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H. 5125

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Neilson, Bales and Townsend
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\10186sj04.doc

Introduced in the House on April 14, 2004
Currently residing in the House Committee on Education and Public Works

Summary: Palmetto Fellows Scholarships

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4/14/2004  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-94
   4/14/2004  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-95
   4/14/2004          Scrivener's error corrected

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/14/2004
4/14/2004-A

TO AMEND SECTION 59-104-20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, SO AS TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE, CLASS RANK, AND SAT OR ACT REQUIREMENTS, TO PROVIDE THAT A STUDENT WHO DECLINES THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP AND CHOOSES TO ATTEND AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING IN ANOTHER STATE MAY TRANSFER TO AN IN-STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING AND RECEIVE THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP IF HE CONTINUES TO MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A STUDENT MAY RECEIVE A FIFTH YEAR OF SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY IF HE IS ENROLLED IN AN APPROVED FIVE-YEAR BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAM OR A FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM WHERE THE FIRST DEGREE AWARDED IS A MASTER'S DEGREE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 59-104-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-104-20.    (A)    The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is established to foster scholarship among the state's post-secondary students and retain outstanding South Carolina high school graduates in the State through awards based on scholarship and achievement. Measures must be taken to ensure equitable minority participation in this program. Recipients of these scholarships are designated Palmetto Fellows. Each Palmetto Fellow shall receive a scholarship in an amount not to exceed six thousand seven hundred dollars. These scholarships in combination with all other grants and scholarships shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution attended. The commission shall promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the program and request annual state appropriations for the program.

(B)    Students, either new or continuing, must not have been adjudicated delinquent or been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any felonies or any alcohol or drug-related offenses under the laws of this or any other state or under the laws of the United States in order to be eligible for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, except that a high school or college student otherwise qualified who has been adjudicated delinquent or has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to an alcohol or drug-related misdemeanor offense nevertheless shall be eligible or continue to be eligible for such scholarships after the expiration of one academic year from the date of the adjudication, conviction, or plea.

(C)    Of the funds made available for higher education Palmetto Fellows Scholarships for any year, a percentage thereof must be allocated for students attending South Carolina independent colleges of higher learning in this State. This percentage must be equivalent to the percentage of the independent colleges' share of the total South Carolina resident undergraduate full-time enrollment (FTE) of all public and independent higher education institutions in South Carolina based on the previous year's data as determined by the Commission on Higher Education and the South Carolina Tuition Grants Commission.

(D)    After expending funds appropriated for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships from all other sources, there is automatically appropriated from the general fund of the State whatever amount is necessary to provide Palmetto Fellows Scholarships to all persons meeting the requirements of this section.

(E)    In order to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, a student must earn a GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale by the end of the junior year, rank in the top six percent of either the high school junior or sophomore class, and obtain at least 1200 on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or 27 on the American College Test (ACT).

(F)    A student who declines the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and chooses to attend an institution in another state may transfer to an in-state institution and receive the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship if he continues to meet the eligibility requirements.

    (G)    Notwithstanding another provision of law, a student may receive a fifth year of Palmetto Fellows scholarship eligibility if he is enrolled in an approved five-year bachelor's degree program or a five-year program where the first degree awarded is a master's degree."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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