FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 11, 2021
Time Requested: 02:36 PM |
| Agency: |
Higher Education Policy Commission |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1579 |
Introduced |
HB2279 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
|
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FUND(S):
General
Sources of Revenue:
Other Fund Opioid Settlement Trust Fund
Legislation creates:
Creates New Expense, Creates New Program, Creates New Fund: Invest to Foster Success Scholarship Fund
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
House Bill 2279, if enacted, would create a full scholarship program for college and trade school students who have been placed in the state foster care system. It would also repeal ยง18B-10-7b. providing for tuition waivers for high school graduates in foster care. This bill establishes a trust fund for moneys collected from opioid lawsuit settlement awards received by the state. In addition, it would authorize the State Auditor to administer the Opioid Settlement Trust Fund in coordination with the Higher Education Policy Commission to project costs and assure moneys are available to fully fund the scholarships. The legislation would also provide necessary rulemaking authority and establishes a special revenue account for administration by the Higher Education Policy Commission for the benefit of foster care children.
The enactment of this legislation would not require additional general fund appropriations because monies collected from opioid lawsuit settlement awards received by the State are expected to pay the costs of the program. It is typical for the administrative costs for financial aid programs to be paid from the funds accumulated for those programs. The anticipated administrative costs for this Scholarship program, including one position, would be about $65,000.
The total estimated funding for the scholarship program from the opioid lawsuit settlement awards is about $1.4 million.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2021
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2022
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
1,410,000 |
1,410,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
65,000 |
65,000 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
1,345,000 |
1,345,000 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The estimated cost was based on the following criteria:
- Number of students who received Foster Care Tuition Waiver during the 2019-2020 academic year. There were approximately 500 students who enrolled in public in-state institutions and indicated that they were an orphan, ward of court, or in foster care since they were 13 years of age on the federal application for financial aid. About 30% of those received the Foster Care Tuition Waiver at public institutions. Any potential increase in utilization of Foster Care funding or increase in the total number of students who would qualify under the proposed criteria in the bill is difficult to be estimated with accuracy.
- The number of students enrolling in private in-state institutions and qualifying for the funding was estimated as 5% of the freshman enrollment at public institutions receiving the Foster Care Tuition Waiver. This estimation was based on historic enrollment trends.
Other notes on the estimate:
- The estimate was based on the total amount of funding received by students in the form of foster care tuition waivers at public institutions.
- Additional funding for room and board was calculated for students attending four-year public institutions based on the average room and board cost for 2019-2020 ($10,206) after accounting for funding received (federal Pell grant, Promise Scholarship, and West Virginia Higher Education Grant).
- For students estimated to enroll at a private in-state institution, annual tuition and room and board fees were calculated based on the highest rate at an in-state public 4-year institution ($21,293). Full-time enrollment was assumed.
- Student retention across years for students enrolling in private institutions was estimated based on historic retention rates for public 4-year institutions in the state. The following retention rates were used to estimate the number of students returning in year 2, 3, and 4.
Year 1 to Year 2: 74%
Year 1 to Year 3 64%
Year 1 to Year 4 58%
- Financial aid records for students attending private in-state institutions are not available. As a result, financial aid funding was not included in the estimate for
those students.
- Potential future increases in tuition and room and board cost are not included in the current estimates.
Memorandum
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Ed Magee
Email Address: edward.magee@wvhepc.edu