S-0204.2  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5162

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Senators Bauer, Oke, Snyder, Hargrove, Haugen, Kohl, C. Anderson and Winsley

Read first time 01/12/95.  Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

Changing the Vietnam veterans' tuition exemption.

    AN ACT Relating to tuition exemptions for veterans; and amending RCW 28B.15.620.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 28B.15.620 and 1994 c 208 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Subject to the limitations of RCW 28B.15.910, the governing boards of the state universities, the regional universities, The Evergreen State College, and the community and technical colleges may exempt veterans of the Vietnam conflict who have served in the southeast Asia theater of operations from the payment of all or a portion of any increase in tuition and fees that occur after October 1, 1977, if the veteran qualifies as a resident student under RCW 28B.15.012((, was enrolled in state institutions of higher education on or before May 7, 1990,)) and meets the requirements of subsection (2) of this section.

    (2) Beginning with the fall academic term of 1994, veterans receiving the exemption under subsection (1) of this section must meet these additional requirements:

    (a) Remain continuously enrolled for seven or more quarter credits per academic term or their equivalent, except summer term and not including community service courses; and

    (b) Have an adjusted gross family income as most recently reported to the internal revenue service that does not exceed Washington state's median family income as established by the federal bureau of the census((; and

    (c) Have exhausted all entitlement to federal vocational or educational benefits conferred by virtue of their military service)).

    (3) For the purposes of this section, "veterans of the Vietnam conflict" shall be those persons who have been on active federal service as a member of the armed military or navel forces of the United States between a period commencing August 5, 1964, and ending on May 7, 1975.

    (4) This section shall expire June 30, 1997.

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