State of South Dakota
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EIGHTY-SEVENTH SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2012
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903T0634
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SENATE EDUCATION ENGROSSED NO. SB 77 - 2/10/2012
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This bill has been extensively amended (hoghoused) and may no longer be consistent
with the original intention of the sponsor.
Introduced by: Senator Olson (Russell) and Representative Fargen
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FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to provide for the establishment of a scholarship program
for postsecondary technical institute students and to make an appropriation therefor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. The Dakota Tech scholarship program is hereby established within the Governor's
Office of Economic Development. Dakota Tech scholarships shall be awarded to encourage
students at South Dakota's postsecondary technical institutes who are trained for employment
in areas of critical need to remain in South Dakota upon completion of their postsecondary
technical education. The Governor's Office of Economic Development shall provide for the
awarding of Dakota Tech scholarships in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
Section 2. Terms used in this Act mean:
(1) "Administrator," the organization selected by GOED as provided in this Act to
administer the Dakota Tech scholarship program;
(2) "Area of critical need," an occupation within South Dakota for certain types of
employers in certain geographical areas as specified by rules promulgated by GOED
pursuant to section 14 of this Act;
(3) "Dakota Tech scholarship award," an amount awarded to an individual student under
the Dakota Tech scholarship program;
(4) "GOED," the Governor's Office of Economic Development;
(5) "Postsecondary technical institute," a postsecondary institute established pursuant to
chapter 13-39.
Section 3. The Governor's Office of Economic Development shall select a nonprofit
corporation to act as the administrator of the Dakota Tech scholarship program. GOED shall
issue a request for proposals to identify and select the appropriate entity to serve as the
administrator. The administrator shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, provide
for the selection of scholarship recipients, the disbursement of scholarship funds, the collection
and repayment of funds from recipients who have become ineligible, and other measures
necessary for the implementation of this Act.
Section 4. To be eligible for a Dakota Tech scholarship a person shall:
(1) Have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED);
(2) Agree in writing to stay in South Dakota and work in an area of critical need for a
period of four years following graduation from a postsecondary technical institute;
and
(3) Enroll in or be accepted for enrollment by a postsecondary technical institute for a
course of study in an area of critical need leading to a technical degree from the
postsecondary technical institute.
Section 5. In order to maintain eligibility for a Dakota Tech scholarship a person shall:
(1) Maintain a 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and maintain standing as a full-time
or part-time student at a postsecondary technical institute;
(2) Attend a postsecondary technical institute and earn a technical degree in an area of
critical need within four years after the person's first enrollment at the technical
institute.
Section 6. A Dakota Tech scholarship award shall be in the amount of five thousand dollars
per student and is awarded once for the duration of the student's course of study. The
administrator may award Dakota Tech scholarships only to the extent that funds are available
to provide scholarships. If the amount of money in the Dakota Tech scholarship fund is
insufficient to provide a Dakota Tech scholarship to all eligible applicants, the administrator
shall consider a person's field of study and financial need in awarding a Dakota Tech
scholarship.
Section 7. If a person has been awarded a Dakota Tech scholarship, the administrator shall
pay the postsecondary technical institute at which the person is enrolled the amount of five
thousand dollars, to be deducted from the person 's tuition and fees over the duration of the
person's course of study. The amount of the scholarship constitutes a obligation owed by the
person to the administrator, which may be discharged as provided in sections 8 to 11, inclusive,
of this Act.
Section 8. A person who has received a Dakota Tech scholarship is not required to repay any
part of the scholarship if within six months of earning an eligible technical degree the person
begins employment and is continuously employed in South Dakota for a period of forty-eight
consecutive months in an area of critical need. A course of study and corresponding
employment or occupation that was deemed an area of critical need at the time of the person's
scholarship award remains an area of critical need for the duration of the person's course of
study and for the forty-eight month employment period for purposes of determining any
repayment obligation that the person may incur.
Section 9. If a person who has received a Dakota Tech scholarship does not maintain
eligibility as specified in section 5 of this Act, the person shall reimburse the administrator the
amount of the scholarship paid on behalf of the person, according to a repayment schedule set
by GOED in rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26.
Section 10. If a person who has received a Dakota Tech scholarship does not meet the
requirement in section 8 of this Act, the person shall reimburse the administrator the amount of
the scholarship paid on behalf of the person, according to a repayment schedule set by GOED
in rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26. The amount of repayment shall be based on the
ratio of forty-eight months minus the number of months a person was continuously employed
in an area of critical need to forty-eight months.
Section 11. If a person who has received a Dakota Tech scholarship is unable to maintain
eligibility or remain employed in an area of critical need for forty-eight consecutive months due
to factors outside the control of the person, the administrator may waive or delay the eligibility
or repayment provisions of this Act.
Section 12. A person who has received a Dakota Tech scholarship shall annually report to
the administrator the person's academic and occupational status on forms prescribed by the
administrator.
Section 13. The Dakota Tech scholarship fund is hereby established as a separate fund in
the state treasury to be administered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Money in the fund shall be used to implement the Dakota Tech scholarship program established
pursuant to this Act. Money may enter the fund through legislative appropriations, fees,
contributions, donations, grants, loans, interest received on money in the fund, and any other
lawful public or private source. Money in the fund shall be appropriated by the Legislature
through the normal budget process. Any expenditure from the fund shall be paid on warrants
drawn by the state auditor on vouchers approved by the commissioner of the Governor's Office
of Economic Development.
Section 14. The Governor's Office of Economic Development shall promulgate rules,
pursuant to chapter 1-26, to implement the Dakota Tech scholarship program. The rules shall
define occupations and geographical areas as areas of critical need, establish procedures for the
awarding and acceptance of scholarships, establish requirements and guidelines to be followed
by the administrator in implementing the program, establish criteria for monitoring the academic
and occupational status of persons who have received a scholarship, establish financial need
criteria, establish repayment schedules, and establish other procedures and requirements
necessary for the implementation of the scholarship program.
Section 15. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund the sum of one dollar ($1),
or so much thereof as may be necessary, to the Governor's Office of Economic Development
to be deposited into the Dakota Tech scholarship fund and made available, beginning on the
effective date of this Act, to fund scholarships under the Dakota Tech scholarship program as
provided in this Act. This appropriation may be used only for the funding of scholarships under
the program. Administrative costs and other costs incurred by the administrator or by GOED
in the implementation of the program may be met only through the use of funds from sources
other than this appropriation.
Section 16. The commissioner of the Governor's Office of Economic Development shall
approve vouchers and the state auditor shall draw warrants to pay expenditures authorized by
this Act.
Section 17. Any amounts appropriated in this Act not lawfully expended or obligated by
June 30, 2013, shall revert in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4-8.