Senate Bill No. 165
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced January 14, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to repeal §18B-10-3, §18B-10-4a and §18B-10-10 of the code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact
§18B-10-1, §18B-10-2, §18B-10-4, §18B-10-4b, §18B-10-5,
§18B-10-6, §18B-10-7a, §18B-10-8, §18B-10-9, §18B-10-11,
§18B-10-12, §18B-10-13, §18B-10-14 and §18B-10-15 of said
code, all relating to tuition and fee simplification for
higher education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-10-3, §18B-10-4a and §18B-10-10 of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; and that §18B-10-1,
§18B-10-2, §18B-10-4, §18B-10-4b, §18B-10-5, §18B-10-6, §18B-10-7a,
§18B-10-8, §18B-10-9, §18B-10-11, §18B-10-12, §18B-10-13,
§18B-10-14 and §18B-10-15 of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-10-1. Enrollment, tuition and other fees at education
institutions; refund of fees.
(a) Each governing board shall fix tuition and other fees for
each school term for the different classes or categories of
students enrolling at each state institution of higher education
under its jurisdiction and may include among such
tuition and fees
any one or more of the following:
(1)
Health service fees Tuition and required educational and
general fees, which includes tuition and fees required of all
students of that class or category to support educational and
general program services and optional fees for education and
general services charged only to students using the service or for
whom the services are made available. Education and general
expenditures includes expenditures that are not for auxiliary
enterprises, hospitals, or independent operations and are
categorized as instruction, research, academic support, student
services, institutional support, operation and maintenance of
plant, and scholarships and fellowships;
(2)
Infirmary fees Auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees, which
include fees required of all students to support auxiliary
enterprises or optional fees charged only to students using the
auxiliary service. Auxiliary fees includes sales and service
revenue from entities that exist predominately to furnish goods or services to students, faculty, or staff and include residence
halls, faculty and staff housing, food services, intercollegiate
athletics, student unions, bookstores, parking, and other service
centers. Auxiliary capital fees include fees required of students
to support debt service, capital projects and campus maintenance
and renewal for the institutions' auxiliary facilities;
(3) Required educational and general capital fees, which
include fees required of all students to support debt service of
system-wide bond issues and fees required of all students to
support debt service, capital projects, and campus maintenance and
renewal for an institution's educational and general educational
facilities; and
(4) An institution may establish a single special revenue
account for all tuition fees and fees imposed pursuant to section
eight of this article collected; a single special revenue account
for all auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees collected; and a
single special revenue account for all capital fees collected to
support existing system-wide and institutional debt service and
future system-wide and institutional debt service, capital
projects, and campus renewal for educational and general
facilities; and, subject to any covenants or restrictions imposed
with respect to revenue bonds payable from such accounts expend
funds from each such special revenue account for any purpose for
which funds were collected within that account regardless of the original purpose for which the funds were collected.
(3) (5) Tuition and fees may be expended for such purposes as,
but not limited to, health services, student activities,
recreational, athletic and extracurricular
fees activities which
fees and may be used to finance a students' attorney to perform
legal services for students in civil matters at such institutions:
Provided, That such legal services shall be limited only to those
types of cases, programs or services approved by the administrative
head of such institution where such legal services are to be
performed.
and
(4) Graduate center fees and branch college fees, or either,
if the establishment and operations of graduate centers or branch
colleges are otherwise authorized by law.
(b) All fees collected at any graduate center or at any branch
college shall be paid into special funds and shall be used solely
for the maintenance and operation of the graduate center or branch
college at which they were collected The commission shall set
tuition and fee goals for residents at each institution after
examining tuition and fees at the institutions' peers. Tuition and
fees for nonresident, undergraduate students shall, at a minimum,
cover actual instructional costs as determined in accordance with
commission policy. Students enrolled in undergraduate courses
offered at off-campus locations shall pay an off-campus instruction
fee and may not be required to pay the athletic fee and the student activity fee
(b) The fixing, collection, and expenditure of tuition and
other fees shall be governed by a legislative rule adopted by the
policy commission pursuant to the provisions of article three-a,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(c) The Legislature finds that an emergency exists and that
the commission shall, after approval by the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability, file the rule set out above
as an emergency rule pursuant to the provisions of article three-a,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(c) (d) The off-campus instruction fee shall be used solely
for the support of off-campus courses offered by the institution.
Off-campus locations for each institution shall be defined by the
appropriate governing board. The schedule of all
tuition and fees,
and any changes therein, shall be entered in the minutes of the
meeting of the appropriate governing board, and the board shall
file with the
policy commission and the legislative auditor a
certified copy of such schedule and changes.
