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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| 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 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, FEBRUARY 18, 2010 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Establishing a recruitment scholarship program for volunteer |
2 | fire companies, volunteer ambulance services and volunteer |
3 | rescue squads; providing for duties of the Pennsylvania |
4 | Higher Education Assistance Agency; and making an |
5 | appropriation. |
6 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
7 | hereby enacts as follows: |
8 | Section 1. Short title. |
9 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Volunteer |
10 | Recruitment Service Scholarship Act. |
11 | Section 2. Definitions. |
12 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
13 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
14 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
15 | "Agency." The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance |
16 | Agency. |
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1 | "Degree-producing curriculum." A series of courses |
2 | programmed to culminate in a specific postsecondary degree or |
3 | diploma when successfully completed. |
4 | "Full-time study." Enrollment in an approved postsecondary |
5 | degree program for at least 12 credit hours per semester or at |
6 | least eight credit hours per quarter in an institution of higher |
7 | education. |
8 | "Institution of higher education." An accredited |
9 | postsecondary institution of higher education which provides a |
10 | course of study leading to the granting of a postsecondary |
11 | degree or diploma. |
12 | "Legal resident." A person whose principal domicile is |
13 | located within this Commonwealth in excess of one year. |
14 | "Part-time study." Enrollment in an approved postsecondary |
15 | degree program for at least six but less than 12 credit hours |
16 | per semester or at least four but less than eight credit hours |
17 | per quarter in an institution of higher education. |
18 | "Tuition." The total semester, quarter or credit hour cost |
19 | of instruction to the student as periodically published in the |
20 | catalog of the institution of higher education, excluding |
21 | mandatory fees, book charges and room and board. |
22 | "Tuition benefit." The payment of whatever cost is |
23 | attributable to the cost of tuition after the deduction of any |
24 | other available educational grant aid, not to exceed an amount |
25 | equal to the annual tuition charged by the State System of |
26 | Higher Education. |
27 | "Volunteer ambulance service." Any nonprofit chartered |
28 | corporation, association or organization located in this |
29 | Commonwealth and regularly engaged in the service of providing |
30 | emergency medical care and transportation of patients. |
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1 | "Volunteer fire company." A nonprofit chartered corporation, |
2 | association or organization located in this Commonwealth that |
3 | provides fire protection services and may offer other voluntary |
4 | emergency services within this Commonwealth. Voluntary emergency |
5 | services may include voluntary ambulance and voluntary rescue |
6 | services. |
7 | "Volunteer rescue squad." Any nonprofit chartered |
8 | corporation, association or organization located in this |
9 | Commonwealth which provides rescue services in this |
10 | Commonwealth. |
11 | "Volunteer organization." A volunteer fire company, a |
12 | volunteer ambulance service or a volunteer rescue squad. |
13 | Section 3. Volunteer recruitment service scholarships. |
14 | (a) Program.--The agency is authorized, within amounts |
15 | appropriated or otherwise lawfully available from any other |
16 | source, to establish a recruitment scholarship program for |
17 | volunteer organizations. |
18 | (b) Award.--Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to |
19 | the contrary, the agency is authorized to grant, based upon |
20 | available funding, volunteer recruitment service scholarships |
21 | which shall be awarded in the following manner: |
22 | (1) Volunteer organizations may annually submit one |
23 | application to the agency. |
24 | (2) Volunteer organizations submitting an application |
25 | shall develop a policy for selecting the candidate that will |
26 | be forwarded to the agency. |
27 | (3) The agency shall designate a date by which all |
28 | applications shall be received by the agency. |
29 | (4) The agency shall award a volunteer recruitment |
30 | service scholarship to all eligible applicants unless the |
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1 | number of applications received is greater than the funding |
2 | available for the program, in which case the agency shall |
3 | develop a random system for selecting the recipients. |
4 | (5) A recipient of the volunteer recruitment service |
5 | scholarship shall automatically continue to receive the |
6 | scholarship once awarded, provided that the recipient remains |
7 | compliant with the provisions of this section, the recipient |
8 | is continuously enrolled in a degree-producing curriculum at |
9 | an institution of higher education and funding is available. |
10 | (6) The agency shall develop a system for certifying |
11 | each semester or quarter that the recipient is compliant |
12 | with the conditions enumerated in section 4 prior to |
13 | receiving the tuition benefit. |
14 | Section 4. Qualifications. |
15 | Recipients of the volunteer recruitment service scholarships |
16 | shall: |
17 | (1) Have been a member of the volunteer organization for |
18 | less than six months at the time of the initial award, |
19 | provided that this paragraph shall not apply to any |
20 | individual under 23 years of age. |
21 | (2) Maintain an active volunteer status, as determined |
22 | by the volunteer organization, for the duration of the |
23 | scholarship. |
24 | (3) Have graduated from high school or have received a |
25 | high school equivalency diploma and shall not possess a |
26 | bachelor's degree or higher. |
27 | (4) Be enrolled in a degree-producing curriculum at an |
28 | institution of higher education located within a 50-mile |
29 | radius of the volunteer organization, or, provided that no |
30 | such institution exists, the next closest institution. |
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1 | (5) Maintain a cumulative grade point average of at |
2 | least 2.0. |
3 | (6) Be a legal resident of this Commonwealth. |
4 | (7) Apply for all other available Federal, State or |
5 | other educational grant aid at the time of enrollment. Any |
6 | grant aid or financial assistance received shall be utilized |
7 | to offset the cost of tuition to the maximum extent possible, |
8 | except that nothing shall require that aid or assistance |
9 | received which may be used toward costs other than that of |
10 | tuition shall be applied toward the cost of tuition. |
11 | Section 5. Use. |
12 | The tuition benefit provided by this act may be used for |
13 | either part-time or full-time study. |
14 | Section 6. Discontinuance. |
15 | Upon the recipient's attainment of a bachelor's degree or |
16 | cessation of status as a volunteer with the volunteer |
17 | organization, whichever occurs first, the tuition benefit |
18 | provided by this act shall be discontinued. The tuition benefit |
19 | provided by this act shall be suspended at the direction of the |
20 | agency for: |
21 | (1) A recipient's failure to continue to serve as a |
22 | volunteer with the volunteer organization. |
23 | (2) The failure to maintain good academic progress and |
24 | program pursuit. |
25 | (3) The failure to maintain sufficient academic standing |
26 | to retain eligibility for any other financial assistance the |
27 | recipient may be receiving. |
28 | (4) The failure to comply with any provision of this |
29 | act. |
30 | Section 7. Limitations. |
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1 | Unless otherwise provided for in this section, the tuition |
2 | benefit for the volunteer recruitment service scholarships shall |
3 | be on the terms and conditions set by the agency, provided that |
4 | any tuition benefit for: |
5 | (1) Full-time study shall not exceed an amount equal to |
6 | the annual tuition charged to the recipient or the tuition |
7 | charged by the State System of Higher Education, whichever is |
8 | less. |
9 | (2) Part-time study shall not exceed an amount equal to |
10 | the part-time tuition charged to the recipient or the per |
11 | credit hour tuition charged by the State System of Higher |
12 | Education multiplied by the number of credit hours taken, |
13 | whichever is less. |
14 | Section 8. Regulations. |
15 | The agency may promulgate regulations necessary for the |
16 | implementation of this act. |
17 | Section 9. Appropriation. |
18 | The sum of $2,000,000, or as much thereof as may be |
19 | necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania Higher |
20 | Education Assistance Agency for the fiscal year July 1, 2010, to |
21 | June 30, 2011, to carry out the purposes of this act. |
22 | Section 10. Effective date. |
23 | This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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