Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1728
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì640458<Î640458                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: RS            .                                
                  03/23/2021           .                                
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       The Committee on Education (Gruters) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 1009.261, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         1009.261Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver Compact.—The
    8  Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver Compact is enacted into law
    9  and entered into by this state with all other jurisdictions
   10  legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:
   11  
   12                     GRANDCHILDREN OUT-OF-STATE                    
   13                         FEES WAIVER COMPACT                       
   14  
   15                              ARTICLE I                            
   16                       DECLARATION OF PURPOSE                      
   17  
   18         The general purposes of this compact are to:
   19         (1)Increase access to postsecondary education to students
   20  whose families are split between two or more states by reducing
   21  costs associated with out-of-state fees.
   22         (2)Encourage students to exercise their rights to travel
   23  and to choose the postsecondary education that best suits their
   24  needs.
   25         (3) Increase postsecondary educational choices.
   26         (4)Decrease the economic burden posed by postsecondary
   27  out-of-state fees.
   28  
   29                             ARTICLE II                            
   30                             DEFINITIONS                           
   31  
   32         As used in this compact, the term:
   33         (1) “Grandparent” means a person who has a legal
   34  relationship to a student’s parent as the natural or adopted
   35  parent or legal guardian of the student’s parent.
   36         (2) “Member state” means a state that has enacted this
   37  compact.
   38         (3) “Out-of-state fees” means any additional fee for
   39  instruction, which is charged to a student who does not qualify
   40  for the in-state tuition rate pursuant to the laws of a member
   41  state, imposed by a public postsecondary educational institution
   42  located within the member state. A charge for any other purpose
   43  may not be included within this fee.
   44         (4) “Postsecondary educational institution” means a public
   45  university or college located within a member state.
   46         (5) “State” includes the District of Columbia and any
   47  state, territory, or possession of the United States which
   48  oversees one or more public postsecondary educational
   49  institutions.
   50         (6) “Student’s parent” means a person who has a legal
   51  relationship to a student as the natural or adopted parent or
   52  legal guardian of the student.
   53  
   54                             ARTICLE III                           
   55                      OUT-OF-STATE FEES WAIVER                     
   56  
   57         (1)Postsecondary educational institutions located within
   58  each member state shall waive out-of-state fees for a
   59  nonresident student who:
   60         (a) Is a United States citizen.
   61         (b)Has a grandparent who is a legal resident under the
   62  applicable laws of the member state.
   63         (c)1.Achieves an SAT combined score no lower than the 89th
   64  national percentile on the SAT;
   65         2.Achieves an ACT score concordant to the SAT score
   66  required in subparagraph 1., as designated in the latest
   67  published national concordance table developed jointly by the
   68  College Board and ACT, Inc.; or
   69         3.Achieves a Classic Learning Test (CLT) score concordant
   70  to the required SAT score in subparagraph 1., as designated in
   71  the latest published scoring comparison developed by Classic
   72  Learning Initiatives, but only if the member state postsecondary
   73  institution accepts the CLT for admission purposes.
   74         (d)Enrolls as a full-time undergraduate student at a
   75  member state postsecondary institution in the fall academic term
   76  immediately following high school graduation.
   77         (2)The waiver under this compact is applicable for up to
   78  110 percent of the number of required credit hours of the degree
   79  program in which the student is enrolled.
   80         (3) Prior to waiving any out-of-state fees, a member state
   81  postsecondary educational institution shall require the student,
   82  or the student’s parent if the student is a dependent child, to
   83  provide a written declaration verifying the student’s familial
   84  relationship to a grandparent who is a legal resident of the
   85  member state.
   86  
   87                             ARTICLE IV                            
   88                              OVERSIGHT                            
   89  
   90         The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state
   91  government in each member state shall enforce this compact and
   92  take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the
   93  compact’s purposes and intent. The provisions of this compact
   94  have standing as statutory law.
   95  
   96                              ARTICLE V                            
   97          DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION, WITHDRAWAL, AND AMENDMENT        
   98  
   99         (1)The compact shall take effect on the date on which it
  100  is enacted into law by two states. Thereafter it is effective as
  101  to any state upon its enactment by that state.
  102         (2)A member state may withdraw from this compact by
  103  repealing the statute in which it is enacted. A member state’s
  104  withdrawal may not take effect until 6 months after enactment of
  105  the repeal.
  106         (3)This compact may not be construed to invalidate or
  107  prohibit any law of a member state that does not conflict with
  108  the provisions of this compact.
  109         (4)This compact may be amended by the member states. An
  110  amendment to this compact is effective and binding after it is
  111  enacted into the laws of all member states.
  112  
  113                             ARTICLE VI                            
  114                    CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY                  
  115  
  116         This compact shall be liberally construed so as to
  117  effectuate its purposes. The provisions of this compact are
  118  severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision
  119  thereof is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any
  120  state or to the Constitution of the United States, or the
  121  application thereof to any government, agency, person, or
  122  circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of
  123  this compact and the applicability thereof to any government,
  124  agency, person, or circumstance is not affected thereby. If this
  125  compact is held to be contrary to the constitution of any state
  126  participating therein, it remains in full force and effect as to
  127  the state affected as to all severable provisions.
  128         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
  129  
  130  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  131  And the title is amended as follows:
  132         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  133  and insert:
  134                        A bill to be entitled                      
  135         An act relating to the Grandchild Out-of-State Fees
  136         Waiver Compact; creating s. 1009.261, F.S.; enacting
  137         the Grandchild Out-of-State Fees Waiver Compact;
  138         providing the purposes of the compact; defining terms;
  139         requiring postsecondary educational institutions
  140         located within member states to waive out-of-state
  141         fees for students who meet specified criteria;
  142         providing that the waiver is applicable for up to a
  143         specified amount of credits; requiring member-state
  144         postsecondary educational institutions to require a
  145         student, or the student’s parent if the student is a
  146         dependent child, to provide a written declaration
  147         verifying eligibility; requiring the executive,
  148         legislative, and judicial branches of member state
  149         governments to enforce the compact; providing that the
  150         provisions of the compact have standing as statutory
  151         law; providing for the implementation, withdrawal, and
  152         amendment of the compact; providing construction;
  153         providing an effective date.