Providing certified law-enforcement officers tuition-free education up to highest tuition rate for public higher education in WV
What changed between versions
The bill was moved from Article 14 (Law and Order) to Article 15A (Definitions), indicating a structural reorganization of the Code.
A new subsection (f) was added to define 'certified law-enforcement officer' as someone certified by the Law-Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee under §30-29-5.
Eligibility criteria were simplified and clarified; the requirement for a doctorate degree was changed from 'doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine' to simply 'doctorate degree'.
New language was added to Section (c) requiring that if an officer receives other grants or scholarships, this bill's payment must be reduced so the total does not exceed the actual cost of tuition or the highest state-supported rate.
Section (e) was updated to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to propose rules for legislative approval pursuant to §29A-3-1 et seq. to implement the section.
Section (d) was revised to explicitly state that officers must serve one year for every year of paid tuition, or face recoupment of funds or a prorated repayment if they do not complete the service.
The introductory note explaining the bill's purpose and the formatting instructions regarding strike-throughs and underscoring were removed.
