South Carolina General Assembly
124th Session, 2021-2022

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A36, R49, H3017

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Davis, Atkinson, B. Newton, Magnuson, Fry, Daning, Felder, May, Long, Pope, Forrest, Oremus, M.M. Smith, Yow, McGinnis, Govan, Brawley, Willis, Henderson-Myers, Jones and McDaniel
Document Path: l:\council\bills\rt\17803wab21.docx

Introduced in the House on January 12, 2021
Introduced in the Senate on February 18, 2021
Last Amended on April 20, 2021
Passed by the General Assembly on April 27, 2021
Governor's Action: May 6, 2021, Signed

Summary: Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/9/2020  House   Prefiled
   12/9/2020  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
   1/12/2021  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 39)
   1/12/2021  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 39)
   1/26/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: M.M.Smith
   1/27/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Yow
   2/10/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: McGinnis
   2/11/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Govan
   2/11/2021  House   Committee report: Favorable Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 16)
   2/16/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Brawley, 
                        Willis, Henderson-Myers
   2/17/2021  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Jones, McDaniel
   2/17/2021  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 19)
   2/17/2021  House   Roll call Yeas-115  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 19)
   2/18/2021  House   Read third time and sent to Senate 
                        (House Journal-page 69)
   2/18/2021  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 5)
   2/18/2021  Senate  Referred to Committee on Education 
                        (Senate Journal-page 5)
   4/14/2021  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Education 
                        (Senate Journal-page 7)
   4/20/2021  Senate  Amended (Senate Journal-page 20)
   4/20/2021  Senate  Read second time (Senate Journal-page 20)
   4/20/2021  Senate  Roll call Ayes-44  Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 20)
   4/21/2021  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments 
                        (Senate Journal-page 10)
   4/27/2021  House   Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled 
                        (House Journal-page 118)
   4/27/2021  House   Roll call Yeas-111  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 118)
    5/6/2021          Signed By Governor
    5/4/2021          Ratified R  49
   5/13/2021          Effective date  05/06/21
   5/13/2021          Act No.  36

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/9/2020
2/11/2021
4/14/2021
4/20/2021


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A36, R49, H3017)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 59-104-20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ELIGIBILITY FOR PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIPS, SO AS TO INCLUDE TWO-YEAR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES AMONG INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING WHOSE STUDENTS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-149-60, RELATING TO THE DURATION OF LIFE SCHOLARSHIPS, SO AS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS MAY NOT RECEIVE LIFE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MORE THAN SIX SEMESTERS FOR THREE-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAMS.

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

Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, eligibility expanded

SECTION    1.    Section 59-104-20(E), (F), and (H) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(E)    A Palmetto Fellows Scholarship is available to an eligible resident student who attends or will attend an eligible public or independent institution.

(F)    For purposes of subsection (E):

(1)    'Public or independent institution' means a:

(a)    South Carolina public institution defined in Section 59-103-5, and an independent institution as defined in Section 59-113-50; or

(b)    public or independent bachelor's level institution chartered before 1962 whose major campus and headquarters are located within South Carolina.

(2)    'Resident student' means a:

(a)    student who is either a member of a class graduating from a high school located in this State, a home school student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in the manner required by law, or a student graduating from a preparatory high school outside this State, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal resident of this State and has custody of the dependent; and

(b)    student classified as a resident of South Carolina for in-state tuition purposes under Chapter 112 of this title at the time of enrollment at the institution.

(H)    Notwithstanding another provision of law, a student who met the initial eligibility requirements to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Award as a senior in high school and has met the continuing eligibility requirements shall receive the award. A student who received a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Award as a senior in high school but declined the award is eligible to reapply for the annual scholarship, providing he meets all of the initial and continuing academic eligibility requirements of the Palmetto Fellows program, if he transfers to a qualifying South Carolina institution of higher learning. The number of semesters or academic years a student attended an out-of-state institution are to be deducted from the number of semesters or academic years a student is eligible for the scholarship. All funding provided for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships regardless of its source or allocation must be used to implement the provisions of this subsection. A student who uses a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship to attend an eligible two-year institution shall receive a maximum of four continuous semesters, and may continue to use the scholarship to attend an eligible four-year institution, subject to maximum number of semesters for which the student may be eligible for the scholarship."

LIFE Scholarships, eligibility, duration

SECTION    2.    Section 59-149-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-149-60.    The student may receive a LIFE Scholarship for not more than ten semesters for a five-year degree program, eight semesters for a four-year degree program, four semesters for a two-year degree program, or six semesters for a three-year degree program."

Time effective

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 4th day of May, 2021.

Approved the 6th day of May, 2021.

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This web page was last updated on June 14, 2021 at 8:52 AM