A. The "college affordability endowment fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury, consisting of appropriations; unspecified gifts, grants and donations to the fund; and income from investment of the fund except as provided in Subsection C of this section.

B. The "college affordability scholarship fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury, consisting of income from investment of the fund and any specified distributions, appropriations, gifts, grants and donations to the fund. Money in the scholarship fund is appropriated to the department for scholarship awards as provided in the College Affordability Act. Expenditures from the scholarship fund shall be by warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of higher education or the secretary's authorized representative.

C. Until fifty percent of the annual income from investment of the college affordability endowment fund is equal to or exceeds three million dollars ($3,000,000), an annual distribution of three million dollars ($3,000,000) shall be made from the college affordability endowment fund to the college affordability scholarship fund. Thereafter, until the corpus of the endowment fund is two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000), fifty percent of the income from investment of the fund shall be applied to the corpus of the fund and fifty percent shall be distributed annually to the scholarship fund. After the corpus of the endowment fund is two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000), all of the income from investment of the fund shall be distributed to the college affordability scholarship fund.

History: Laws 2005, ch. 192, § 8; 2007, ch. 70, § 7; 2007, ch. 71, § 7; 2007, ch. 85, § 7; 2019, ch. 56, § 2.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, increased the distribution from the college affordability endowment fund to the college affordability scholarship fund; and in Subsection C, changed "two million dollars ($2,000,000)" to "three million dollars ($3,000,000)".

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, provided that the college affordability endowment fund and the college affordability scholarship fund are a nonreverting funds; required that until fifty percent of the annual income of the college affordability endowment fund equals $2,000,000, an annual distribution of $2,000,000 shall be made from the college affordability endowment fund to the college affordability scholarship fund; and required that after the corpus of the endowment fund is $250,000,000, all income shall be distributed to the college affordability scholarship fund.