A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to simplify the procedure for calculating tuition for military personnel and their dependents.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑143.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116‑143.3.  Tuition of personnel in the armed services.
(a)	For purposes of this section the term "armed services" shall mean the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy; the North Carolina National Guard; and any Reserve Component of the foregoing. The term "abode" shall mean the place where a person actually lives, whether temporarily or permanently; the term "abide" shall mean to live in a given place.
(b)	Any member of the armed services and any dependent relative of the member who is admitted to an institution of higher education as defined in G.S. 116‑143.1(a)(3) whileabiding in this State incident to active military  duty is eligible to be charged the in-State tuition rate. Furthermore, any member of the armed services who resides outside of the State and who registers for a course delivered through distance learning is eligible to be charged the in-State tuition rate.
(c)	The dependent relatives shall comply with the requirements of the Selective Service System, if applicable, in order to be accorded this benefit. In the event the member of the armed services removes his or her abode from North Carolina during an academic year, the dependent relative shall continue to be eligible for the in‑State tuition rate during the remainder of that academic year.
(d)	The burden of proving entitlement to the benefit of this section shall lie with the applicant therefor.
(e)	A person charged less than the out‑of‑State tuition rate solely by reason of this section shall not, during the period of receiving that benefit, qualify for or be the basis of conferring the benefits of G.S. 116‑143.1(g), (h), (i), (j), (k), or (1)."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to the 2003‑2004 academic year and each year thereafter.