2019 19LSO-0665
STATE OF WYOMING
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0310
Wyoming's tomorrow.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Harshman, Connolly and Paxton and Senator(s) Kost and Wasserburger
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to education; providing for a study to create
2 a grant program to make two years of education at Wyoming
3 community colleges and the University of Wyoming as free as
4 possible; creating a task force; specifying membership;
5 providing parameters for the study and the program; creating
6 an endowment fund; providing a contingent appropriation to
7 the endowment fund; providing an appropriation for the study;
8 providing for future implementation; and providing for an
9 effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
12
13 Section 1. W.S. 9-4-204(u) by creating a new paragraph
14 (viii) and 9-4-714(a)(v) are amended to read:
15
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1 9-4-204. Funds established; use thereof.
2
3 (u) Other funds defined as follows shall be classified
4 by the state auditor pursuant to subsections (s) and (t) of
5 this section:
6
7 (viii) The Wyoming's tomorrow endowment fund - to
8 consist of funds appropriated or designated to the fund by
9 law, or by gift from whatever source. In accordance with
10 Wyoming constitution, article 15, section 20, monies within
11 the fund shall not be expended and may be invested in the
12 same manner as other permanent funds of the state. Earnings
13 from investment of monies within the fund shall be deposited
14 to the fund unless otherwise specified by law.
15
16 9-4-714. Definitions.
17
18 (a) As used in this act:
19
20 (v) "Permanent funds" means the permanent Wyoming
21 mineral trust fund under W.S. 9-4-204(u)(iii), the Wyoming
22 permanent land fund under W.S. 9-4-204(u)(iv), the excellence
23 in higher education endowment fund under W.S. 9-4-204(u)(vi),
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1 and the Hathaway student scholarship endowment fund under
2 W.S. 9-4-204(u)(vii) and the Wyoming's tomorrow endowment
3 fund under W.S. 9-4-204(u)(viii);
4
5 Section 2.
6
7 (a) There is created a Wyoming's tomorrow task force to
8 consist of the following:
9
10 (i) One (1) representative of the University of
11 Wyoming, appointed by the governor;
12
13 (ii) One (1) representative of community colleges,
14 appointed by the governor;
15
16 (iii) One (1) representative of the community
17 college commission appointed by the commission;
18
19 (iv) Two (2) representatives from business and
20 industry, appointed by the governor;
21
22 (v) One (1) representative of the public,
23 appointed by the governor;
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1
2 (vi) One (1) representative from the Wyoming K-12
3 educational community appointed by the state superintendent
4 of public instruction;
5
6 (vii) One (1) representative from the Wyoming
7 department of education appointed by the state superintendent
8 of public instruction;
9
10 (viii) Two (2) members of the Wyoming house of
11 representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house;
12
13 (ix) Two (2) members of the Wyoming senate,
14 appointed by the president of the senate.
15
16 (b) The task force shall study the Tennessee Promise
17 program, and consider other scholarship or grant programs in
18 order to inform the development of potential education
19 scholarship or grant programs to be funded by the earnings
20 from the Wyoming's tomorrow endowment fund created by this
21 act. The task force shall include in its review 2019 Senate
22 File 34, Senate File 43 and Senate File 122 and House Bill
23 132, House Bill 133, House Bill 137 and House Bill 263 if not
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1 enacted into law. It shall also review existing state funded
2 economic development, diversification and workforce
3 development programs, and consider potential alignment of and
4 need for those programs with the implementation of the
5 Wyoming's tomorrow program. The goal of the task force shall
6 be to make recommendations to the Wyoming legislature for
7 future legislation needed for scholarship or grant programs
8 and to make undergraduate post secondary education in Wyoming
9 as free as possible to Wyoming residents. The task force shall
10 provide recommendations for a program which is not based on
11 scholastic achievement for entry to the program. The task
12 force may consider scholastic achievement based components
13 for entry and continued enrollment in the program. The task
14 force shall review potential contributions the program can
15 make to economic development and diversification efforts of
16 the state considering labor needs within the state. The task
17 force shall consider and make recommendations as to the
18 following:
19
20 (i) The amount of tuition, fees and other
21 education related payments incurred by Wyoming resident
22 students at the university and community colleges for
