A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for the transportation costs of students who attend community colleges as participants in the North Carolina Guaranteed Admission Program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Section 11.7 of S.L. 2015‑241 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"SECTION 11.7.(f1)  In addition to any other financial assistance made available to a student attending a community college, each full‑time student who is attending a community college as an NCGAP participant shall be eligible for the sum of up to three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200) for the student's first academic year and, if the student remains eligible in accordance with this subsection, the sum of up to three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200) for the student's second academic year to provide grant funds for the student's transportation costs to attend a community college, which shall be distributed in accordance with the following:
(1)	The State Board of Community Colleges shall establish rules and procedures to administer the funds provided by this subsection that include determining eligible transportation costs and a procedure for students to apply for grant funds. Each community college campus with NCGAP participants shall be allocated transportation funds to distribute to eligible students.
(2)	For both the first and second academic year, a student shall continue to be eligible for a grant for transportation costs for the second semester of the academic year if the student maintains a course load of at least 12 credit hours in the first semester.
(3)	A student shall continue to be eligible for grant funds for transportation costs for the student's second academic year if the student meets all of the following:
a.	Meets achievement standards by maintaining satisfactory academic progress in a course of study in accordance with the standards and practices used for federal Title IV programs by the community college in which the student is enrolled.
b.	Completes a minimum of 24 semester credit hours by the end of the academic year.
(4)	In the event that additional students participate in NCGAP in any fiscal year and there are not sufficient funds to provide each eligible student with funds up to the amount set forth in this subsection, each student shall receive a pro rata share of funds then available for the remainder of the academic year within the fiscal period covered by the current appropriation.
(5)	Any unused funds from a current appropriation shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available to provide grants for transportation costs for eligible students in the subsequent fiscal year."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Community Colleges the sum of three million eight hundred thirty‑three thousand six hundred dollars ($3,833,600) for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year in recurring funds to provide for grant funds for transportation costs for students attending community colleges as participants in the North Carolina Guaranteed Admission Program (NCGAP) in accordance with Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2016.