June 27, 2006, Introduced by Senators CHERRY, SWITALSKI, BASHAM, JACOBS, PRUSI, OLSHOVE, WHITMER, SCHAUER, BARCIA, CLARK-COLEMAN, CLARKE and SCOTT and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
A bill to provide for the administration of the Michigan merit
award program; to provide for the powers and duties of certain
state officers and entities; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Michigan merit award act".
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Academic year" means the period from September 1 of a
calendar year to August 31 of the next calendar year.
(b) "Approved postsecondary educational institution" means any
of the following:
(i) A public or private college or university, junior college,
or community college that grants degrees or certificates and is
located in this state.
(ii) A postsecondary educational institution, other than an
educational institution described in subparagraph (i), that is
located in this state, grants degrees, certificates, or other
recognized credentials, and is designated by the department as an
approved postsecondary educational institution.
(iii) A service academy.
(c) "Clock hour" means a time period consisting of any of the
following:
(i) Fifty to 60 minutes of class, lecture, or recitation in a
60-minute period.
(ii) Fifty to 60 minutes of faculty-supervised laboratory work,
shop training, or internship in a 60-minute period.
(iii) Sixty minutes of preparation in a correspondence course.
(d) "Department" means the department of treasury.
(e) "Fiscal year" means a fiscal year of this state. A fiscal
year begins on October 1 of a calendar year and ends on September
30 of the next calendar year.
(f) "High school graduate" means an individual who has
received a high school diploma from a high school in this state or
passed the general educational development (GED) diploma test or
any other high school graduate equivalency examination approved by
the state board of education.
(g) "Michigan merit award" means a scholarship awarded by the
department under this act.
(h) "Qualifying score" means a score in a reading, writing,
mathematics, or science component of a state assessment test that
has been determined by the superintendent of public instruction to
indicate readiness to enroll in a course in that subject area in an
approved postsecondary educational institution.
(i) "Service academy" means the United States military
academy, United States naval academy, United States air force
academy, United States coast guard academy, or United States
merchant marine academy.
(j) "State assessment test" means the Michigan merit
examination described in section 1279g of the revised school code,
1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1279g, and section 104b of the state school
aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1704b, or any other test
administered by the department of education to students in grades
11 and 12 to assure state compliance with the federal no child left
behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110.
(k) "Tobacco settlement revenue" means money received by this
state that is attributable to the master settlement agreement
incorporated into a consent decree and final judgment entered on
December 7, 1998 in Kelley ex rel. Michigan v Philip Morris
Incorporated, et al., Ingham county circuit court, docket no.
96-84281CZ.
(l) "Trust fund" means the Michigan merit award trust fund
established in section 9 of the Michigan trust fund act, 2000 PA
489, MCL 12.259.
Sec. 3. By April 1 of each year, the department shall submit a
report on its activities under this act to the governor and to the
standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with
primary jurisdiction over higher education issues. The report shall
contain all of the following information:
(a) The number of Michigan merit awards and the amount of
Michigan merit award money paid by the department in the
immediately preceding fiscal year.
(b) A list of the number of Michigan merit awards and the
amount of Michigan merit award money paid in the immediately
preceding fiscal year at each approved postsecondary educational
institution.
Sec. 4. (1) The Michigan merit award program is established.
The department shall provide Michigan merit awards under this act
from the trust fund and administer the Michigan merit award
program.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), each student who becomes a high
school graduate in or after the 2006-2007 academic year is eligible
for the award of a Michigan merit award in an amount determined
under section 5 or 6.
(3) In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection
(2), the department must find that a student meets all of the
following eligibility requirements to award the student a Michigan
merit award under this act:
(a) The department has received a completed application for
payment as described in section 7(1), including the certification
described in section 7(2) or (3), if applicable, on or before the
deadline established by the department.
(b) The student is a high school graduate and a resident of
this state.
(c) The student meets 1 of the following:
(i) For a scholarship under section 5, the student earned an
associate's degree, earned a 2-year certificate of completion in a
vocational training program, completed a comparable vocational
education program approved by the department, or completed 50% or
more of the academic requirements for the award of a bachelor's
degree at an approved postsecondary educational institution within
4 years of his or her initial enrollment in the institution and has
a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5.
(ii) For a scholarship under section 6, the student received a
qualifying score in each of the reading, writing, mathematics, and
science components of the state assessment test, and for each
student who becomes a high school graduate in or after the 2010-
2011 academic year, successfully completes at least 3 credits in
mathematics as described in section 1278a(1)(a)(i) of the revised
school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1278a, and 3 credits in science
as described in section 1278b(1)(b) of the revised school code,
1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1278b.
(d) The student took the state assessment test.
(e) The student enrolled in an approved postsecondary
educational institution within 2 years after he or she became a
high school graduate. The department shall extend the 2-year period
if the student becomes a member of the United States armed forces
or peace corps during the 2-year period.
(f) The student did not previously receive an award under this
act or scholarship money under the Michigan merit award scholarship
act, 1999 PA 94, MCL 390.1451 to 390.1459.
(g) The student meets any additional eligibility requirements
established by the department.
Sec. 5. (1) Subject to proration under subsection (2) and
adjustment under subsection (3), a student who meets the
eligibility requirement of section 4(3)(c)(i) and the other
applicable eligibility requirements under section 4 shall receive a
Michigan merit award in the amount of $4,000.00.
