THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BURNS, BELFANTI, BRADFORD, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CONKLIN, DALEY, DeWEESE, FABRIZIO, FAIRCHILD, FARRY, GABLER, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HALUSKA, HARHAI, HORNAMAN, HOUGHTON, HUTCHINSON, KNOWLES, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, LENTZ, LEVDANSKY, LONGIETTI, MAHONEY, MANN, McGEEHAN, MILNE, MIRABITO, MOUL, PALLONE, PETRARCA, READSHAW, ROAE, SAINATO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER, TALLMAN, THOMAS, VULAKOVICH, WATERS, WHITE, O'NEILL AND CASORIO, FEBRUARY 18, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, FEBRUARY 18, 2010  

AN ACT

Establishing a recruitment scholarship program for volunteer

fire companies, volunteer ambulance services and volunteer

rescue squads; providing for duties of the Pennsylvania

Higher Education Assistance Agency; and making an

appropriation.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Volunteer

Recruitment Service Scholarship Act.

Section 2.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Agency."  The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance

Agency.

"Degree-producing curriculum."  A series of courses

programmed to culminate in a specific postsecondary degree or

diploma when successfully completed.

"Full-time study."  Enrollment in an approved postsecondary

degree program for at least 12 credit hours per semester or at

least eight credit hours per quarter in an institution of higher

education.

"Institution of higher education."  An accredited

postsecondary institution of higher education which provides a

course of study leading to the granting of a postsecondary

degree or diploma.

"Legal resident."  A person whose principal domicile is

located within this Commonwealth in excess of one year.

"Part-time study."  Enrollment in an approved postsecondary

degree program for at least six but less than 12 credit hours

per semester or at least four but less than eight credit hours

per quarter in an institution of higher education.

"Tuition."  The total semester, quarter or credit hour cost

of instruction to the student as periodically published in the

catalog of the institution of higher education, excluding

mandatory fees, book charges and room and board.

"Tuition benefit."  The payment of whatever cost is

attributable to the cost of tuition after the deduction of any

other available educational grant aid, not to exceed an amount

equal to the annual tuition charged by the State System of

Higher Education.

"Volunteer ambulance service."  Any nonprofit chartered

corporation, association or organization located in this

Commonwealth and regularly engaged in the service of providing

emergency medical care and transportation of patients.

"Volunteer fire company."  A nonprofit chartered corporation,

association or organization located in this Commonwealth that

provides fire protection services and may offer other voluntary

emergency services within this Commonwealth. Voluntary emergency

services may include voluntary ambulance and voluntary rescue

services.

"Volunteer rescue squad."  Any nonprofit chartered

corporation, association or organization located in this

Commonwealth which provides rescue services in this

Commonwealth.

"Volunteer organization."  A volunteer fire company, a

volunteer ambulance service or a volunteer rescue squad.

Section 3.  Volunteer recruitment service scholarships.

(a)  Program.--The agency is authorized, within amounts

appropriated or otherwise lawfully available from any other

source, to establish a recruitment scholarship program for

volunteer organizations.

(b)  Award.--Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to

the contrary, the agency is authorized to grant, based upon

available funding, volunteer recruitment service scholarships

which shall be awarded in the following manner:

(1)  Volunteer organizations may annually submit one

application to the agency.

(2)  Volunteer organizations submitting an application

shall develop a policy for selecting the candidate that will

be forwarded to the agency.

(3)  The agency shall designate a date by which all

applications shall be received by the agency.

(4)  The agency shall award a volunteer recruitment

service scholarship to all eligible applicants unless the

number of applications received is greater than the funding

available for the program, in which case the agency shall

develop a random system for selecting the recipients.

(5)  A recipient of the volunteer recruitment service

scholarship shall automatically continue to receive the

scholarship once awarded, provided that the recipient remains

compliant with the provisions of this section, the recipient

is continuously enrolled in a degree-producing curriculum at

an institution of higher education and funding is available.

(6)  The agency shall develop a system for certifying

each semester or quarter that the recipient is compliant

with the conditions enumerated in section 4 prior to

receiving the tuition benefit.

Section 4.  Qualifications.

Recipients of the volunteer recruitment service scholarships

shall:

(1)  Have been a member of the volunteer organization for

less than six months at the time of the initial award,

provided that this paragraph shall not apply to any

individual under 23 years of age.

(2)  Maintain an active volunteer status, as determined

by the volunteer organization, for the duration of the

scholarship.

(3)  Have graduated from high school or have received a

high school equivalency diploma and shall not possess a

bachelor's degree or higher.

(4)  Be enrolled in a degree-producing curriculum at an

institution of higher education located within a 50-mile

radius of the volunteer organization, or, provided that no

such institution exists, the next closest institution.

(5)  Maintain a cumulative grade point average of at

least 2.0.

(6)  Be a legal resident of this Commonwealth.

(7)  Apply for all other available Federal, State or

other educational grant aid at the time of enrollment. Any

grant aid or financial assistance received shall be utilized

to offset the cost of tuition to the maximum extent possible,

except that nothing shall require that aid or assistance

received which may be used toward costs other than that of

tuition shall be applied toward the cost of tuition.

Section 5.  Use.

The tuition benefit provided by this act may be used for

either part-time or full-time study.

Section 6.  Discontinuance.

Upon the recipient's attainment of a bachelor's degree or

cessation of status as a volunteer with the volunteer

organization, whichever occurs first, the tuition benefit

provided by this act shall be discontinued. The tuition benefit

provided by this act shall be suspended at the direction of the

agency for:

(1)  A recipient's failure to continue to serve as a

volunteer with the volunteer organization.

(2)  The failure to maintain good academic progress and

program pursuit.

(3)  The failure to maintain sufficient academic standing

to retain eligibility for any other financial assistance the

recipient may be receiving.

(4)  The failure to comply with any provision of this

act.

Section 7.  Limitations.

Unless otherwise provided for in this section, the tuition

benefit for the volunteer recruitment service scholarships shall

be on the terms and conditions set by the agency, provided that

any tuition benefit for:

(1)  Full-time study shall not exceed an amount equal to

the annual tuition charged to the recipient or the tuition

charged by the State System of Higher Education, whichever is

less.

(2)  Part-time study shall not exceed an amount equal to

the part-time tuition charged to the recipient or the per

credit hour tuition charged by the State System of Higher

Education multiplied by the number of credit hours taken,

whichever is less.

Section 8.  Regulations.

The agency may promulgate regulations necessary for the

implementation of this act.

Section 9.  Appropriation.

The sum of $2,000,000, or as much thereof as may be

necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania Higher

Education Assistance Agency for the fiscal year July 1, 2010, to

June 30, 2011, to carry out the purposes of this act.

Section 10.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.