House Bill 360

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN SENIOR CITIZENS TO ENROLL IN COURSES, FREE OF TUITION, AT THE STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO AMEND SECTION 37-103-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) For the purposes of this section, the term "senior citizen" means a person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older.

(2) A qualified senior citizen who is a legal resident of the state may enroll in a course or courses offered at a state institution of higher learning without paying the tuition and any applicable fees ordinarily assessed by the institution for attendance at that institution. Both full-time and part-time senior citizen students may register for and enroll in courses to earn academic credit in fulfillment of the requirements of a degree or for auditing purposes only. A senior citizen student also may register for and enroll in courses for which no academic credit is awarded at a state institution of higher learning.

(3) In order to qualify for registering for and enrolling in courses without paying tuition and applicable fees at a state institution of higher learning, a senior citizen's individual taxable income, for Mississippi income tax purposes, for the year preceding the year in which enrollment is sought must not have exceeded Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00).

(4) Qualified senior citizens registering for a course or courses under this section are exempt from paying tuition and fees ordinarily assessed by the state institution of higher learning other than fees that may be charged for materials to be used in a particular course, such as laboratory fees. Senior citizens registering for courses must comply with the admissions requirements of the institution. The institution shall determine its ability to offer a course for which a senior citizen has registered and may elect to cancel any course for which an insufficient number of students has registered.

(5) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this section. The rules and regulations must include a process to ensure that tuition-paying students and students attending an institution on scholarship are accommodated in a course before senior citizens registering for that course under this section are enrolled. However, an institution may make an exception if a senior citizen has completed seventy-five percent (75%) of the requirements for an academic degree sought by the senior citizen.

SECTION 2. Section 37-103-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-103-25. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1 of this act, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the boards of trustees of the community colleges and junior colleges are authorized to prescribe the amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students attending the several state-supported institutions of higher learning and community colleges and junior colleges of the State of Mississippi.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the total tuition to be paid by residents of other states shall not be less than the average cost per student from appropriated funds. However, the tuition to be paid by a resident of another state shall be equal to the tuition amount established under subsection (1) of this section if:

(a) The nonresident student was born in the State of Mississippi but subsequently relocated and resided outside the state as a minor under the care of the minor's father or mother, or both;

(b) The nonresident student is a veteran who served in the Armed Forces of the United States;

(c) The nonresident student is domiciled in Mississippi no later than six (6) months after the nonresident student's separation from service, as evidenced by a Report of Separation from Military Service or other military discharge document, for the purpose of enrolling in a state institution of higher learning or a community or junior college; or

(d) The nonresident student is an evacuee of an area affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. This waiver shall be applicable to the 2005-2006 school year only.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.