Bill No.: SF0122                  Drafter:  DRN

 

LSO No.:  05LSO-0051              Effective Date:  

 

Enrolled Act No.:  SEA0110

 

Chapter No.:       190

 

Prime Sponsor:     Senator Scott

 

Catch Title:       Higher education endowment accounts.

 

Subject:  Establishment and funding of endowment accounts for higher education faculty and resources and for student scholarships.

 

Summary/Major Elements:

 

·        Redistributes a portion of federal mineral royalty revenues (FMRs) from distribution to the school foundation program account to endowment accounts conditioned upon maintenance of a specified minimum level of funds within the school foundation account; i.e., an unobligated, unencumbered account balance of $100 million on July 1 of each fiscal year;

 

·        Establishes a higher education endowment account, which receives 21% of diverted FMRs capped at $105 million, and a student scholarship endowment account, which receives 79% of diverted FMRs capped at $400 million;

 

·        Distributes 2/3 of higher education endowment account monies to the University of Wyoming, and 1/3 equally to each Wyoming community colleges, which is to be transferred to each institution's foundation for permanent investment with expenditures restricted to investment earnings;

 

·        Restricts expenditures of higher education endowments to establishment of endowed faculty positions, recruitment and retention of faculty and acquisition of instructional resource materials and equipment, to be reported by each institution annually to the joint appropriations and education interim committees.  Both committees subsequently report to the governor and legislature;

 

·        Creates a committee of higher education and business and industry representation to develop and present a higher education endowment implementation plan to the joint appropriations and education interim committees by October 1, 2005, and prohibits expenditures of endowment account funds until the plan has been presented;

 

·        Establishes an education merit scholarship committee to develop recommendations on student scholarship programs from proposed programs contained in 2005 legislation, to be funded from earnings generated by the student scholarship endowment account, with an implementation date set no later than the first school year following attainment of a $400 million endowment account balance;

 

·        Directs initial scholarship committee report and recommendations to be presented by November 1, 2005 to the governor and the joint appropriations and education interim committees;

 

·        Appropriates general fund monies of $100,000 for work of the scholarship committee, which funds are repaid by the diverted FMRs.