(d) In addition to the fees mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, each governing board may impose and collect a student
union building fee. All such building fees collected at an
institution shall be paid into a special student union building
fund for such institution, which is hereby created in the state
treasury. Pursuant to the provisions of section ten of this article, the fees shall be used only for the following purposes:
(1) The construction, operation and maintenance of a student
union building or a combination student union and dining hall
building;
(2) The payment of the principal of and interest on any bond
issued to finance part or all of the construction of a student
union building or a combination student union and dining hall
building; or
(3) The renovation of an existing structure for use as a
student union building or a combination student union and dining
hall building, all as more fully provided in section ten of this
article.
Any moneys in such funds not needed immediately for such
purposes may be invested in any such bonds or other securities as
are now or hereafter authorized as proper investments for state
funds.
(e) The boards shall establish the rates to be charged
full-time students enrolled during a regular academic term.
(1) For fee purposes, a full-time undergraduate student is one
enrolled for twelve or more credit hours in a regular term, and a
full-time graduate student is one enrolled for nine or more credit
hours in a regular term.
(2) Undergraduate students taking fewer than twelve credit
hours in a regular term shall have their fees reduced pro rata based upon one twelfth of the full-time rate per credit hour, and
graduate students taking fewer than nine credit hours in a regular
term shall have their fees reduced pro rata based upon one ninth of
the full-time rate per credit hour.
(3) Fees for students enrolled in summer terms or other
nontraditional time periods shall be prorated based upon the number
of credit hours for which the student enrolls in accordance with
the above provisions.
(f) All fees are due and payable by the student upon
enrollment and registration for classes except as provided for in
this subsection:
(1) The governing boards shall permit fee payments to be made
in
up to three installments over the course of the academic term.
All fees shall be paid prior to the awarding of course credit at
the end of the academic term.
(2) The governing boards also shall authorize the acceptance
of credit cards or other payment methods which may be generally
available to students for the payment of fees. The governing
boards may charge the students for the reasonable and customary
charges incurred in accepting credit cards and other methods of
payment.
(3) If a governing board determines that a student's finances
are affected adversely by a legal work stoppage, it may allow the
student an additional six months to pay the fees for any academic term. The governing board shall determine on a case-by-case basis
if the finances of a student are affected adversely.
(3) Pursuant to rules of the policy commission, an institution
may offer tuition and fee deferred payment plans through the
institution or through third parties.
(4) An institution may charge interest or fees for any
deferred or installment payment plans.
(g) The rule related to assessment, payment and refund of fees
including refund of fees upon voluntary or involuntary withdrawal
from classes, shall comply with all applicable state and federal
laws and shall be uniformly applied throughout the system.
(h) (g) In addition to the other fees provided in this
section, each governing board may impose, collect and distribute a
fee to be used to finance a nonprofit, student-controlled public
interest research group if the students at the institution
demonstrate support for the increased fee in a manner and method
established by that institution's elected student government. The
fee may not be used to finance litigation against the institution.
(i) (h)Institutions shall retain tuition and fee revenues not
pledged for bonded indebtedness or other purposes in accordance
with
a revised the tuition policy adopted
by the respective
governing boards and approved by the commission. The
revised
tuition policy shall:
(1) Provide a basis for establishing nonresident tuition and fees;
(2) Allow institutions to charge different tuition and fees
for different programs;
(3) Provide that a board of governors may propose to the
commission a mandatory auxiliary fee under the following
conditions:
(A) The fee shall be approved by the commission and either the
students at the institution or the
Legislature legislative
oversight commission on education accountability before becoming
effective;
(B) Increases may not exceed previous state subsidies by more
than ten percent;
(C) The fee may be used only to replace existing state funds
subsidizing auxiliary services such as athletics or bookstores;
(D) If the fee is approved, the amount of the state subsidy
shall be reduced annually by the amount of money generated for the
institution by the fees and
that the amount
of the state subsidy
shall be
returned to general revenue retained by the institution
and used for instructional purposes. All state subsidies for the
auxiliary services shall cease five years from the date the
mandatory auxiliary fee was implemented;
(E) The commission shall certify to the Legislature by the
first day of October in the fiscal year following implementation of the fee, and annually thereafter, the amount of fees collected for
each of the five years.
(4) Establish methodology, where applicable, to ensure that,
within the appropriate time period under the compact, community and
technical college tuition rates for community and technical college
students in all independently accredited community and technical
colleges will be commensurate with the tuition and fees charged by
their peer institutions.
(j) (i) A penalty may not be imposed by the commission upon
any institution based upon the number of nonresidents who attend
the institution unless the commission determines that admission of
nonresidents to any institution or program of study within the
institution is impeding unreasonably the ability of the resident
students to attend the institution or participate in the programs
of the institution. The institutions shall report annually to the
commission on the numbers of nonresidents and such other enrollment
information as the commission may request.
(k) (j) Tuition and fee increases of the governing boards are
subject to rules adopted by the commission.
pursuant to subsection
(a), section four, article one-b of this chapter
(1) A governing board may
propose adopt tuition and fee
increases of up to nine and one-half percent for undergraduate
resident students for any fiscal year except that
proposed tuition
and fees increases for community and technical colleges may be up to four and three quarters percent.
Any proposed increase shall be
approved by the commission. The commission shall examine
individually each request from a governing board for an increase.
Approval for Adoption of any increase shall be based on a
determination by the
commission governing board that the
institution has met the following conditions:
(A) Has maximized resources available through nonresident
tuition and fee charges to the satisfaction of the commission;
(B) Is consistently achieving the benchmarks established in
the compact of the institution pursuant to the provisions of
article one-a of this chapter;
(C) Is continuously pursuing the statewide goals for post-
secondary education and the statewide compact established in
articles one and one-a of this chapter;
(D) Is implementing the efficiency measures required by
section nine, article five of this chapter;
(E) Has demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the commission
that an increase will be used to maintain high-quality programs at
the institution;
(F) Has demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the commission
that the institution is making adequate progress toward achieving
the goals for education established by the southern regional
education board; and
(G) To the extent authorized, will increase by up to five
percent the available tuition and fee waivers provided by the
institution. The increased waivers may not be used for athletics.
(2) In making a determination on tuition and fee
proposals
increases the
commission governing board also may take into
consideration whether the per capita income in
an the institution's
service region exceeds the state per capita income. For the
purposes of this subdivision only:
(A) Service region is the county in which the main campus of
the institution is located and the contiguous West Virginia
counties; and
(B) Per capita income for the service region shall be computed
using the most current annual, county-level per capita income data
published by the United States department of commerce, bureau of
economic analysis, weighted by the compatible year population
estimates published by the United States census bureau.
(3) This section may not be construed to require equal
increases among institutions or to require any level of increase at
an institution.
(4) The commission shall report to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability regarding
the basis for each
approval or denial tuition and fee increase as determined using the
criteria established in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
§18B-10-2. Higher education resource assessment.
Pursuant to the authority granted the commission by section
four, article one-b of this chapter each state institution of
higher education shall be assessed a higher education resource
assessment per student which shall be transferred to the commission
and be in lieu of the fee previously imposed on students by this
section. In addition to the fees specifically provided for in
section one of this article, all students enrolled for credit at a
state institution of higher education shall pay a higher education
resource fee. The commission shall fix the
fee rates assessment
for the various institutions and classes of students under its
jurisdiction and may from time to time change these
rates
assessments. The amount of the
fee assessment for charged at each
institution shall be prorated for part-time students.
The fee
imposed by this section is in addition to the maximum fees allowed
to be collected under the provision of section one of this article
and is not limited thereby. Refunds of such fee may be made in the
same manner as any other fee collected at state institutions of
higher education.
Ninety percent of the total fees collected at each institution
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a special fund in
the state treasury for the institution at which the fees are
collected and may be used by the institution for libraries and
library supplies, including books, periodicals, subscriptions and
audiovisual materials, instructional equipment and materials; and for the improvement in quality and scope of student services. Up
to ten percent of the fee collections The assessment shall be
deposited in a special fund and expended or allocated by the
commission to meet general operating expenses of the commission or
to fund statewide programs:
Provided, That the
board commission
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, offset the impact, if
any, on financially needy students of any potential
fee assessment
increases under this section by allocating an appropriate amount of
such
fee revenue to the state scholarship program to be expended in
accordance with the provisions of article five, chapter eighteen-c
of this code.
The commission shall, on or before the first day of July of
each year, provide the legislative auditor with a report of the
projected fee collections for the board and each of its
institutions and the expenditures proposed for such fee.
§18B-10-4. Medical education.
In addition to the fees specifically provided for in sections
one, two and three of this article, all A portion of all tuition
and fees paid by medical students enrolled for credit at the West
Virginia University school of medicine, Marshall University school
of medicine and the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine,
as determined by the policy commission, shall pay a medical
education fee. The board of trustees shall fix the fee rates for
students at each institution and may from time to time change these rates. The fee imposed by this section is in addition to the
maximum fees allowed to be collected under the provisions of
section one of this article and is not limited thereby. Refunds of
the fee may be made in the same manner as any other fee collected
at state institutions of higher education. Medical education fees
collected shall be deposited in a special revenue account which is
hereby created in the state treasury for the school at which the
fees are collected and shall be used by the school to offset
general operating costs: Provided, That the board of trustees
shall deposit a portion of the total fees collected therein into
shall be deposited into the health education student loan fund
account in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
eighteen-c of this code. Before the first day of July of each
year, the
board of trustees commission shall provide the
legislative auditor with a report of the projected fee collections
for each of the schools of medicine.
§18B-10-4b. Additional fee waivers for health sciences and
technology academy programs.
(a) In addition to the number of fee waivers permitted in
sections five and six of this article for undergraduate, graduate
and professional schools, each state institution of higher
education may waive all fees or any part thereof for students who
are residents of West Virginia and who successfully complete the
health sciences and technology academy affiliated programs, as defined in chapter eighteen-b, article one, section two of the code
of West Virginia.
(b) For purposes of section four-b, article ten, chapter
eighteen-b of this code, "Health Sciences and Technology Academy
Programs"
means comprised of programs for health sciences to assist
junior high and high school students, in conjunction with their
parents and teachers, to enhance their knowledge and abilities in
subject matters which would further a career in the field of health
sciences.
§18B-10-5. Fee waivers -- Undergraduate schools.
Each governing board may establish, from time to time, fee
waivers for students in undergraduate studies at institutions under
its jurisdiction entitling recipients to waiver of
enrollment,
tuition,
registration capital, higher education resource and other
fees subject to the following conditions and limitations:
(1) No state educational institution may have in effect at any
time undergraduate fee waivers in a number which exceeds five
percent of the number of full-time equivalent undergraduate
students registered during the fall semester of the immediately
preceding academic year.
(2) Each undergraduate fee waiver shall entitle the recipient
thereof to attend a designated state educational institution
without payment of the
enrollment, tuition,
registration capital,
higher education resource and other fees as may be prescribed by the governing board and be for a period of time not to exceed eight
semesters of undergraduate study.
(3) The governing board shall make rules governing the award
of undergraduate fee waivers, the issuance and cancellation of
certificates entitling the recipients to the benefits thereof, the
use of the fee waivers by the recipients and the rights and duties
of the recipients in respect to the fee waivers. These rules may
not be inconsistent with the provisions of this section.
(4) The awarding of undergraduate fee waivers shall be entered
in the minutes of the meetings of the governing board.
and each
board shall file with the legislative auditor a copy of the rules
governing the award of the fee waivers and a list of the names of
the recipients thereof
§18B-10-6. Same -- Professional and graduate schools.
In addition to the fee waivers heretofore authorized for
undergraduate study by the provisions of section five of this
article, each governing board may establish from time to time fee
waivers for study in graduate and professional schools under their
jurisdiction, including medicine and dentistry, entitling the
recipients to waiver of
enrollment tuition,
registration capital,
higher education resource and other fees, subject to the following
conditions and limitations:
(1) West Virginia University may not have in effect at any
time graduate and professional school fee waivers in a number which exceeds ten percent of the number of full-time equivalent graduate
and professional students registered during the corresponding fall
semester, spring semester and summer term of the immediately
preceding academic year. In addition to the above ten percent, all
graduate assistants employed by West Virginia University shall be
granted a fee waiver. All other institutions of higher education
may not have in effect at any time graduate and professional school
fee waivers in a number which exceeds five percent of the number of
full-time equivalent graduate and professional students registered
during the corresponding fall semester, spring semester and summer
term of the immediately preceding academic year. In addition to
the above five percent, all graduate assistants employed by the
other institutions shall be granted a fee waiver.
(2) Each graduate or professional school fee waiver shall
entitle the recipient to waiver of the
enrollment, tuition,
registration capital, higher education resource and other fees as
may be prescribed by the governing boards and be for a period of
time not to exceed the number of semesters normally required in the
recipient's academic discipline.
(3) The governing boards shall make rules governing the award
of graduate and professional school fee waivers, the issuance and
cancellation of certificates entitling the recipients to the
benefits thereof, the use of the fee waivers by the recipients and
the rights and duties of the recipients in respect to the fee waivers. These rules may not be inconsistent with the provisions
of this section.
(4) The awarding of graduate and professional school fee
waivers shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting of each
governing board, and each board shall file with the legislative
auditor a copy of the rules governing the award of the fee waiver
and a list of the names of the recipients thereof.
§18B-10-7a. Tuition and fee waivers or adjustments for residents
at least sixty-five years old.
The
board of trustees and the board of directors governing
boards shall promulgate a
joint rule
in accordance with article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that establishes a
reduced tuition and fee program for senior citizens. The
joint
rule shall include at least the following:
(a) The program shall include one option for those who attend
undergraduate and graduate courses without receiving credit and one
option for individuals who attend undergraduate and graduate
courses for credit;
(b) A participant under either option of the program shall
meet the following requirements:
(1) The participant is a resident of West Virginia;
(2) The participant is sixty-five years of age or older;
and
(3) Classroom space is available;
and
(4) The instructor of the class consents;
(c)A method of establishing priority for allowing a
participant to attend a class or course;
(d)A determination of whether to require participants to pay
special fees, including laboratory fees, if the fees are required
of all other students;
(e)A determination of whether to require participants to pay
for parking;
(f)For participants in the program under the no credit
option:
(1)A grade or credit may not be given; and
(2) The total tuition and fees charged for each course or
class, excluding laboratory and parking fees, may not exceed fifty
dollars:
Provided, That after the first day of July, two thousand
four, the governing boards may
by joint rule change the maximum
fee; and
(g) For participants in the program under the for credit
option, tuition and fee rates may not exceed fifty percent of the
normal rates charged to state residents by the institution.
§18B-10-8. Collection; disposition and use of
capital and
auxiliary capital fees; creation of special
capital and auxiliary capital improvements funds;
revenue bonds.
(a)
In addition to all other fees imposed by the governing
boards, there is hereby imposed and the governing boards are hereby directed to provide for the collection of an additional
registration fee from all students enrolled in any state
institution of higher education under its jurisdiction in the
amounts hereinafter provided. Effective the first day of July, two
thousand four this section, and any rules adopted by the policy
commission, shall govern the collection, disposition and use of the
capital and auxiliary capital fees authorized by section one of
this article. Prior to that date the statutory provisions for
collection and disposition of capital funds in place prior to the
enactment of this section shall remain effective.
(1)
The governing boards shall fix capital and auxiliary
capital fees for full-time students at each state institution of
higher education per semester. The governing boards have authority
to
increase fix such
additional registration fee fees at
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction
at higher
rates for students who are nonresidents of this state.
(2) For all
part-time students and for all summer school students, the
governing boards shall impose and collect such
fee fees in
proportion to, but not exceeding, that paid by full-time students.
(b) The fee imposed by this section is in addition to the maximum
fees allowed to be collected under the provision of section one of
this article and may not be limited thereby. Refunds of such
fee
fees may be made in the same manner as any other fee collected at
state institutions of higher education.
(c) (b) There is created in the state treasury a special
capital improvements fund
and special auxiliary capital
improvements fund for each state institution of higher education
and the commission into which shall be paid all proceeds,
respectively, of the
additional registration capital and auxiliary
capital fees collected from students at all state institutions of
higher education pursuant to this section
and the fees collected
from such students pursuant to section one of this article to be
expended by the commission and governing boards for the payment of
the principal of or interest on any revenue bonds issued by the
board of regents or the succeeding governing boards for which such
registration fees were pledged prior to the enactment of this
section.
(d) (c) The governing boards may make expenditures from any of
the special capital improvements funds
or special auxiliary capital
improvement funds established in this section to finance, in whole
or in part, together with any federal, state or other grants or
contributions, any one or more of the following projects:
(1) The acquisition of land or any rights or interest therein;
(2) The construction or acquisition of new buildings;
(3) The renovation or construction of additions to existing
buildings;
(4) The acquisition of furnishings and equipment for any such
buildings; and
(5) The construction or acquisition of any other capital
improvements or capital education facilities at such state
institutions of higher education, including any roads, utilities or
other properties, real or personal, or for other purposes
necessary, appurtenant or incidental to the construction,
acquisition, financing and placing in operation of such buildings,
capital improvements or capital education facilities,
including
student unions, dormitories, housing facilities, food service
facilities, motor vehicle parking facilities, and athletic
facilities.
(e) (d) The governing boards, in their discretion, may use the
moneys in such special capital improvements funds
and special
auxiliary improvement funds to finance the costs of the above
purposes on a cash basis, or the commission, upon request of
institutions or governing boards, singly or jointly, may from time
to time issue revenue bonds of the state as provided in this
section to finance all or part of such purposes and pledge all or
any part of the moneys in such special funds for the payment of the
principal of and interest on such revenue bonds, and for reserves
therefor. Any pledge of such special funds for such revenue bonds
shall be a prior and superior charge on such special funds over the
use of any of the moneys in such funds to pay for the cost of any
of such purposes on a cash basis:
Provided, That any expenditures
from such special funds, other than for the retirement of revenue bonds, may only be made by the commission or governing boards to
meet the cost of a predetermined capital improvements program for
one or more of the state institutions of higher education, in such
order of priority as was agreed upon by the governing board or
boards and the commission and
for which the aggregate revenue
collections projected are presented to the governor for inclusion
in the annual budget bill, and
only with the are approval approved
of
by the Legislature
as indicated by direct appropriation for
expenditure. for the purpose
(f) (e) Such revenue bonds may be authorized and issued from
time to time by the commission or governing boards to finance, in
whole or in part, the purposes provided in this section in an
aggregate principal amount not exceeding the amount which the
commission determines can be paid as to both principal and interest
and reasonable margins for a reserve therefor from the moneys in
such special funds.
(g) (f) The issuance of such revenue bonds shall be authorized
by a resolution adopted by the governing board receiving the
proceeds and the commission, and such revenue bonds shall bear such
date or dates, mature at such time or times not exceeding forty
years from their respective dates; be in such form either coupon or
registered, with such exchangeability and interchangeability
privileges; be payable in such medium of payment and at such place
or places, within or without the state; be subject to such terms of prior redemption at such prices not exceeding one hundred five per
centum of the principal amount thereof; and shall have such other
terms and provisions as determined by the governing board receiving
the proceeds and the commission. Such revenue bonds shall be
signed by the governor and by the chancellor of the commission or
the chair of the governing boards authorizing the issuance thereof,
under the great seal of the state, attested by the secretary of
state, and the coupons attached thereto shall bear the facsimile
signature of the chancellor of the commission or the chair of the
appropriate governing boards. Such revenue bonds shall be sold in
such manner as the commission or governing board determines is for
the best interests of the state.
(h) (g) The commission or governing boards may enter into
trust agreements with banks or trust companies, within or without
the state, and in such trust agreements or the resolutions
authorizing the issuance of such bonds may enter into valid and
legally binding covenants with the holders of such revenue bonds as
to the custody, safeguarding and disposition of the proceeds of
such revenue bonds, the moneys in such special funds, sinking
funds, reserve funds, or any other moneys or funds; as to the rank
and priority, if any, of different issues of revenue bonds by the
commission or governing boards under the provisions of this
section; as to the maintenance or revision of the amounts of such
additional registration, fees
as to the extent to which hedging or other financial transactions may be used to support such revenue
bonds and the terms and conditions, if any, under which such
additional
registration fees may be reduced; and as to any other
matters or provisions which are deemed necessary and advisable by
the commission or governing boards in the best interests of the
state and to enhance the marketability of such revenue bonds.
(i) (h) After the issuance of any of such revenue bonds, the
additional registration fees at the state institutions of higher
education
pledged to the payment thereof may not be reduced as long
as any of such revenue bonds are outstanding and unpaid except
under such terms, provisions and conditions as shall be contained
in the resolution, trust agreement or other proceedings under which
such revenue bonds were issued. Such revenue bonds shall be and
constitute negotiable instruments under the uniform commercial code
of this state; shall, together with the interest thereon, be exempt
from all taxation by the state of West Virginia, or by any county,
school district, municipality or political subdivision thereof; and
such revenue bonds may not be deemed to be obligations or debts of
the state, and the credit or taxing power of the state may not be
pledged therefor, but such revenue bonds shall be payable only from
the revenue pledged therefor as provided in this section.
(j) (i) Additional revenue bonds may be issued by the
commission or governing boards pursuant to this section and
financed by additional revenues or funds dedicated from other sources. It is the intent of the Legislature to authorize over a
five-year period beginning on the
seventeenth first day of
June
July, two thousand
four, additional sources of revenue and funds to
effect such funding for capital improvement.
(k) (j) Funding of system-wide and campus-specific revenue
bonds under any other section of this code is hereby continued and
authorized pursuant to the terms of this section. Revenues of any
state institution of higher education pledged to the repayment of
any
revenue bonds issued pursuant to this code shall remain
the
responsibility of that institution pledged. The allocation of
payments among institutions is the responsibility of the
commission.
(l) (k) Any revenue bonds
for state institutions of higher
education proposed to be issued under this section or
article
twelve-b, chapter eighteen other sections of this code must be
first approved by the commission.
(m) (l) Revenue bonds issued pursuant to
article twelve-b,
chapter eighteen of this code may be issued by the commission or
governing boards, either singly or jointly.
(n) (m) Fees pledged for repayment of revenue bonds issued
under this section or article twelve-b, chapter eighteen prior to
the effective date of this section shall be transferred to the
commission in a manner prescribed by the commission. The
commission shall have the authority to transfer funds from the accounts of institutions pledged for the repayment of revenue bonds
issued prior to the effective date of this section, or issued
subsequently by the commission upon the request of institutions, if
an institution fails to transfer the pledged revenues to the
commission in a timely manner.
(n) Effective the first day of July, two thousand four the
capital and auxiliary capital fees authorized by this section and
section one of this article are in lieu of any other fees set out
in this code for capital and auxiliary capital projects to benefit
public higher education institutions. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this code to the contrary, in the event any capital,
tuition, registration or auxiliary fees are pledged to the payment
of any revenue bonds issued prior to the effective date of this
section, such fees shall remain in effect in amounts not less than
the amounts in effect as of such effective date, until such time as
the revenue bonds payable from any of such fees have been paid or
the pledge of such fees is otherwise legally discharged.
(o) Any bonds issue hereunder and at any time outstanding may
at any time and from time to time be refunded by governing boards
or the commission, upon requests of institutions or governing
boards, singly or jointly by the issuance of its refunding bonds in
such amount as such issues may deem necessary to refund the
principal of the bonds so to be refunded, together with any unpaid
interest thereon; to make any improvements or alterations in the project financed by the revenue bonds; and any premiums and
commissions necessary to be paid in connection therewith. Any such
refunding may be effected whether the bonds to be refunded shall
have then matured or shall thereafter mature, either by sale of the
refunding bonds and the application of the proceeds thereof for the
redemption of the bonds to be refunded thereby, or by exchange of
the refunding bonds for the bonds to be refunded thereby:
Provided, That the holders of any bonds so to be refunded shall not
be compelled without their consent to surrender their bonds for
payment or exchange prior to the date on which they are payable or,
if they are called for redemption, prior to the date on which they
are by their terms subject to redemption. Any refunding bonds
issued under the authority of this article shall be payable from
special capitol improvement funds or any other sources legally
available therefor, or from other moneys or the principal of and
interest on or other investment yield from investments or proceeds
of bonds or other applicable funds and moneys, including
investments of proceeds of any refunding bonds, and shall be
subject to the provisions contained in this section and shall be
secured in accordance with the provisions of this section.
§18B-10-9. Authority to excuse students in certain educational
programs from payment of enrollment fees
.
Whenever the cost of any institute, workshop, special course,
or other educational program is wholly financed by a grant from any federal,
state, or local agency or from any foundation,
corporation, or other association or person, except for indirect
costs of administration and other overhead expenses, such as the
cost of providing classrooms and other facilities, the governing
board of the state educational institution administering such
program shall have the authority to excuse all students enrolled in
such program from the payment of tuition
registration and other
enrollment fees.
§18B-10-11. Fees and money derived from athletic contests.
The
directors of athletics at governing board of a state
institutions institution of higher education may fix and charge
admission fees to athletic contests at state institutions of higher
education and may enter into contracts and spend and receive money
under such contracts for the student athletic teams of state
institutions of higher education to contest with other athletic
teams inside or outside the state. All money received from such
fees and contracts shall be deposited in
to the athletic accounts
of the state institutions of higher education the auxiliary
operating account of the institution and expended for any purpose
deemed necessary and proper by the institution.
All money derived from such fees and under such contracts
shall be used to defray the cost of maintaining the athletic
department and athletic program of such institutions. The
operation of training camps and training tables and providing room accommodations for participants in the athletic program of such
institutions shall be recognized and considered as a proper part of
such maintenance, but the specific mention of training camps and
training tables and providing room accommodations shall not be
construed or understood to limit in any way the general power and
authority otherwise granted and conferred by this section:
Provided, That one percent of the total gross receipts deposited
into the athletic accounts and (2) not less than twenty-five
percent of the net receipts from televised athletic events, bowl
games and post-season tournaments deposited into the athletic
accounts shall be transferred into a separate and distinct special
revenue account for each individual state institution of higher
education, which special revenue account shall be designated
"athletic facilities construction, repair or replacement reserve
account," in the state treasury. Such revenues shall be used only
for construction, repair or replacement of athletic facilities at
the same individual state institution of higher education to which
such special revenue account is credited. Notwithstanding any
other provision in this section to the contrary, in the year in
which they are received, no more than twenty-five percent of the
net receipts from televised athletic events, bowl games and
post-season tournaments deposited into athletic accounts may be
transferred into other accounts of the same state institution of
higher education having such receipts for the support of academic programs to meet an occasional rather than recurrent need or
expense, and in accord with legislative rules promulgated by the
appropriate governing board in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, notwithstanding any other provision of
this code to the contrary.
§18B-10-12. Student activities.
The
president or other administrative head governing board of
any state institution of higher education
may authorize the
collection of fees from students for the may make available from
tuition and fees support of extracurricular activities of the
students
as deemed necessary. and after authorizing the collection
of such fees, the president or other administrative head shall
file with the state auditor and state budget director a certified
detailed statement of the fees amount authorized to be collected
expended and the purpose for which they are to be spent
§18B-10-13. Fees from operation of dormitories, faculty homes,
dining halls and cafeterias.
The appropriate governing board of each state institution of
higher education shall fix the fees to be charged students and
faculty members for rooms, board and meals at the dormitories,
faculty homes, dining halls and cafeterias operated by such board
at the institution. Such fees shall be commensurate with the
complete cost of such services.
All fees collected for such services shall be used first to
meet interest, principal and sinking fund requirements due on any
outstanding revenue bonds for which such receipts may have been
pledged as security and to pay the operating and maintenance costs
of the dormitories, faculty homes, dining halls and cafeterias.
and
to meet interest, principal and sinking fund requirements due on
any outstanding revenue bonds for which such receipts may have been
pledged as security. Any such receipts not needed for these
purposes may be expended by the appropriate governing board
to
defray the costs in whole or in part for the construction of any
such facility for any other auxiliary enterprise or educational and
general instructional costs.
§18B-10-14. Bookstores.
The appropriate governing board of each state institution of
higher education shall have the authority to establish and operate
a bookstore at the institution. The bookstore shall be operated
for the use of the institution itself, including each of its
schools and departments, in making purchases of books, stationery
and other school and office supplies generally carried in college
stores, and for the benefit of students and faculty members in
purchasing such products for their own use, but no sales shall be
made to solicited from the general public. The prices to be
charged the institution, the students and the faculty for such
products shall be fixed by the governing board, shall not be less
than the prices fixed by any fair trade agreements, and shall in all cases include in addition to the purchase price paid by the
bookstore a sufficient handling charge to cover all expenses
incurred for personal and other services, supplies and equipment,
storage, and other operating expenses.
to the end that the prices
charged shall be commensurate with the total cost to the state of
operating the bookstore
Each governing board shall also ensure that bookstores
operated at institutions under its jurisdiction meet the additional
objective of minimizing the costs to students of purchasing
textbooks by adopting policies which may require the repurchase and
resale of textbooks on an institutional or a statewide basis and
provide for the use of certain basic textbooks for a reasonable
number of years.
All moneys derived from the operation of the store shall be
paid into a special revenue fund as provided in section two,
article two, chapter twelve of this code. Each governing board
shall, subject to the approval of the governor, fix, and, from time
to time, change the amount of the revolving fund necessary for the
proper and efficient operation of each bookstore.
Moneys derived from the operation of the bookstore shall be
used first to replenish the stock of goods and to pay the costs of
operating and maintaining the store.
From any balance in the
Marshall university bookstore fund not needed for operation and
maintenance and replenishing the stock of goods, the governing board of that institution shall have authority to expend a sum not
to exceed two hundred thousand dollars for the construction of
quarters to house the bookstore in the university center at
Marshall university. Until such quarters for housing the bookstore
are completed, the governing board of Marshall university and the
governor shall take this authorization into account in fixing the
amount of the revolving fund for the Marshall university bookstore.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any
institution that has contracted with a private entity for bookstore
operation shall deposit into an appropriate account all revenue
generated by the operation and enuring to the benefit of the
institution. The institution shall use the funds for nonathletic
scholarships.
§18B-10-15. Authority of educational institutions to provide
special services and programs; collection and
disposition of fees therefor.
The appropriate governing board of each state institution of
higher education shall have authority to provide special services
and special programs at such institutions and may fix and collect
special fees or charges therefor. Such special services and
special programs
may include,
but are not limited to, any one or
more of the following:
(1) The conduct of music camps and band, orchestra, or voice
clinics for secondary school students or other youth groups, summer tutoring programs for primary and secondary school students, speech
therapy clinics and services, educational and psychological testing
programs, student guidance programs, and statistical studies and
calculations by an electronic computer service.
(2) Rental of lockers or other storage facilities and the
maintenance and operation of parking facilities for use by
students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
(3) Rental of musical recordings, educational films, slides,
and other audiovisual aids.
(4) Microfilming or other mechanical reproduction of records
and noncopyrighted library reference materials.
(5) Institutes, conferences, workshops, postgraduate and
refresher noncredit courses, and any other special program or
special service customarily provided by institutions of higher
education.
(6) Motor pools, consisting of motor vehicles for the use of
their employees when carrying on the business and affairs of the
institutions.
All fees or charges collected for any such special services or
programs shall
be paid into a special fund and shall be expended
solely for the maintenance, operation and support of such services
and programs cover the complete cost of the service or program.
Whenever any such special service is provided by one school,
division or department of a state institution of higher education for the benefit of any other school, division or department in the
same institution, the cost shall be paid by the school, division or
department requesting the service and shall be deposited and
expended as provided above. Whenever a motor pool is provided by
the governing board of a state institution of higher education,
such board may charge any school, college, department or division
of such institution for which a vehicle is used a reasonable amount
for such use, which amount shall be paid by such school, college,
department or division and shall be deposited and expended as above
provided.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to simplify the tuition and
fee system at state institutions of higher education.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.