HF 3213

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/19/2014 12:18pm

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; modifying the cost of attendance calculation for
purposes of the Minnesota GI bill program; amending Minnesota Statutes 2013
Supplement, section 197.791, subdivision 5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 197.791, subdivision 5,
is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Benefit amount.

(a) On approval by the commissioner of eligibility for
the program, the applicant shall be awarded, on a funds-available basis, the educational
assistance under the program for use at any time according to program rules at any
eligible institution.

(b) The amount of educational assistance in any semester or term for an eligible
person must be determined by subtracting from the eligible person's cost of attendance the
amount the person received or was eligible to receive in that semester or term from:

(1) the federal Pell Grant;

(2) the state grant program under section 136A.121; and

(3) any federal military or veterans educational benefits deleted text begin including but not limited
to the Montgomery GI Bill, GI Bill Kicker, the federal tuition assistance program,
vocational rehabilitation benefits, and any other federal benefits associated with the
person's status as a veteran, except veterans disability payments from the United States
Veterans Administration and payments made under the Veterans Retraining Assistance
Program (VRAP) deleted text end new text begin paid to the institution new text end .

(c) The amount of educational assistance for any eligible person who is a full-time
student must not exceed the following:

(1) $1,000 per semester or term of enrollment;

(2) $3,000 per state fiscal year; and

(3) $10,000 in a lifetime.

For a part-time student, the amount of educational assistance must not exceed
$500 per semester or term of enrollment. For the purpose of this paragraph, a part-time
undergraduate student is a student taking fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent for a
semester or term of enrollment and a part-time graduate student is a student considered
part time by the eligible institution the graduate student is attending. The minimum award
for undergraduate and graduate students is $50 per term.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section applies to awards issued for the 2014-2015
academic year and thereafter.
new text end