A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to expand the existing tuition waiver program and to provide an exception to the twelve-month residency requirement for certain university of north carolina employees and their children.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑143 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116-143.  State-supported institutions of higher education required to charge tuition and fees.
(a)	The Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina shall fix the tuition and fees, not inconsistent with actions of the General Assembly, at the institutions enumerated in G.S. 116‑4 in such amount or amounts as it may deem best, taking into consideration the nature of each institution and program of study and the cost of equipment and maintenance; and each institution shall charge and collect from each student, at the beginning of each semester or quarter, tuition, fees, and an amount sufficient to pay other expenses for the term.
(b)	In the event that said students are unable to pay the cost of tuition and required academic fees as the same may become due, in cash, the said several boards of trustees are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to accept the obligation of the student or students together with such collateral or security as they  may deem necessary and proper, it being the purpose of this Article that all students in State institutions of higher learning shall be required to pay tuition, and that free tuition is hereby abolished.
(c)	Inasmuch as the giving of tuition and fee waivers, or especially reduced rates, represent in effect a variety of scholarship awards, the said practice is hereby prohibited except when expressly authorized by statute or by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina; and, furthermore, it is hereby directed and required that all budgeted funds expended for scholarships of any type must be clearly identified in budget reports.
(d)	Notwithstanding the above provision relating to the abolition of free tuition, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina may, in its  discretion, do the following:
(1)	 Provide regulations under which a full‑time faculty member of the rank of full‑time instructor or above, and any full‑time staff member of the University of North Carolina may during the period of normal employment enroll for not more than  three courses per  academic year in the University of North Carolina free of charge for tuition, provided such enrollment does not interfere with normal employment obligations and further provided that such enrollments are not counted for the purpose of receiving general fund appropriations.
(2)	Provide regulations under which the spouse and one or more dependent children of a full‑time faculty member or staff member of The University of North Carolina may have the spouse's or dependent children's tuition reduced by twenty‑five percent (25%) so long as the employee remains employed full‑time at The University of North Carolina."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 116‑143.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(m)	Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a person who is a full‑time employee of The University of North Carolina, or is the spouse or dependent child of a full‑time employee of The University of North Carolina, and who is a legal resident of North Carolina, qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes without having maintained that legal residence for at least 12 months immediately prior to his or her classification as a resident for tuition purposes."
SECTION 3.  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall study the feasibility of a tuition waiver exchange program under which full‑time employees of The University of North Carolina would be allowed to take a specified number of courses at a community college without paying tuition, and full‑time employees of a community college would be allowed to take a specified number of courses at The University of North Carolina without paying tuition. The Boards shall report the results of this study to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by April 1, 2006.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.