State of South Dakota
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EIGHTY-SEVENTH SESSION LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2012 |
903T0634 | HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS ENGROSSED NO. SB 77 - 2/27/2012 |
Introduced by: Senator Olson (Russell) and Representative Fargen
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the Dakota Tech scholarship program;
per student and is awarded once for the duration of the student's course of study. The department
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 department 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 department 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 an obligation owed by the person to
the department, 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 department the
amount of the scholarship paid on behalf of the person, according to a repayment schedule set
by the department 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 department the amount of
the scholarship paid on behalf of the person, according to a repayment schedule set by the
department 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 department 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 department the person's academic and occupational status on forms prescribed by the
department.
Section 13. The Dakota Tech scholarship fund is hereby established as a separate fund in
the state treasury to be administered by the Department of Labor and Regulation. 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 secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation.
Section 14. The Department of Labor and Regulation 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 department 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 hundred
dollars ($100), or so much thereof as may be necessary, to the Department of Labor and
Regulation 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 in the
implementation of the program may be met only through the use of funds from sources other
than this appropriation.
Section 16. The secretary of the Department of Labor and Regulation 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.