational benefits to |
16 | | veterans by the federal government, except for persons who |
17 | | already have begun their education with assistance under this |
18 | | Section. If the federal government terminates educational |
19 | | benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those |
20 | | benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.
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21 | | (i) Beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, a grant |
22 | | awarded under this Section may be transferred to a qualified |
23 | | dependent if the qualified dependent's spouse or parent meets |
24 | | all of the following qualifications: |
25 | | (1) He or she is a qualified applicant under |
26 | | subsection (a) or (b). |
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1 | | (2) He or she has served at least 8 years combined of |
2 | | federal active duty service or Reserve or Individual Ready |
3 | | Reserve service. |
4 | | (3) He or she has no federal veterans' educational |
5 | | benefits or no federal veterans' educational benefits |
6 | | dedicated only to the payment of tuition and fees, such as |
7 | | Chapter 31 or 33 benefits, for an enrolled term or |
8 | | semester that exceed the value of a grant under this |
9 | | Section. |
10 | | (4) He or she is a resident of Illinois during the term |
11 | | of the qualified dependent's enrollment unless the veteran |
12 | | has been recalled to active duty outside the State or has |
13 | | rejoined the military and is outside the State pursuant to |
14 | | military orders. However, a veteran who has a |
15 | | service-connected disability rating, as determined by the |
16 | | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, of 90% to 100% or is |
17 | | unemployable based on a total disability, as determined by |
18 | | the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is not required |
19 | | to maintain Illinois residency while his or her qualified |
20 | | dependent receives benefits under this subsection. |
21 | | A qualified dependent of a person who was killed in the |
22 | | line of duty, was a prisoner of war, was missing in action, had |
23 | | a service-connected disability rating, as determined by the |
24 | | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, of 90% to 100%, was |
25 | | unemployable based on a total disability, as determined by the |
26 | | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or died as a result of |
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1 | | injury or illness directly related to his or her military |
2 | | service is eligible for a grant transfer of no less than 120 |
3 | | credit hours under this subsection if the spouse or parent |
4 | | would have otherwise met the qualifications under this |
5 | | subsection. A dependent who is a natural born or legally |
6 | | adopted child of a veteran may still qualify for a grant under |
7 | | this subsection if he or she marries or if his or her parents |
8 | | divorce. |
9 | | Benefits under this Section may not be used simultaneously |
10 | | by both the veteran and his or her qualified dependent. A |
11 | | veteran may revoke or otherwise change the transfer of his or |
12 | | her benefits to a qualified dependent under this subsection at |
13 | | any time but may not transfer his or her benefits to the same |
14 | | qualified dependent again once those benefits have been |
15 | | revoked for that qualified dependent. |
16 | | A veteran may transfer benefits under this subsection to |
17 | | multiple qualified dependents; however, the total number of |
18 | | credit hours of assistance transferred may not exceed 120 |
19 | | credit hours, and a veteran may transfer benefits to only one |
20 | | qualified dependent at a time. |
21 | | (Source: P.A. 101-334, eff. 8-9-19.)
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22 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
23 | | 2021.
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