(2) If a student satisfies the eligibility requirement
contained in section 4(3)(c) by completing a vocational training
program that as determined by the department generally requires
less than 2 years or fewer than 1,800 clock hours, as applicable,
to complete, the student shall receive a prorated amount of the
amount described in subsection (1) that reflects the number of
clock hours necessary to complete the program, as determined by the
department.
(3) If in any fiscal year the department determines that the
amount appropriated by the legislature for the payment of Michigan
merit awards is not sufficient to pay each eligible student the
Michigan merit award amount required under this section for an
academic year, the department shall adjust the amount of Michigan
merit awards paid under this section by prorating the amounts as
necessary to reflect the available resources and amounts
appropriated in that fiscal year. The department shall notify the
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
majority leader of the senate in writing at least 30 days before
implementing a proration under this subsection.
Sec. 6. (1) Subject to proration under subsection (3) and
adjustment under subsection (4), a student who meets the
eligibility requirement of section 4(3)(c)(ii) and the other
applicable eligibility requirements under section 4 and this
section shall receive a Michigan merit award in the amount of
$4,000.00.
(2) Except for a student who is enrolled in a program
described in subsection (3), the department shall pay an award
under subsection (1) as follows:
(a) One thousand dollars paid in the student's first academic
year of enrollment at the approved postsecondary educational
institution.
(b) One thousand dollars paid in the student's second academic
year of enrollment at the approved postsecondary educational
institution.
(c) The remainder of the amount of the award after completion
of 2 academic years of enrollment at the approved postsecondary
educational institution. However, the student is not eligible for
this installment, and forfeits any remaining award amount to which
he or she is otherwise entitled under this act, unless the student
earned an associate's degree, earned a 2-year certificate of
completion in a vocational education program, completed a
comparable vocational training program approved by the department,
or completed 50% or more of the academic requirements for the award
of a bachelor's degree at the approved postsecondary educational
institution within 4 years of his or her initial enrollment in that
institution and has a cumulative grade point average of at least
2.5.
(3) Subject to adjustment under subsection (4), a student who
meets the eligibility requirement of section 4(3)(c)(ii) and the
other applicable eligibility requirements under section 4 and this
section, and who is enrolled in a vocational training program that
as determined by the department generally requires less than 2
years or fewer than 1,800 clock hours, as applicable, to complete,
shall receive a prorated amount of the amount described in
subsection (1) determined by the department to reflect the number
of clock hours necessary to complete the program.
(4) If in any fiscal year the department determines that the
amount appropriated by the legislature for the payment of Michigan
merit awards under this act is not sufficient to pay each eligible
student the amount required under this section for the academic
year, the department shall adjust the Michigan merit award amounts
paid under this section by prorating the amounts as necessary to
reflect the available resources and amounts appropriated in that
fiscal year. The department shall notify the governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the majority leader of the
senate in writing at least 30 days before implementing a proration
under this subsection.
Sec. 7. (1) The department shall determine the manner and form
of application to receive a Michigan merit award under section 5 or
an award installment under section 6.
(2) A student shall include a written certification to the
department in his or her application to receive a Michigan merit
award under section 5 that contains both of the following:
(a) His or her certification that he or she has earned an
associate's degree, earned a 2-year certificate of completion in a
vocational education program, completed a comparable vocational
training program approved by the department, or completed 50% or
more of the academic requirements in a bachelor's degree program at
an approved postsecondary educational institution.
(b) The name of the approved postsecondary educational
institution at which the student earned the associate's degree,
earned the 2-year certificate of completion in a vocational
education program, completed the comparable vocational training
program approved by the department, or completed 50% or more of the
academic requirements in a bachelor's degree program.
(3) A student shall include a written certification to the
department in his or her application to receive a Michigan merit
award installment payment under section 6 that contains both of the
following:
(a) His or her certification that he or she meets the
requirements of section 4(3)(c)(ii).
(b) His or her certification that he or she is enrolled in an
approved postsecondary educational institution and the name of the
approved postsecondary educational institution.
(4) An approved postsecondary educational institution shall
not consider a Michigan merit award in determining a student's
eligibility for a financial aid program administered by this state.
It is the intent of the legislature that an approved postsecondary
educational institution does not reduce other institutionally
funded student aid for which a student is eligible because of the
student's receipt of or eligibility for a Michigan merit award.
Sec. 8. (1) The department shall pay a Michigan merit award
under section 5 or an award installment under section 6 to an
approved postsecondary educational institution on the student's
behalf, according to a payment procedure established by the
department.
(2) The department may promulgate rules to implement and
administer this act, including, but not limited to, 1 or more of
the following:
(a) Rules establishing the department's administrative
procedures for the Michigan merit award program.
(b) Rules governing the qualification requirements for or the
award of Michigan merit awards under this act.
(c) Rules establishing an appeals process from a determination
of ineligibility for a Michigan merit award.
(d) Rules establishing what information or reports a student
or an approved postsecondary educational institution must provide
to establish eligibility and when that information or those reports
must be provided.
(e) Rules prescribing the reports to be made by a student
awarded a Michigan merit award and by an approved postsecondary
educational institution to which a Michigan merit award is paid.
Enacting section 1. The Michigan merit award scholarship act,
1999 PA 94, MCL 390.1451 to 390.1459, is repealed effective
September 30, 2017.