Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1046 By Senator Thrasher 8-01028-10 20101046__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the First Generation Matching Grant 3 Program; amending s. 1009.701, F.S.; authorizing 4 certain independent colleges and universities to 5 participate in the program; requiring the institutions 6 to raise specified funds before the Office of Student 7 Financial Assistance may reserve a proportionate 8 allocation for the institutions; providing for 9 implementation; providing an effective date. 10 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 13 Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (4), paragraph (c) of 14 subsection (5), and subsection (9) of section 1009.701, Florida 15 Statutes, are amended to read: 16 1009.701 First Generation Matching Grant Program.— 17 (1) The First Generation Matching Grant Program is created 18 to enable each state university and each independent college or 19 university accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the 20 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to provide donors 21 with a matching grant incentive for contributions that will 22 create grant-based student financial aid for undergraduate 23 students who demonstrate financial need and whose parents, as 24 defined in s. 1009.21(1), have not earned a baccalaureate 25 degree. In the case of any individual who regularly resided with 26 and received support from only one parent, an individual whose 27 only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree would 28 also be eligible. 29 (2) Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program 30 shall be allocated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance 31 to match private contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis. 32 Contributions made to a state university or an independent 33 college or university qualified under this section and pledged 34 for the purposes of this section are eligible for state matching 35 funds appropriated for this program and are not eligible for any 36 other state matching grant program. Pledged contributions are 37 not eligible for matching prior to the actual collection of the 38 total funds. The Office of Student Financial Assistance shall 39 reserve a proportionate allocation of the total appropriated 40 funds for each state university or independent college or 41 university qualified under this section on the basis of full 42 time equivalent enrollment; however, the office may not reserve 43 a proportionate allocation for an independent college or 44 university qualified under this section unless the institution 45 has raised $200,000 in matching funds. Funds that remain 46 unmatched as of December 1 shall be reallocated to state 47 universities or independent colleges or universities qualified 48 under this section that have remaining unmatched private 49 contributions for the program on the basis of full-time 50 equivalent enrollment. 51 (4) Each participating state university or independent 52 college or university qualified under this section shall 53 establish an application process, determine student eligibility 54 for initial and renewal awards in conformance with subsection 55 (5), identify the amount awarded to each recipient, and notify 56 recipients of the amount of their awards. 57 (5) In order to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to 58 this section, an applicant must: 59 (c) Be accepted at a state university or an independent 60 college or university qualified under this section. 61 (9) This section shall be implemented only as specifically 62 funded. Funds shall be allocated by the Office of Student 63 Financial Assistance for independent colleges or universities 64 qualified under this section beginning with the 2011-2012 fiscal 65 year. 66 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.