Title
AN ACT AMENDING LEGISLATIVE ACT 31-07 PROVIDING HIGHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHEROKEE NATION STUDENTS
Body
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION:
Section 1. Title and Codification
This Legislative Act shall be titled as the "Cherokee Nation Education Scholarship Amendment Act of 2012" and codified under Title ____ Section ______ of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated ("CNCA").
Section 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to increase the amount of scholarships available to Cherokee students. who receive Pell grant assistance to $1,000.00. $2,000.00 per semester up to $4,000.00 per academic year.
Section 3. Legislative History
Article VI Section 7 of the Cherokee Nation Constitution states:
"The Council shall have the power to establish laws which it shall deem necessary and proper for the good of the Nation, which shall not be contrary to the provisions of this Constitution. The style of all bills shall be: "Be It Enacted By the Cherokee Nation". The style of all resolutions shall be "Be It Resolved By the Cherokee Nation".
Article X Section 2 of the Cherokee Nation Constitution states:
"The Council shall provide by law for annual expenditure of funds, and the source from which funds are to be derived, to defray the estimated expenses of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches and the departments of government of the Cherokee Nation for each fiscal year. The budget shall not exceed estimated revenues".
Article X Section 8 of the Cherokee Nation Constitution states:
"All laws authorizing the expenditures of money by and on behalf of the Cherokee Nation shall specify the purpose for which the money is to be used, and the money so designated shall be used for no other purpose. No monies or resources of the Cherokee Nation or any of its entities shall be used to pay for representation of a defendant in a criminal matter, except where a public defender is authorized under Cherokee law. Annual expenditures shall not exceed the available funds".
Legislative Act 31-07
Legislative Act 02-11
Section 4. Definitions
For purposes of this Act:
Pell Grant Eligible student: means a Cherokee student who qualified for the federal education PELL Grant program.
Qualified Educational Facility: means any educational facility for which PELL Grant Funds can be expended.
Section 5. Substantive Provisions
Cherokee Nation students who are eligible for PELL grant educational assistance and who are enrolled in a qualified educational facility shall receive a scholarship of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per academic semester up to two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) per academic year. Said scholarship shall be automatically renewed for four (4) years ten (10) semesters provided that the student remains enrolled in good standing at a qualified educational facility. Scholarship awards shall not require demonstration of need.
The funding source for this expenditure shall be the Cherokee Nation General Fund. Scholarship awards shall be contingent upon available funding.
Section 6. Provisions as Cumulative
The provisions of this act shall be cumulative to existing law.
Section 7. Severability
The provisions of this act are severable and if any part of provision hereof shall be held void the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act.
Section 8. Effective Date
This Act shall become effective _________________, 2012 in accordance with the Cherokee Nation Constitution.