The bill amends Section 16-70-5 of the General Laws under "The Onward We Learn Scholarship Act" to clarify the budget and appropriations process for the scholarship program. It mandates that the General Assembly annually appropriates necessary funds for the support and maintenance of the program, including operational and scholarship support. The bill introduces provisions that require any remaining funds from the enacted budget in any fiscal year from the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship Program, after the Community College of Rhode Island has satisfied all eligible scholarships, to be reimbursed to the Onward We Learn program for scholarships it has already paid on behalf of its students attending the Community College of Rhode Island.

Similarly, the bill requires that any remaining funds from the enacted budget in any fiscal year from the Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Program, after Rhode Island College has satisfied all eligible scholarships, be reimbursed to the Onward We Learn program for scholarships it has paid on behalf of its students attending Rhode Island College. The Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner is directed to facilitate these reimbursements, and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw the necessary funds. This act will take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
2094: 16-70-5