A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that the tuition waiver for survivors of law enforcement officers, firefighters, or rescue squad workers and certain others also applies to children whose legal guardians or legal custodians are law enforcement officers, firefighters, or rescue squad workers.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115B‑1(6) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115B‑1.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Chapter:
…
(6)	Survivor. – Any person whose parent, legal guardian, legal custodian, or spouse: (i) was a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, a volunteer firefighter, or a rescue squad worker, (ii) was killed while in active service or training for active service or died as a result of a service‑connected disability, and (iii) at the time of active service or training was a North Carolina resident. The term does not include the widow or widower of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or a rescue squad worker if the widow or widower has remarried."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115B‑2(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina and the community colleges as defined in G.S. 115D‑2(2) shall permit the following persons to attend classes for credit or noncredit purposes without the required payment of tuition:
(1)	Repealed by Session Laws 2009‑451, s. 8.11(a), effective July 1, 2009.
(2)	Any person who is the survivor of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker killed as a direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty.
(3)	The spouse of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker who is permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty.
(4)	Any child, if the child is at least 17 years old but not yet 24 years old, whose parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian is a law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker who is permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty. However, a child's eligibility for a waiver of tuition under this Chapter shall not exceed: (i) 54 months, if the child is seeking a baccalaureate degree, or (ii) if the child is not seeking a baccalaureate degree, the number of months required to complete the educational program to which the child is applying.
(5)	Any child, if the child (i) is at least 17 years old but not yet 24 years old, (ii) is a ward of North Carolina or was a ward of the State at the time the child reached the age of 18, (iii) is a resident of the State; and (iv) is eligible for services under the Chaffee Education and Training Vouchers Program; but the waiver shall only be to the extent that there is any tuition still payable after receipt of other financial aid received by the student.
(6)	Any child enrolled in a regional school established pursuant to Part 10 of Article 16 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes who enrolls in classes at a constituent institution or community college which has a written agreement with the regional school."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115B‑5(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The officials of the institutions charged with administration of this Chapter shall require the following proof to insure that a person applying to the institution and who requests a tuition waiver under G.S. 115B‑2(a)(2), (3), or (4) is eligible for the benefits provided by this Chapter.
(1)	The parent‑child relationship shall be verified by a birth certificate, legal adoption papers, or other documentary evidence deemed appropriate by the institution.
(1a)	The legal guardian‑child relationship shall be verified by an order from a court proceeding that established the legal guardianship.
(1b)	The legal custodian‑child relationship shall be verified by an order from a court proceeding that established the legal custodianship.
(2)	The marital relationship shall be verified by a marriage certificate or other documentary evidence deemed appropriate by the institution.
(3)	The cause of death of the law enforcement officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker shall be verified by certification from the records of the Department of State Treasurer, the appropriate city or county law enforcement agency that employed the deceased, the administrative agency for the fire department or fire protection district recognized for funding under the Department of State Auditor, or the administrative agency having jurisdiction over any paid firefighters of all counties and cities.
(4)	The permanent and total disability shall be verified by documentation deemed necessary by the institution from the North Carolina Industrial Commission."
SECTION 3.5.  G.S. 115B‑5(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The officials of the institutions charged with administration of this Chapter may require proof to verify that a person applying to the institution under G.S. 115B‑2(a)(5) is eligible for the benefits provided by this Chapter."
SECTION 3.7.  G.S. 115B‑5.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115B‑5.1.  Student to be credited for scholarship value.
If a person obtains a tuition waiver under G.S. 115B‑2(a)(2), (3), or (4) and the person also receives a cash scholarship paid or payable to the institution, from whatever source, the amount of the scholarship shall be applied to the credit of the person in the payment of incidental expenses of the person's attendance at the institution, and any balance, if the terms of the scholarship permit, shall be returned to the student."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to the 2015 fall academic semester and each subsequent semester.