Date: 04/08/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1294

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer House Bill 15-1294 to the Committee of the WPASS



10:04 AM -- HB15-1294

Senator Marble, Chair, called the meeting to order. She asked Senators Todd and Hill, co-sponsors, to come to the table to present House Bill 15-1294 which aligns state law regarding in-state tuition classification with the federal "Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014." Senator Todd explained what it means to be classified as an in-state resident student and said that the bill needs to pass by July 1, 2015, in order to be in compliance with federal law. Senator Hill stated that as the needs of the military and those who serve in the military change and increase, state laws also need to change and increase in order to keep up. He stated that the bill is a bipartisan bill to promote good policy for military and families. He talked about the federal funding the state may lose if the bill does not pass. A copy of a handout was distributed to the committee (Attachment A).

15SenateEd0408AttachA.pdf15SenateEd0408AttachA.pdf

The following people testified on the bill:

10:09 AM -- Braelin Pantel, representing Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU-Denver), spoke in support of the bill. She talked about the efforts and services provided by MSU-Denver to support returning veterans. She talked about MSU-Denver's Veterans Upward Bound program. She told the committee that the school provides targeted training for faculty so that veterans have a supportive environment in the classroom and on campus. She stated that MSU-Denver will lose $4.3 million in federal dollars if the bill does not pass.

10:12 AM -- John Johnston, representing himself as a veteran and a student at MSU-Denver, spoke in support of the bill. He told the committee about his military background, and spoke about why the bill is important to student veterans. He talked about how the bill will ease the burden he faces during his final year of school and stated that the bill will help keep veterans in Colorado.

10:15 AM -- Gary Force, representing the United Veterans Committee of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. He provided background information about his organization, and talked about how the bill will benefit veterans in Colorado. He told the committee how similar programs helped him attend college after his military service.

10:17 AM -- Kachina Weaver, representing the Department of Higher Education, spoke in support of the bill. She stated that the bill is bipartisan and was supported unanimously in the House of Representatives. She talked about why is it important to pass the bill in order to align state policy with federal statute.


10:19 AM

There were no more witnesses and Senator Marble closed public testimony. Senator Todd provided closing comments to the bill.
BILL:HB15-1294
TIME: 10:19:57 AM
MOVED:Todd
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1294 to the Committee of the Whole with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar. The motion passed on a vote of 9-0.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Holbert
Yes
Johnston
Yes
Kerr
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Neville T.
Yes
Todd
Yes
Woods
Yes
Marble
Yes
Hill
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS