Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §11614, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. HH, §1, is further amended to read:

2. Minimum amount. It is the intent of the Legislature that scholarships awarded under this chapter, except as provided in subsections 3-A, 4, 5 and 6, may not be less than $1,000; however, amounts less than $1,000 may be awarded to meet a need of less than $1,000 determined under section 11613. In no event may the authority grant awards of less than $200 to a full-time student. An award to a student under this chapter may not be applied to reduce institutional or other grant aid to that student.

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §11614, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:

3-A.__Scholarships for students attending out-of-state institutions.__A scholarship for a student attending an institution of higher education in another state may not exceed 50% of the amount of a scholarship awarded to a student attending an institution of higher education located in this State.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the student incentive scholarship program, which provides scholarships of $1,000 to students attending institutions of higher learning in Maine and in other states with which Maine has a reciprocity agreement or that permit portability of funding.

This bill decreases the amount of a scholarship that may be awarded to a student attending an institution of higher learning outside of this State to half that awarded to a student attending a school in the State.