BILL REQ. #:  H-0835.1 

Read first time 02/02/2005.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to tuition waivers for veterans of the Persian Gulf combat zone; and amending RCW 28B.15.628.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.15.628 and 1999 c 82 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that military and naval veterans who have served their country in wars on foreign soil have risked their own lives to defend both the lives of all Americans and the freedoms that define and distinguish our nation. It is the intent of the legislature to honor Persian Gulf combat zone veterans for the public service they have provided to their country. It is the further intent of the legislature that, for eligible Persian Gulf combat zone veterans, institutions of higher education waive tuition and fee increases that have occurred after the 1990-91 academic year.
     (2) 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 colleges may exempt veterans of the Persian Gulf combat zone from all or a portion of increases in tuition and fees that occur after the 1990-91 academic year, if the veteran ((could have qualified)) qualifies as a Washington resident student under RCW 28B.15.012(2)((, had he or she been enrolled as a student on August 1, 1990)).
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "a veteran of the Persian Gulf combat zone" means a person who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States during any portion of the 1991 calendar year in the Persian Gulf combat zone as designated by executive order of the president of the United States.