Senate Bill No. 194

(By Senator Sprouse)

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[Introduced January 25, 2000; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter eighteen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article four-a, relating to creation of the "West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program"; creation of the scholarship fund; purposes; funding; selection criteria and procedures; scholarship agreement; renewal conditions; noncompliance; senior administrator to propose legislative rules to implement the purpose of the scholarship program; deferral; excusal; amount and duration of scholarship; and relation to other assistance.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter eighteen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article four-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4A. WEST VIRGINIA BRAIN GAIN SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

 §18C-4A-1. Scholarship fund created; purposes; funding.
(a) It is the purpose of this article to improve the quality of the professional work force in West Virginia by encouraging and enabling West Virginia resident individuals who have demonstrated superior academic abilities to remain and pursue their professional careers in this state. In addition, of those individuals who have demonstrated superior academic abilities to pursue professional careers, for scholarships initially awarded for the fall semester, two thousand one and thereafter, particular efforts will be made in the scholarship selection criteria and procedures to reflect the state's present and projected needs related to professional expertise, including needs statewide and in different geographic areas and for professional expertise in specific professional disciplines, including, but not limited to, industry, commerce, business, medicine, hotel/motel management, law, agriculture, industrial and commercial relations, education, import/export, entertainment and recreation, government, the fine arts, construction, wholesale and retail sales and public administration.
(b) The higher education governing boards shall, in consultation with the state superintendent of schools, propose reasonable legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, for the administration of the West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program by the senior administrator in furtherance of the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, scholarship selection criteria and procedures, renewal, compliance, noncompliance and repayment, deferral and excusal. In accordance with the rules, the senior administrator shall establish appropriate guidelines for program operation.
(c) There is hereby created in the state treasury a special revolving fund to be known as the "West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program" to be administered by the senior administrator solely for granting scholarships to prospective professional graduates in accordance with this article. Any moneys which may be appropriated by the Legislature, or received by the senior administrator from other sources, for the purposes of this article shall be deposited in the fund. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be carried forward for use in the next fiscal year. Any moneys repaid to the senior administrator by reason of default of a scholarship agreement under this article shall also be deposited in the fund. Fund balances shall be invested with the state's consolidated investment fund, and any and all interest earnings on these investments shall be used solely for the purposes for which moneys invested were appropriated or otherwise received.
(d) The senior administrator may accept and expend any gift, grant, contribution, bequest, endowment or other money for the purposes of this article and shall make a reasonable effort to encourage external support for the scholarship program.
(e) For the purpose of encouraging support for the scholarship program from private sources, the senior administrator may set aside no more than half of the funds appropriated by the Legislature for West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarships to be used to match two state dollars to each private dollar from a nonstate source contributed on behalf of a specific institution of higher education in this state.
§18C-4A-2. Selection criteria and procedures; maximum amount to be awarded.

