Senate 566

WEST virginia legislature

2025 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

Senate Bill 566

By Senators Fuller, Jeffries, Maynard, Oliverio, Rose, Weld, Hamilton, and Helton

[Reported March 5, 2025, from the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §15A-1-10, relating to providing that certified law-enforcement officers meeting certain requirements may be entitled to payment of tuition and fees; requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to prescribe eligibility criteria; making payment subject to appropriation; allowing payment for only one certificate, undergraduate degree, and master’s degree; allowing only two to be selected to receive payment for a doctorate degree; providing for the amount of payment at state supported school and private school; providing for reduction in payment in certain instances when recipient is eligible for other grants and scholarships; establishing service requirement for recipients; providing for recoupment of moneys paid when service requirement not fulfilled; requiring Secretary of Homeland Security to administer the tuition and fee payments and to propose rules for legislative approval to implement; and defining certified law-enforcement officer.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1. Definitions.

§15A-1-10. Tuition and fees for certified law-enforcement officers at institutions of higher education.

(a) Any certified law-enforcement officer who is enrolled in an educational program which leads to a certificate, undergraduate degree, master's degree, or doctorate degree, and is attending any accredited community and technical college, college, university, or business, career-technical, or aviation school, located in West Virginia, may be entitled to payment of tuition and fees for that program during the period of his or her service as a certified law enforcement officer.

(1) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall prescribe criteria of eligibility for payment of tuition and fees pursuant to this section. The payment is contingent upon appropriations being made by the Legislature for the express purpose of this section.

(2) A certified law-enforcement officer may receive payment for only one certificate, undergraduate degree, and master's degree pursuant to this section.

(3) Not more than two certified law-enforcement officers a year may be selected by the Secretary of Homeland Security to receive payment for a doctorate degree.

(b) The amount of the payment for a certified law-enforcement officer attending a state-supported school is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and may not exceed the actual cost of tuition and fees at the school. The amount of the payment for a certified law-enforcement officer attending a private school is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and may not exceed the highest amount payable at any state-supported school in West Virginia.

(c) For a certified law-enforcement officer attending a state-supported school, if the amount of payment pursuant to this section plus all other state and federal grants and scholarships for which the grant recipient is eligible exceeds the actual cost of tuition and fees at the school, the amount of the grant made pursuant to this section shall be reduced so that the payment of the grant made pursuant to this section does not cause the total of all grants and scholarships to exceed the actual cost of tuition and fees at the school. For a certified law enforcement officer attending a private school, if the amount of payment pursuant to this section plus all other state and federal grants and scholarships for which the grant recipient is eligible exceeds the highest amount payable at any state-supported school in West Virginia, the amount of the grant made pursuant to this section shall be reduced so that the payment of the grant made pursuant to this section does not cause the total of all grants and scholarships to exceed the highest amount payable at a state-supported school in West Virginia.

(d) All certified law-enforcement officers shall serve a minimum of one year for every year of paid tuition or reimbursed tuition provided to them or be subject to recoupment for all moneys paid pursuant to this section or subject to a prorated portion of the moneys paid to them if only a portion of the service required by this subsection is fulfilled.

(e) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall administer the tuition and fee payments authorized under this section and shall propose rules for legislative approval pursuant to §29A-3-1 et seq. to implement the provisions of this section.

(f) “Certified law-enforcement officer” means any law-enforcement officer that is certified by the Law-Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee pursuant to the requirements set forth in §30-29-5.