Senate Bill sb2136

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 2136

    By Senator Wasserman Schultz





    34-1495-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to postsecondary student fees;

  3         amending s. 1009.24, F.S.; providing that each

  4         university board of trustees is authorized to

  5         establish a nonrefundable admissions deposit

  6         for degree programs; deleting authorization to

  7         impose a charge for overdue accounts; providing

  8         an effective date.

  9  

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11  

12         Section 1.  Subsection (12) of section 1009.24, Florida

13  Statutes, is amended to read:

14         1009.24  State university student fees.--

15         (12)  Each university board of trustees is authorized

16  to establish the following fees:

17         (a)  A nonrefundable application fee in an amount not

18  to exceed $30.

19         (b)  A nonrefundable admissions deposit for

20  undergraduate and graduate degree programs in an amount not to

21  exceed $200. The admissions deposit shall be imposed at the

22  time of a student's acceptance to the university and shall be

23  applied to the student's tuition upon enrollment. In the event

24  that a student does not enroll in the university, the

25  admissions deposit shall be deposited in an auxiliary account

26  of the university and used to expand financial aid,

27  scholarships, financial assistance, and student academic and

28  career counseling services at the university.

29         (c)(b)  An orientation fee in an amount not to exceed

30  $35.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 2136
    34-1495-03




 1         (d)(c)  A fee for security, access, or identification

 2  cards. The annual fee for such a card may not exceed $10 per

 3  card. The maximum amount charged for a replacement card may

 4  not exceed $15.

 5         (e)(d)  Registration fees for audit and zero-hours

 6  registration; a service charge, which may not exceed $15, for

 7  the payment of tuition in installments; and a

 8  late-registration fee in an amount not less than $50 nor more

 9  than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to initiate

10  registration during the regular registration period.

11         (f)(e)  A late-payment fee in an amount not less than

12  $50 nor more than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to

13  pay or fail to make appropriate arrangements to pay (by means

14  of installment payment, deferment, or third-party billing)

15  tuition by the deadline set by each university. Each

16  university may adopt specific procedures or policies for

17  waiving the late-payment fee for minor underpayments.

18         (g)(f)  A fee for miscellaneous health-related charges

19  for services provided at cost by the university health center

20  which are not covered by the health fee set under subsection

21  (10).

22         (h)(g)  Materials and supplies fees to offset the cost

23  of materials or supplies that are consumed in the course of

24  the student's instructional activities, excluding the cost of

25  equipment replacement, repairs, and maintenance.

26         (i)(h)  Housing rental rates and miscellaneous housing

27  charges for services provided by the university at the request

28  of the student.

29         (i)  A charge representing the reasonable cost of

30  efforts to collect payment of overdue accounts.

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 2136
    34-1495-03




 1         (j)  A service charge on university loans in lieu of

 2  interest and administrative handling charges.

 3         (k)  A fee for off-campus course offerings when the

 4  location results in specific, identifiable increased costs to

 5  the university.

 6         (l)  Library fees and fines, including charges for

 7  damaged and lost library materials, overdue reserve library

 8  books, interlibrary loans, and literature searches.

 9         (m)  Fees relating to duplicating, photocopying,

10  binding, and microfilming; copyright services; and

11  standardized testing. These fees may be charged only to those

12  who receive the services.

13         (n)  Fees and fines relating to the use, late return,

14  and loss and damage of facilities and equipment.

15         (o)  A returned-check fee as authorized by s. 832.07(1)

16  for unpaid checks returned to the university.

17         (p)  Traffic and parking fines, charges for parking

18  decals, and transportation access fees.

19         (q)  An Educational Research Center for Child

20  Development fee for child care and services offered by the

21  center.

22         (r)  Fees for transcripts and diploma replacement, not

23  to exceed $10 per item.

24         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

25  

26            *****************************************

27                          SENATE SUMMARY

28    Authorizes university boards of trustees to impose a
      nonrefundable admissions deposit. Provides for use of the
29    deposit if the student fails to enroll following
      admission. Removes provisions authorizing a charge for
30    the costs of collecting payment on an overdue account.

31  

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