HB2484

SECTION 1. Chapter 304A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§304A- Mandatory tuition waivers for resident veterans. (a) The board of regents, or its designated representatives, shall waive entirely the tuition fee or any of the other fees, less the amount of any academic fees or segregated fees paid under 10 U.S.C. 2107(c) or 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(7)(A), for a student who is a resident veteran of this State, or a dependent or family member of the resident veteran.

(b) The tuition waiver provided in this section shall apply to tuition and fees charged for up to one hundred twenty-four credit hours or eight academic semesters, whichever is longer. The waiver may be claimed for vocational, undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels of study.

(c) For the purposes of this section, a "resident veteran" is a person who was a resident of this State at the time of entry into active duty, who is a resident of and living in this State at the time of registering at a campus of the university, and is a "veteran" as defined in section 363-1.

The terms "dependent" and "family member" shall also have the meanings ascribed to them in section 363-1."

SECTION 2. Section 121-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§121-45 Tuition assistance for Hawaii national guard personnel to attend the University of Hawaii. (a) The adjutant general, subject to the availability of funds, may award tuition assistance to qualified enlisted persons, warrant officers, and company grade officers (0-1 through 0-3) in the Hawaii national guard who are:

(1) Residents of the State, as defined by the board of regents pursuant to section [[]304A-402[]]; and

(2) Undergraduate students working toward a degree on any campus of the University of Hawaii.

(b) The adjutant general shall adopt rules in accordance with this chapter to carry out the purposes of this section. The rules shall include:

(1) Descriptions of the minimum military and academic qualification of personnel who may be awarded full or partial tuition assistance under this section;

(2) Listings of acceptable fields of study, degrees, and periods of eligibility for personnel who may be awarded tuition assistance under this section;

(3) Procedures for demonstrating the ongoing, satisfactory military and academic performance of personnel who have accepted tuition assistance under this section;

(4) Explanations of any reenlistment obligations for personnel who have accepted tuition assistance under this section;

(5) Procedures for administratively transferring moneys for tuition assistance awarded under this section from the department of defense to the University of Hawaii; and

(6) Procedures for enforcing this subsection.

(d) The tuition assistance provided in this section may not be combined with the resident veteran tuition waiver provided under section 304A- ."

SECTION 3. Section 304A-502, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§304A-502[]] Power of regents to grant tuition waivers. (a) The board of regents, or its designated representatives, is authorized to grant, modify, or suspend tuition waivers.

The board may:

(1) Waive entirely or reduce the tuition fee or any of the other fees for graduate teaching and research assistants;

(2) Enter into agreements with government and university officials of any other state or foreign country to provide for reciprocal waiver of the nonresident tuition and fee differential;

(3) Waive the nonresident tuition and fee differential for selected students from Pacific and Asian jurisdictions when their presence would be beneficial to the university or the State;

(4) Waive entirely or reduce the tuition fee or any of the other fees for students, resident or nonresident; and

(5) Waive the nonresident tuition and fee differential for members in good standing of the following military units, regardless of their actual state of residence:

(A) The Hawaii national guard; and

(B) The federal reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard who attend drills with units located within the State.

(b) The board shall waive entirely the tuition fee and any other fees for resident veterans of this State or a dependent or family member of the resident veteran, pursuant to section 304A‑ .

(c) The board shall determine the percentage of allowable tuition and fee waivers for financial need and other university priorities. These tuition waivers and waivers of the nonresident tuition and fee differential shall be awarded in accordance with guidelines established by the board."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2484
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII