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SCS/SB 71 - This act establishes the "Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act" to provide free college tuition for certain public safety personnel and their legal dependents. The act defines "public safety personnel" as including any police officer, firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical dispatcher, emergency medical technician, or advanced emergency medical technician who is trained and authorized by law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment. Subject to appropriation, public safety personnel with at least six years of service shall be entitled to a waiver of 100% of the resident tuition charges of a public institution of higher education if they present to the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) verification of their current, valid license in a profession specified in the act, along with a certificate of verification signed by their employer verifying that they are employed full-time as public safety personnel. Such individuals shall also meet all admission requirements of the public institution of higher education and pursue an associate or baccalaureate degree in an academic subject specified in the act. Individuals who have already earned a baccalaureate degree are ineligible to use the tuition waiver to earn another degree. Each year an individual applies for and receives a tuition waiver, he or she shall file with DHEWD documentation showing proof of employment and proof of residence in Missouri. Additionally, an applicant for a tuition waiver shall first apply for all other forms of federal and state student financial aid and provide evidence of such to the public institution of higher education. (Section 173.2655) The legal dependent of public safety personnel with at least ten years of service is also eligible for a tuition waiver if he or she executes an agreement with the public institution of higher education outlining the terms and conditions of the tuition waiver, including the legal dependent's commitment to reside in Missouri for the next five years, as well as a commitment provide a copy of his or her state income tax return annually to DHEWD in order to prove residency in Missouri. The agreement shall also include a provision that if the tuition waiver recipient fails to provide proof of residency in Missouri for the five-year period following the use of the tuition waiver, he or she shall repay the public institution of higher education the amount of tuition that was waived. Any such repayment received shall be remitted by the institution to DHEWD in full or deducted from future reimbursements to the institution from the Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Fund created in the act, as determined in accordance with rules promulgated by DHEWD. Finally, the agreement shall provide that any residency, filing, or payment obligation incurred by the tuition waiver recipient under the act is canceled in the event of the tuition waiver recipient's total and permanent disability or death. The five-year residency requirement for a legal dependent who receives a tuition waiver begins once the legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition waiver and continues until the tuition waiver recipient (a) completes the five-year tuition waiver eligibility period, (b) completes a baccalaureate degree, (c) completes an associate degree and notifies DHEWD that he or she does not intend to pursue a baccalauareate degree or additional associate degree using tuition waivers, or (d) notifies DHEWD that he or she does not plan to use additional tuition waivers. The legal dependent shall satisfy certain other criteria to be eligible for a tuition waiver. The legal dependent shall not have previously earned a baccalaureate degree, and he or she shall meet all admission requirements of the public institution of higher education he or she wishes to attend. The legal dependent shall also complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and provide verification of the public safety personnel's eligibility for the tuition waiver to the public institution of higher education, as provided in the act. (Sections 173.2655 and 173.2660) Public safety personnel and their legal dependents may receive a tuition waiver for up to five consecutive years if they otherwise continue to be eligible. The five years of eligibility starts once the public safety personnel or legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition waiver for the first time. A public institution of higher education shall waive 100% of the individual's tuition remaining due after subtracting awarded federal financial aid grants and state scholarships and grants. An application for a tuition waiver shall include a verification of the public safety personnel's satisfaction of the requirements of the act, including proof of full-time employment and residency status. Public safety personnel shall include such verification when they or their legal dependents are applying to a public institution of higher education in order to obtain a tuition waiver upon initial enrollment. The death of public safety personnel in the line of duty shall not disqualify an individual's otherwise eligible legal dependent from receiving the tuition waiver. In such a case, in lieu of submitting verification of the public safety personnel's employment, the legal dependent shall submit a statement attesting that, at the time of death, the public safety personnel satisfied the requirements of the act, and such individual died in the line of duty, as described in the act. A public institution of higher education shall provide a tuition waiver to an eligible applicant for the waiver who applies for an "open seat", defined in the act as a vacant position in a class, course, or program that is available for enrollment. An institution shall not be required to create additional seats exceeding program capacity in order to provide tuition waivers. Within forty-five days after receipt of a completed application for a tuition waiver, the public institution of higher education shall send written notice of the applicant's eligibility or ineligibility for the tuition waiver and state whether the application has been approved or denied. If the applicant is determined not to be eligible for the tuition waiver, the notice shall include the reason or reasons for such determination. If the application is denied, the notice shall include the reason or reasons for the denial. The Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Fund is created for purposes of reimbursing public institutions of higher education for awarding the tuition waivers. In the event that funds are insufficient to provide tuition waivers for all eligible applicants, public safety personnel shall be in the first class of applicants to receive the waivers, and dependents shall be in the second class, in a priority order specified in the act. The tuition waivers provided for in this act are subject to appropriation. If there are no moneys in the Fund, no tuition waivers shall be awarded. (Section 173.2655) This act is similar to HB 496 (2025). OLIVIA SHANNON
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