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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1168
Introduced by Kolowski, 31.
Read first time January 23, 2020
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to education; to amend section 85-2101,
2 Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and section 9-812, Revised
3 Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2018; to change provisions relating
4 to the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund; to adopt the College
5 Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program Act and the Career-Readiness
6 and Dual-Credit Education Grant Program Act; to add a fund to the
7 Access College Early Scholarship Program Act; and to repeal the
8 original sections.
9 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 9-812, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2018, is amended to read:
3 9-812 (1) All money received from the operation of lottery games
4 conducted pursuant to the State Lottery Act in Nebraska shall be credited
5 to the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund, which fund is hereby created.
6 All payments of the costs of establishing and maintaining the lottery
7 games shall be made from the State Lottery Operation Cash Fund. In
8 accordance with legislative appropriations, money for payments for
9 expenses of the division shall be transferred from the State Lottery
10 Operation Trust Fund to the State Lottery Operation Cash Fund, which fund
11 is hereby created. All money necessary for the payment of lottery prizes
12 shall be transferred from the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund to the
13 State Lottery Prize Trust Fund, which fund is hereby created. The amount
14 used for the payment of lottery prizes shall not be less than forty
15 percent of the dollar amount of the lottery tickets which have been sold.
16 (2) A portion of the dollar amount of the lottery tickets which have
17 been sold on an annualized basis shall be transferred from the State
18 Lottery Operation Trust Fund to the Education Innovation Fund, the
19 Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund, the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund,
20 the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska State Fair Board, and
21 the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund as provided in subsection (3) of
22 this section. The dollar amount transferred pursuant to this subsection
23 shall equal the greater of (a) the dollar amount transferred to the funds
24 in fiscal year 2002-03 or (b) any amount which constitutes at least
25 twenty-two percent and no more than twenty-five percent of the dollar
26 amount of the lottery tickets which have been sold on an annualized
27 basis. To the extent that funds are available, the Tax Commissioner and
28 director may authorize a transfer exceeding twenty-five percent of the
29 dollar amount of the lottery tickets sold on an annualized basis.
30 (3) Of the money available to be transferred as provided in this
31 subsection to the Education Innovation Fund, the Nebraska Opportunity
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1 Grant Fund, the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund, the Nebraska
2 Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska State Fair Board, and the
3 Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund:
4 (a) The first five hundred thousand dollars shall be transferred to
5 the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund to be used as provided in section
6 9-1006;
7 (b) Forty-four Beginning July 1, 2016, forty-four and one-half
8 percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes and operating
9 expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance
10 Fund shall be used for education and transferred pursuant to subsections
11 (4), (5), and (6) of this section to the Nebraska Education Improvement
12 Fund;
13 (c) Forty-four and one-half percent of the money remaining after the
14 payment of prizes and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the
15 Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Nebraska
16 Environmental Trust Fund to be used as provided in the Nebraska
17 Environmental Trust Act;
18 (d) Ten percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes
19 and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive
20 Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Nebraska State Fair
21 Board if the most populous city within the county in which the fair is
22 located provides matching funds equivalent to ten percent of the funds
23 available for transfer. Such matching funds may be obtained from the city
24 and any other private or public entity, except that no portion of such
25 matching funds shall be provided by the state. If the Nebraska State Fair
26 ceases operations, ten percent of the money remaining after the payment
27 of prizes and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the
28 Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the General
29 Fund; and
30 (e) One percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes
31 and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive
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1 Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Compulsive Gamblers
2 Assistance Fund to be used as provided in section 9-1006.
3 (4) For fiscal years through fiscal year 2020-21, all of the money
4 available to be used for education pursuant to subdivision (3)(b) of this
5 section shall be transferred to the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund.
6 (5) For fiscal years 2021-22 through 2025-26, of the money available
7 to be used for education pursuant to subdivision (3)(b) of this section:
8 (a) Seven percent of the money shall be used for career-readiness
9 and dual-credit education and transferred as follows:
10 (i) The first two hundred eighty-two thousand five hundred dollars
11 each fiscal year to the State Department of Education Cash Fund for the
12 annual fee for an online education and career planning tool; and
13 (ii) For the remainder:
14 (A) Forty percent to the Access College Early Scholarship Cash Fund;
15 (B) Forty-five percent to the Career-Readiness and Dual-Credit
16 Education Cash Fund; and
17 (C) Fifteen percent to the College Credit Testing Fee Cash Fund; and
18 (b) Ninety-three percent of the money shall be transferred as the
19 Legislature may direct.
20 (6) For fiscal year 2026-27 and each fiscal year thereafter, all of
21 the money available to be used for education pursuant to subdivision (3)
22 (b) of this section shall be transferred as the Legislature may direct.
