[Oasfaa] Bills sent to Governor Henry

[Fair, Bryce]

Three bills of note were passed by the state Legislature in the past couple of days and sent to the Governor.  The Governor has 15 days (until June 9) to act on the bills.

SB 820 - Oklahoma's Promise-OHLAP- The bill passed the Senate Thursday evening and the House just this morning.  The bill makes several significant changes to the program including:
*	Providing a stable, dedicated funding source.
*	Requires a second income "screen" at $100,000 when students start college (becomes effective for students starting college in 2009-10 and thereafter).
*	Minimum college GPA: requires OKPromise college students to earn at least a 2.0 for courses taken during their sophomore year and a 2.5 for courses taken during the junior year and thereafter (becomes effective for students first receiving the scholarship in 2009-10 and thereafter)
*	College conduct requirement:  Any OKPromise college student that is suspended for more than one semester from a college will permanently lose the scholarship.  This provision becomes effective January 1, 2008.
*	Provides eligibility for homeschool students.
*	Prohibits students without lawful immigration status from participating in the program ("grandfathers" in students enrolled in the program by the end of 2006-07).
You can read the actual text of the bill at http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08bills/SB/SB820_CCS.RTF .  Section 4 is the key section on the dedicated funding sources.  Sections 6-8 include the other changes to the program.


HB 2103 - Tuition "Guarantee" - This bill provides for guaranteed tuition rates for period of 2 years or 4 years at state system institutions beginning in 2008-09.
Bill text at: http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08bills/HB/HB2103_ENR.RTF


HB 1762 - OKPromise - This bill relates to the unusual situation in Texhoma, OK (a town in the panhandle that is literally split by the OK/TX state border), where the school district operates in cooperation with the adjoining school district in Texas.  The provision allows students living on the Texas side of the town (who all go to the Oklahoma side for junior high and high school) to participate in OKPromise.
Bill text: http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2007-08bills/HB/HB1762_ENR.RTF



Bryce Fair 
Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants 
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 
Phone:  (405) 225-9162 
Fax:  (405) 225-9230 
E-mail:  bfair at osrhe.edu 

Mailing Address: 
P.O. Box 108850 
Oklahoma City, OK  73101-8850 

Street Address: 
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 
Oklahoma City, OK  73104