23 undergraduate degrees and certificates;
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1
2 (ii) The amount of funds required in the endowment
3 fund created by this act in order to provide Wyoming residents
4 with tuition and mandatory fees at each community college and
5 the university for two (2) years of undergraduate attendance
6 considering current and anticipated growth in enrollment and
7 increases in tuition and fees;
8
9 (iii) Requirements for continued enrollment and
10 reentry requirements for students failing to maintain
11 satisfactory academic progress;
12
13 (iv) Dual post secondary and K-12 enrollment
14 modifications or early graduation provisions in order for the
15 state education system to be more responsive to the state's
16 workforce needs and funding modifications associated with
17 dual enrollment modifications or early graduation provisions;
18
19 (v) Waiver provisions, if any, regarding
20 continuing scholarship requirements;
21
22 (vi) Administrative oversight of the program;
23
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1 (vii) An implementation date for the program,
2 which shall be no later than the first school year after the
3 endowment account contains at least four hundred million
4 dollars ($400,000,000.00);
5
6 (viii) Potential increases in required state
7 funding for the university and community colleges as a result
8 of projected increases in enrollment, tuition and fees;
9
10 (ix) Reallocation of state funding for existing
11 educational scholarship and grant programs and economic
12 development and diversification efforts funded with state
13 funds. The task force shall consider reallocation of Hathaway
14 funds made available as a result of Wyoming's tomorrow program
15 to the Hathaway student scholarship program in order to
16 increase Hathaway scholarship amounts;
17
18 (x) A means for industry and other private funding
19 for the program, whether such contribution should be a
20 requirement for implementation of the program and recommended
21 terms and conditions for that participation;
22
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1 (xi) Other additional funding sources or options
2 for the program, with a goal of funding the Wyoming's tomorrow
3 endowment in the amount sufficient to provide Wyoming
4 residents free tuition and mandatory fees for two (2) years
5 of undergraduate education at the University of Wyoming or a
6 Wyoming community college.
7
8 (c) The task force may retain consultants as necessary
9 to fulfill its duties under this act. The task force shall be
10 staffed by the legislative service office. State agencies
11 shall provide information to the task force as requested in
12 order to fulfill the task force's duties. The legislative
13 members of the task force shall receive compensation, per
14 diem and travel expenses in the manner and amount prescribed
15 by W.S. 28-5-101. Task force members who are not legislators
16 and are not state employees shall receive the per diem and
17 mileage paid members of the Wyoming legislature under W.S.
18 28-5-101 for each day of actual task force meetings and travel
19 to those meetings.
20
21 (d) The task force shall report its initial findings
22 and recommendations to the governor, the joint appropriations
23 committee and the joint education interim committee by
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1 November 1, 2019 and, if the committee determines
2 modifications to its initial findings and recommendations are
3 appropriate, again by November 1, 2020. Either legislative
4 committee may sponsor legislation for introduction in the
5 2020 budget session implementing the Wyoming's tomorrow
6 program in whole or in part as the legislative committee
7 determines appropriate.
8
9 (e) The task force shall terminate December 31, 2020.
10
11 Section 3.
12
13 (a) There is appropriated two hundred million dollars
14 ($200,000.000.00) from the legislative stabilization reserve
15 account to the Wyoming's tomorrow endowment fund. No part of
16 this appropriation shall be deposited to the fund until June
17 30, 2020. The legislature reserves the right to modify this
18 contingent appropriation in whole or in part prior to its
19 deposit to the endowment fund.
20
21 (b) There is appropriated thirty thousand dollars
22 ($30,000.00) from the general fund to the legislative service
23 office for per diem, mileage and salary of members of the
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1 Wyoming's tomorrow task force. Notwithstanding any other
2 provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred
3 or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended,
4 unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall
5 revert as provided by law on June 30, 2021.
6
7 Section 4. This act is effective immediately upon
8 completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as
9 provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
10
11 (END)
10 HB0310
Statutes affected: Introduced: 9-4-204, 9-4-714