23 (7) (4) The Nebraska Education Improvement Fund is created. The fund
24 shall consist of money transferred pursuant to subsection (4) (3) of this
25 section, money transferred pursuant to section 85-1920, and any other
26 funds appropriated by the Legislature. The fund shall be allocated, after
27 actual and necessary administrative expenses, as provided in this section
28 for fiscal years 2016-17 through 2020-21. A portion of each allocation
29 may be retained by the agency to which the allocation is made or the
30 agency administering the fund to which the allocation is made for actual
31 and necessary expenses incurred by such agency for administration,
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1 evaluation, and technical assistance related to the purposes of the
2 allocation, except that no amount of the allocation to the Nebraska
3 Opportunity Grant Fund may be used for such purposes. On or before
4 December 31, 2019, the Education Committee of the Legislature shall
5 electronically submit recommendations to the Clerk of the Legislature
6 regarding how the fund should be allocated to best advance the
7 educational priorities of the state for the five-year period beginning
8 with fiscal year 2021-22. For fiscal year 2016-17, an amount equal to ten
9 percent of the revenue allocated to the Education Innovation Fund and to
10 the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund for fiscal year 2015-16 shall be
11 retained in the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund. For fiscal years
12 2017-18 through 2020-21, an amount equal to ten percent of the revenue
13 received by the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund in the prior fiscal
14 year shall be retained in the fund. For fiscal years 2016-17 through
15 2020-21, the remainder of the fund, after payment of any learning
16 community transition aid pursuant to section 79-10,145, shall be
17 allocated as follows:
18 (a) One percent of the allocated funds to the Expanded Learning
19 Opportunity Grant Fund to carry out the Expanded Learning Opportunity
20 Grant Program Act;
21 (b) Seventeen percent of the allocated funds to the Department of
22 Education Innovative Grant Fund to be used (i) for competitive innovation
23 grants pursuant to section 79-1054 and (ii) to carry out the purposes of
24 section 79-759;
25 (c) Nine percent of the allocated funds to the Community College Gap
26 Assistance Program Fund to carry out the community college gap assistance
27 program;
28 (d) Eight percent of the allocated funds to the Excellence in
29 Teaching Cash Fund to carry out the Excellence in Teaching Act;
30 (e) Sixty-two percent of the allocated funds to the Nebraska
31 Opportunity Grant Fund to carry out the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Act in
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1 conjunction with appropriations from the General Fund; and
2 (f) Three percent of the allocated funds to fund distance education
3 incentives pursuant to section 79-1337.
4 (8) (5) Any money in the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund, the
5 State Lottery Operation Cash Fund, the State Lottery Prize Trust Fund,
6 the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund, or the Education Innovation Fund
7 available for investment shall be invested by the state investment
8 officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska
9 State Funds Investment Act.
10 (9) (6) Unclaimed prize money on a winning lottery ticket shall be
11 retained for a period of time prescribed by rules and regulations. If no
12 claim is made within such period, the prize money shall be used at the
13 discretion of the Tax Commissioner for any of the purposes prescribed in
14 this section.
15 Sec. 2. Sections 2 to 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited
16 as the College Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program Act.
17 Sec. 3. For purposes of the College Credit Testing Fee Reduction
18 Program Act:
19 (1) National college credit testing program means a testing program
20 administered on a national basis to allow students to apply for college
21 credit at colleges and universities in multiple states based on the
22 results of such testing;
23 (2) Qualified student means a student who meets the poverty
24 guidelines established by the State Department of Education and is taking
25 a test offered by a national college credit testing program related to a
26 course, offered by such school district, in which such student is or has
27 been enrolled; and
28 (3) Testing fee reduction means the amount paid by a school district
29 to reduce the fees charged to a qualified student by a national college
30 credit testing program less any rebate received by the school district
31 for such student from the national college credit testing program.
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1 Sec. 4. (1) The College Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program is
2 established and shall be administered by the State Department of
3 Education.
4 (2) Beginning in school year 2021-22, each school district may
5 apply, in the manner prescribed by the department, for the reimbursement
6 of testing fee reductions. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this
7 section, the department shall reimburse school districts from the College
8 Credit Testing Fee Cash Fund in the amount of all testing fee reductions
9 paid by such school district in the period covered by such application.
10 (3) If at any time there is not a sufficient amount of money
11 available in the College Credit Testing Fee Cash Fund to pay all
12 reimbursements pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, reimbursements
13 pursuant to this section shall be proportionally reduced such that, at
14 the time such reimbursements are paid, the amount of all such
15 reimbursements equals the amount of money available in the fund.
16 (4) On or before December 31, 2022, and on or before each December
17 31 thereafter, the department shall electronically submit an annual
18 report on the College Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program and shall
19 submit the report electronically to the Clerk of the Legislature. The
20 report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and amounts of
21 testing fee reductions paid by school districts, the reimbursement level
22 for such testing fee reductions, the school districts attended by testing
23 fee reduction recipients, and information regarding the number and types
24 of courses associated with testing fee reductions.
25 (5) The department shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations
26 to carry out the College Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program that
27 include, but are not limited to, poverty guidelines.
28 Sec. 5. The College Credit Testing Fee Cash Fund is created. The
29 fund shall be administered by the State Department of Education and shall
30 consist of money received pursuant to section 9-812 and any money
31 appropriated by the Legislature. The department shall use the fund to
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1 carry out the College Credit Testing Fee Reduction Program Act. Any money
2 in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state
3 investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the
4 Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.
5 Sec. 6. Sections 6 to 9 of this act shall be known and may be cited
6 as the Career-Readiness and Dual-Credit Education Grant Program Act.
7 Sec. 7. The Career-Readiness and Dual-Credit Education Grant
8 Program is established. The program shall be administered by the
9 Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. The commission, in
10 consultation with the State Department of Education, the Department of
11 Labor, and any advisory committee established by the commission for such
12 purpose, shall:
13 (1) Create and establish teacher education pathways enabling the
14 instruction of dual-credit courses and career and technical education
15 courses;
16 (2) Correlate and prioritize teacher education pathways with
17 Nebraska work force demand;
18 (3) Establish a grant program beginning on or after July 1, 2021, to
19 distribute money from the Career-Readiness and Dual-Credit Education Cash
20 Fund to teachers enrolled in educational pathways leading to
21 qualification to teach dual-credit courses and career and technical
22 education courses;
23 (4) Establish a directory of available teacher education pathways in
24 Nebraska identified by sequence and location; and
25 (5) On December 31, 2022, and each December 31 thereafter,
26 electro