LD 700

132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
  FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document  No. 700
S.P. 317  In Senate, February 25, 2025
  An Act to Promote Student Enrollment and Degree Completion in
  the University of Maine System by Awarding Waivers of Tuition
  and Fees to Eligible Students
   Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 20, 2025. Referred to the Committee
on Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
  DAREK M. GRANT
  Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator TIPPING of Penobscot.
Cosponsored by Senators: BICKFORD of Androscoggin, DUSON of Cumberland, MOORE of
Washington, Representative: DILL of Old Town.
  Printed on recycled paper
1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2     Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §10912 is enacted to read:
3 §10912. Waiver of tuition and fees; Federal Pell Grant-eligible in-state students
4     1. Eligibility. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, the University of Maine
5 System shall award a waiver of tuition and fees to an eligible student under this section.
6 An eligible student must:
7     A. Be enrolled full-time at any University of Maine System campus, except that a
8     student may not be a student who has transferred into the University of Maine System
9     or who is returning to complete a degree;
10     B. Complete a free application for federal student aid program application, or successor
11     application, and be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant for the academic year for which
12     the applicant seeks a waiver;
13     C. Be a United States citizen or noncitizen who is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant for
14     the academic year for which the applicant seeks a waiver;
15     D. Have resided in the State for 12 continuous months before acceptance at the
16     University of Maine System; and
17     E. Maintain a cumulative 2.0 grade point average in each academic year.
18 A University of Maine System campus may establish additional eligibility requirements.
19     2. Waiver amount. The amount of a waiver of tuition and fees awarded under this
20 section is limited to the difference between the amount of the tuition and fees at the
21 University of Maine System campus at which the student is enrolled and the sum of the
22 amount provided by the Federal Pell Grant and the amount of aid received by the student
23 from other sources, not including merit-based scholarships awarded to the student by the
24 University of Maine System.
25      3. Funding. The availability of a waiver of tuition and fees under this section is limited
26 to the availability of funds needed to administer the waivers.
27SUMMARY
28      This bill requires the University of Maine System to award waivers of tuition and fees
29 to eligible students who are enrolled full-time at any University of Maine System campus.
30 The amount of the waiver is limited to the difference between the amount of the tuition and
31 fees and the sum of the amount provided by the Federal Pell Grant and the amount of aid
32 received by the student, not including merit-based scholarships awarded to the student by
33 the University of Maine System. The availability of the waiver is limited to the availability
34 of funding.
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