Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the Alabama Law Enforcement Officers' Family Scholarship Program.

Highlights:

• Defines eligible dependents to include (Sec. 1):

• A natural or adopted child of the qualifying law enforcement officer under the age of 27 years old who has lived in the state of Alabama for at least 2 years before application; or

• The current or surviving spouse of a qualifying law enforcement officer who has resided in the state for at least 2 years before application.

• Defines qualifying law enforcement officers to include individuals who (Sec. 1):

• Is or has been certified by the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission;

• Is employed full-time for at least 7 years by a single law enforcement agency in the state;

• Is employed fu ll-time for at least 12 years by more than one law enforcement agency in the state; or

• Is no longer employed in law enforcement or retired, unless the individual was terminated from the most recent employment as a law enforcement officer for disciplinary reasons.

• Defines required educational expenses as cost for (Sec. 1):

• Tuition;

• Mandatory fees; 

• Books; and

• Any electronic or digital media required on a course syllabus.

• Establishes the Alabama Law Enforcement Officers’ Family Scholarship (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a maximum reward of $3,000 per academic period per recipient (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that multiple dependents of one qualifying law enforcement officer may be awarded the scholarship, if eligible and comply with requirements (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a maximum annual appropriation of $10,000,000 to the Family Scholarship Program (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the use of private donations to supplement available money for the scholarship program (Sec. 1).

• Requires the payment of funds from the commission to participating institutions following the receipt of a certified invoice from institutions with the names of students and the amount required (Sec. 1).

• Requires participating institutions to enter into a contract with the commission and provide any records requested by the commission upon request (Sec. 1).

• Requires scholarship applicants to provide the following information (Sec. 1):

• Documentation from the participating institution that the applicant has been accepted for admission and enrolled; 

• A copy of the applicant’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or documentation for the participating institution that the student completed the FAFSA;

• Documentation that the spouse or parent is a qualifying officer;

• A certified copy of the marriage certificate to the qualifying officer, if the applicant is a current or surviving spouse;

• A certified copy of the birth certificate or decree of adoption with the qualifying officer as a parent, if the applicant is a dependent who is a natural or adopted child of a qualifying officer; and

• A signed Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) release form.

• Requires awardees to meet the following conditions for continued eligibility (Sec. 1):

• Compliance with the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as required for Title IV benefits under the federal Higher Education Act and as defined by the participating institution for each academic period;

• Remain a full-time resident of the state of Alabama; and

• Completion of academic terms within 66 months of the approval of the application, unless extenuating circumstances can be proven.

• Specifies that awardees who are spouses of qualifying officers would lose their eligibility, if the awardee divorces the qualifying officer (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes recipients to maintain eligibility while transferring between institutions or changing his or her approved program, if it is done before the beginning of the fifth semester or ninth quarter of the recipient’s scholarship period (Sec. 1).

• Requires the commission to (Sec. 1):

• Receive scholarship applications;

• Make determinations on scholarship eligibility;

• Waive scholarship requirements;

• Enter into and administer contracts with participating institutions;

• Develop the necessary forms to administer the program;

• Publicize the scholarship by written or electronic means; and

• Accept donations.

• Requires the commission to report the following to the state legislature by January 1 of each year (Sec. 1):

• The number of applicants approved in the previous fiscal year;

• The number of applicants approved as of the reporting date of the current fiscal year;

• The number of recipients, by the number of terms of eligibility;

• The cost of the previous fiscal year’s expenditures to the program per institution and the number of recipients enrolled in each institution; and

• The number of recipients in the previous fiscal year who completed an approved postsecondary program by being awarded a certificate or degree.

• Requires all funds received by the commission to be deposited in the State Treasury (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes Alabama residents to be issued a personalized blackout license plate, upon request, for an additional annual fee of $50 (Sec. 2).

• Requires the revenue from the blackout license plate fees to be distributed to the following (Sec. 2):

• 2.5 percent commission;

• $1.50 in manufacturing costs to the Department of Corrections;

• $1 in administrative costs to the Department of Revenue;

• The remainder of the fee to the Alabama Law Enforcement Officers’ Family Scholarship Fund.

• Specifies that the black license plates shall be issued following January 1, 2026 (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the effective date of this bill is October 1, 2025 (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text