PRINTER'S NO. 705
No. 603 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY SOLOBAY, GEORGE, BARD, BARRAR, BASTIAN, BELARDI,
BUNT, CASORIO, CORRIGAN, COY, DALLY, DERMODY, GERGELY,
GRUCELA, HARPER, HORSEY, KIRKLAND, LaGROTTA, LEH, McILHATTAN,
PETRARCA, SAINATO, SCRIMENTI, B. SMITH, SURRA, TRAVAGLIO,
WHEATLEY, BEBKO-JONES, BISHOP, CAPPELLI, CAWLEY, COSTA,
CURRY, DeLUCA, DeWEESE, GOODMAN, HARHAI, HERMAN, HUTCHINSON,
KOTIK, LAUGHLIN, McGEEHAN, McNAUGHTON, READSHAW, SANTONI,
SHANER, STABACK, THOMAS, WALKO, YEWCIC, YOUNGBLOOD AND
YUDICHAK, MARCH 3, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 3, 2003
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Volunteer Emergency Service Personnel
2 Educational Assistance and Loan Forgiveness Program.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Volunteer
7 Emergency Service Personnel Educational Assistance and Loan
8 Forgiveness Act.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
14 Agency.
1 "Applicant." An active member of a volunteer fire company,
2 emergency service team or rescue team.
3 "Approved institution of higher learning." An educational
4 institution offering a postsecondary program of education,
5 including vocational schools located in this Commonwealth and
6 approved by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.
7 "Approved program of education." A degree-granting or
8 certificate-granting curriculum or course of study pursued at an
9 approved institution of higher learning on a full-time or part-
10 time basis or its equivalent as determined by the Pennsylvania
11 Higher Education Assistance Agency.
12 "Full-time student." A student enrolled in an approved
13 institution of higher learning pursuing an approved program of
14 education equal to or greater than 12 credit hours or its
15 equivalent recognized by the Pennsylvania Higher Education
16 Assistance Agency as a full-time course of study.
17 "Part-time student." A student enrolled in an approved
18 institution of higher learning pursuing an approved program of
19 education of less than 15 credit hours or its equivalent
20 recognized by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
21 Agency as a part-time course of study.
22 "Program." The Volunteer Emergency Service Personnel
23 Educational Assistance and Loan Forgiveness Program established
24 in section 3.
25 Section 3. Educational Assistance and Loan Forgiveness Program.
26 The Volunteer Emergency Service Personnel Educational
27 Assistance and Loan Forgiveness Program is established to
28 provide grants to applicants or allow applicants to receive
29 payments by the agency for debt incurred as a result of student
30 loans entered into for the purpose of pursuing programs of
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1 education. Applicants shall be entered in the program upon
2 receipt of their first grant or loan forgiveness payment and
3 shall remain in the program for a period not exceeding five
4 academic years.
5 Section 4. Educational assistance eligibility.
6 An applicant shall be eligible to receive educational
7 assistance under this act if the applicant meets all of the
8 following eligibility criteria:
9 (1) The applicant is a qualified resident of this
10 Commonwealth.
11 (2) The applicant has been an active member, as
12 determined by the State Fire Commissioner, of a volunteer
13 fire company, emergency service team or rescue team for a
14 period of at least one year in this Commonwealth.
15 (3) The applicant has enrolled as a student in an
16 approved program of education at an approved institution of
17 higher learning.
18 (4) The applicant provides the approved institution of
19 higher learning with a sworn or official statement of fact by
20 the State Fire Commissioner, president or commissioner of a
21 volunteer fire department of which the applicant is a
22 volunteer, attesting that the applicant is a member in good
23 standing of the volunteer fire company, emergency service
24 team or rescue team.
25 Section 5. Grants.
26 (a) Provision.--From the funds specifically appropriated for
27 the purposes of this act, grants shall be provided to eligible
28 members for the purpose of pursuing approved programs of
29 education.
30 (b) Promissory notes.--At the receipt of the grant, an
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1 eligible member shall sign a promissory note to repay the full
2 amount of the grant. The promissory note shall be conditional
3 upon termination of active membership status with a volunteer
4 fire company, emergency service team or rescue team in this
5 Commonwealth.
6 Section 6. Amount of grants.
7 (a) Part-time student assistance grants.--Grants awarded
8 pursuant to this act to part-time student applicants shall be
9 determined by the agency and shall not exceed for each academic
10 year the amount of one-half the tuition of the part-time course
11 of study in which the part-time student applicant is enrolled.
12 (b) Full-time student assistance grants.--Grants awarded
13 pursuant to this act to full-time student applicants shall be
14 determined by the agency and shall not exceed $3,700 per
15 academic year or the actual amount of the applicant's tuition
16 for the academic year, whichever is less.
17 (c) Other grants.--The agency shall not reduce the amount of
18 other agency grants or aid for which the applicant qualifies on
19 account of the applicant's eligibility for or receipt of grants
20 under this act.
21 Section 7. Loan forgiveness eligibility.
22 An applicant shall be eligible to receive loan forgiveness
23 payments under this act if the applicant meets all of the
24 following eligibility criteria:
25 (1) The applicant is a qualified resident of this
26 Commonwealth.
27 (2) The applicant has been an active member, as
28 determined by the State Fire Commissioner, of a volunteer
29 fire company, emergency service team or rescue team for a
30 period of at least one year in this Commonwealth.
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1 (3) The applicant has enrolled as a student in an
2 approved program of education at an approved institution of
3 higher learning.
4 (4) The applicant provides the approved institution of
5 higher learning with a sworn or official statement of fact by
6 the State Fire Commissioner, president or commissioner of a
7 volunteer fire department of which the applicant is a
8 volunteer, attesting that the applicant is a member in good
9 standing of the volunteer fire company, emergency service
10 team or rescue team.
11 Section 8. Payments.
12 (a) General rule.--Applicants are eligible for payments by
13 the agency of a portion of the debt incurred by the applicant
14 through agency-administered guaranteed student loan programs for
15 the education necessary to successfully complete a particular
16 course of study.
17 (b) Amounts to be forgiven.--For each year that the
18 applicant is a member of a volunteer fire company, emergency
19 service team or rescue team, the agency may forgive a
20 proportional part of the applicant's loan so that the loan may
21 be entirely forgiven over a maximum period of five years in
22 which the applicant is attending an approved institution of
23 higher learning.
24 (c) Maximum amounts.--No more than $2,000 shall be forgiven
25 in any year, and no more than $10,000 shall be forgiven for any
26 applicant over a five-year period.
27 (d) Procedure.--Payments shall be made in accordance with
28 procedures established by the agency. A loan forgiveness payment
29 shall not be made for a loan that is in default at the time of
30 application.
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1 Section 9. Limitations.
2 (a) Time.--No eligible member shall receive assistance
3 grants or loan forgiveness payments under this act for a total
4 of more than five academic years or their equivalent as
5 determined by the agency.
6 (b) Active membership status.--No grant payments or loan
7 forgiveness payments shall be made under this act except during
8 the eligible member's term of service as an active member of a
9 volunteer fire company, emergency service team or rescue team.
10 Section 10. Administration.
11 The General Assembly shall appropriate funds for educational
12 assistance grants and loan forgiveness payments under this act.
13 A portion of the funds appropriated may be used to pay the costs
14 of the administration of this act.
15 Section 20. Effective date.
16 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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