A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enact the North Carolina Patriot Star Family Scholarship Act.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Establishment of the Scholarship Program. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in recurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year to be provided as a grant to the Patriot Foundation for the purpose of establishing the North Carolina Patriot Star Family Scholarship Program (Program). The Program shall provide scholarships to eligible children and eligible spouses of certain veterans and currently serving members of the Armed Forces to attend eligible postsecondary institutions in accordance with the requirements of this act.
SECTION 2.  Definitions. – For the purposes of this act, the following definitions apply:
(1)	Armed Forces. – A component of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, including their reserve components.
(2)	Eligible child or eligible children. – Any person (i) who is attending or has been accepted to enroll in an eligible postsecondary institution, (ii) who is a legal resident of North Carolina when scholarship documentation is completed, provided that if a child is claimed as a dependent by the child's parent, residency may be established based on a parent meeting sub‑sub‑subdivision 4. of sub‑subdivision a. of this subdivision, (iii) has complied with the requirements of the Selective Service System, if applicable, and (iv) whose parent is a veteran or a currently serving member of the Armed Forces that meets the following:
a.	Meets one of the following residency conditions:
1.	Is a resident of North Carolina at the time of scholarship documentation completion.
2.	Was a resident of North Carolina at the time of entrance into service in the Armed Forces.
3.	Was permanently stationed in North Carolina at the time of his or her death.
4.	Is an active duty service member permanently stationed in North Carolina at the time of documentation completion.
b.	Meets one of the following service conditions:
1.	Was a member of the Armed Forces who was killed in action or in the line of duty, or died of wounds or other causes not due to the service member's willful misconduct during a period of war or national emergency.
2.	Was a member of the Armed Forces who died of service‑connected injuries, wounds, illness, or other causes incurred or aggravated while a member of the Armed Forces during a period of war or national emergency. Standard documentation of the parent's death, wounds, injury, or illness must be supplied by a scholarship recipient at the time of scholarship request.
3.	Is a veteran of the Armed Forces who incurred traumatic injuries or wounds or sustained a major illness while a member of the Armed Forces during a period of war or national emergency and is receiving compensation for a wartime service–connected disability of at least fifty percent (50%) as rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
4.	Is a current member of the Armed Forces who incurred traumatic injuries or wounds or sustained a major illness while a member of the Armed Forces during a period of war or national emergency. The parent's traumatic wounds, injury, or major illness must be documented by the U.S. Department of Defense.
(3)	Eligible spouse. – Any person (i) who is attending or has been accepted to enroll in an eligible postsecondary institution, (ii) who is a legal resident of North Carolina when scholarship documentation is completed, (iii) has complied with the requirements of the Selective Service System, if applicable, and (iv) whose spouse was a member of the Armed Forces who was killed in action or the line of duty, or died of wounds or other causes not due to the service member's willful misconduct during a period of war or national emergency.
(4)	Eligible postsecondary institution. – A school that is any of the following:
a.	A constituent institution of The University of North Carolina.
b.	A community college under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Community Colleges.
c.	A private educational institution as defined in G.S. 143B‑1224.
d.	An accredited, private vocational institution.
(5)	Veteran. – An individual who has served and is no longer serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. For the purposes of this act, the veteran must have separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions or whose death or disability of at least fifty percent (50%) or more was incurred as a direct result of service in the line of duty.
SECTION 3.  Administration; awards. – Within the funds made available by this act, the Patriot Foundation shall administer the North Carolina Patriot Star Family Scholarship Program and award scholarships to eligible children and eligible spouses in accordance with this act. In administering the Program, the Patriot Foundation shall be responsible for program oversight ensuring compliance with the provisions of this act.
The Patriot Foundation shall, at a minimum, establish criteria and procedures related to scholarship documentation completion, the amount of individual scholarships, the permissible uses of scholarship funds, the period of eligibility for award of a scholarship, the conditions for a revocation of a scholarship, and any other procedures it deems necessary for administration of the Program. A scholarship awarded to an eligible child or eligible spouse shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the eligible postsecondary institution.
If an eligible child or eligible spouse receives a scholarship or other grant covering the cost of attendance at an eligible postsecondary institution for which the scholarship is awarded, then the amount of a scholarship awarded under this act shall be reduced so that the sum of all grants and scholarships covering the cost of attendance received by the eligible child or eligible spouse does not exceed the cost of attendance for the institution. For the purposes of this section, cost of attendance shall be deemed to include monies for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for study at an eligible postsecondary institution, as well as room and board as long as the scholarship recipient is enrolled as at least a half‑time student at the institution. Off‑campus housing costs for room and board are also included to the extent the eligible postsecondary institution includes it in its cost of attendance.
SECTION 4.  Reporting. – The Patriot Foundation shall submit a report by April 1 of each year in which the Patriot Foundation spends State funds made available pursuant to this act to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division on the activities described by this act and the use of the State funds.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.