(a) The governor shall designate an existing scholarship selection agency or panel to select the recipients of West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarships who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this section. If no such agency or panel exists, the governor shall appoint a scholarship selection panel for this purpose which shall consist of seven persons representative of business, industry, medicine, the fine arts, construction, law and education.
(b) Eligibility for a West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarship award shall be limited to West Virginia resident students who:
(1) Have graduated or are graduating from high school, and who;
(2) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least three one hundredths on a possible scale of four after successfully completing two years of prerequisite course work toward a professional degree at an approved institution of higher education; or
(3) Are graduate students at the master's degree level who have graduated or are graduating with a cumulative grade point average of at least three one hundredths on a possible scale of four.
(c) In accordance with the rules of the governing boards, the senior administrator shall develop criteria and procedures for the selection of scholarship recipients that reflect the purposes of this article and the areas in which particular efforts will be made in the selection of eligible persons as set forth in section one of this article.
(d) The senior administrator shall make application forms for West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarships available to public and private high schools in the state and in other locations convenient to applicants, parents and others.
§18C-4A-3. Scholarship agreement.
(a) Each recipient of a West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarship shall enter into an agreement with the senior administrator under which the recipient shall:
(1) Provide the board with evidence of compliance with subsection (a), section four of this article;
(2) Remain and be employed in the state after graduation for at least five continuous years immediately succeeding graduation as a practicing professional;
(3) In the event any recipient of a West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarship fails to remain and pursue his or her professional career in the state, he or she shall repay all of the scholarship received under this article plus interest and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees, in accordance with subsection (b), section four of this article, except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of said section four.
(b) Scholarship agreements shall fully disclose the terms and conditions under which assistance under this article is provided and under which repayment may be required, including:
(1) A description of the conditions and procedures to be established under section four of this article; and
(2) A description of the appeals procedure required to be established under section four of this article.
(c) The recipient of any scholarship granted hereunder is eligible for an amount in financial assistance not to exceed ten thousand dollars. Financial assistance received under this article may be used for tuition, educational, housing and living costs directly related to the recipient's pursuit of a professional degree.
§18C-4A-4. Renewal conditions; noncompliance; deferral; excusal.
(a) The recipient of a West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarship is eligible for scholarship renewal only during such periods that the recipient is:
(1) Enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited institution of higher education in this state;
(2) Pursuing a course of study leading to professional employment status in this state;
(3) Maintaining satisfactory progress as determined by the institution of higher education the recipient is attending; and
(4) Complying with such other standards as the boards may establish by rule.
(b) Recipients found to be in noncompliance with the agreement entered into under section three of this article shall be required to repay the amount of the scholarship awards received, plus interest, and, where applicable, reasonable collection fees, on a schedule and at a rate of interest prescribed in the program guidelines. The guidelines shall also provide for proration of the amount to be repaid by a recipient who pursues a professional career for part of the period required under subsection (a), section three of this article and for appeal procedures under which a recipient may appeal any determination of noncompliance.
(c) A recipient may not be considered in violation of the agreement entered into under section three of this article during any period in which the recipient is:
(1) Pursuing a full-time course of study at an accredited institution of higher education while at all times maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least three one hundredths on a possible scale of four;
(2) Serving, not in excess of four years, as a member of the armed services of the United States;
(3) Satisfying the provisions of additional repayment exemptions that may be prescribed by the boards by rule.
(d) A recipient shall be excused from repayment of a scholarship received under this article if the recipient dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician.
(e) The rules adopted by the governing boards may provide guidelines under which the senior administrator may, if extenuating circumstances exist, extend the period for fulfilling the obligation to ten years.
§18C-4A-5. Amount and duration of scholarship; relation to other assistance.
(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, each recipient of a West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program scholarship is eligible to receive assistance of up to ten thousand dollars toward the completion of an undergraduate, master's or doctorate degree that qualifies them with professional status in an acceptable professional field. No individual may receive scholarship assistance for more than four academic years for the completion of a bachelor's degree and two academic years for completion of a master's degree or doctorate.
(b) No individual may receive a scholarship award under this article which exceeds the cost of attendance at the institution the individual is attending. The cost of attendance shall be based upon the actual cost of tuition and fees, and reasonable allowances for books, educational supplies, room and board and other expenses necessitated by individual circumstances, in accordance with the program guidelines. For the purposes of establishing an award amount, the senior administrator shall take into account the amount of financial aid assistance the recipient has or will receive from all other sources. If the amount of the scholarship and the amount of assistance awards which the recipient has received from all other sources exceed the cost of attendance, the institution's financial aid officer, in consultation with the scholar, will determine what aid is to be reduced and shall do so in a manner to the best advantage of the scholar.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "West Virginia Brain Gain Scholarship Program." In furtherance of this purpose the bill provides for the following: (1) Creates a scholarship fund; (2) sets forth purposes; (3) provides for funding; (4) sets forth selection criteria and procedures; (5) provides a scholarship agreement; (6) provides renewal conditions; (7) addresses noncompliance; (8) provides for deferral and excusal; (9) sets limits for the amount and duration of scholarship; and (10) sets forth perimeters in relation to other assistance.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.