PREGNANT & PARENTING STUDENTS
Senate Bill 72 as passed by the Senate
Sponsor: Sen. Alan Sanborn
Senate Committee: Health Policy
House Committee: Higher Education
Complete to 12-1-04
A SUMMARY OF SENATE BILL 72 AS PASSED BY THE SENATE ON 12-1-04
The bill would create the "Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act" to do all of the following:
-- Establish the "Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Fund".
-- Allow the Department of Community Health (DCH) to award grants from the fund to institutions of higher education that established and operated a "Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Office".
-- Require such an office to perform certain functions, including establishing programs with service providers to meet students' needs in specific areas.
-- Require an office to provide referrals for prenatal care, delivery, infant or foster care, or adoption, and on family planning to students who requested that information.
-- Prohibit an office from providing referrals for abortion services.
-- Allow the DCH to promulgate rules to implement and administer the bill.
Fund
The Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Fund would be established in the Department of Treasury. The fund would consist of money allocated, donated, or paid to the fund from any source; and interest and earnings from fund investments. The state treasurer would have to direct the investment of the fund.
Money in the fund at the close of a fiscal year would remain in the fund and could not revert to the General Fund. Money would be disbursed for grants under the bill and for the administrative costs of the DCH and the department of treasury. The state treasurer would have to make a grant from the fund to an institution of higher education upon receiving a written notice from the DCH.
Grants
An institution of higher education that had established and operated or agreed to establish and operate a Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Office that met the bill's requirements would be eligible for and could receive a grant. ("Institution of higher education" would mean a degree- or certificate-granting public or private college or university, junior college, or community college in Michigan.) The DCH could establish the form or format of a grant application and could require that an institution of higher education provide additional information after the department had reviewed its grant application.
The DCH could award a grant to one or more eligible institutions of higher education, but could not award more than four grants, for pilot programs, during the first year after the bill's effective date. The DCH would have to determine which, and how many, eligible institutions would receive a grant to establish and operate an office.
If the DCH awarded a grant under the bill, it would have to give the state treasurer a written notice that contained both the name of the institution of higher education receiving the grant and the amount of the grant, and that requested payment of the grant amount from the fund.
Office
An institution of higher education could establish and operate a Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Office on the institution's campus. The office annually would have to assess the performance of the institution and the office in meeting the following needs of students on campus who were pregnant or who were custodial parents or legal guardians of a minor:
-- Comprehensive student health care.
-- Family housing.
-- Child care.
-- Flexible or alternative academic scheduling.
-- Education concerning responsible parenting for mothers and fathers.
An office would have to identify public and private service providers qualified to meet the needs described above, both on campus and within the local community, and establish programs with qualified providers selected to meet those needs. An office also would have to assist students in locating and obtaining services that met one or more of those needs. If appropriate, an office would have to provide referrals for prenatal care, delivery, infant care, foster care, or adoption. If a student requested information, referrals for family planning also would have to be provided. An office could not provide referrals for abortion services.
By the date determined by the DCH, an office would have to provide the Department with an annual report that itemized the office's expenditures during the preceding fiscal year and contained a review and evaluation of the office's performance in fulfilling its obligations under the bill. The DCH would have to identify specific performance criteria and standards that an Office would have to use in preparing the annual report. The department could establish the form or format of the report and could require that an office provide additional information after the DCH reviewed the report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Senate Bill 72, as passed by the Senate, establishes a fund and grant program that will require Department of Treasury and Department of Community Health resources to establish and maintain, and provides that these administrative costs will be supported with disbursements from the fund. There are no funds currently appropriated for this purpose in the Department of Community Health budget. Deposits to the fund could include donations and allocations, therefore the Department could propose to redirect and allocate existing appropriations from other programs or projects, or could recommend supplemental or new appropriations as part of the appropriations process.
Fiscal Analyst: Susan Frey
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.