HB 206: Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990; repeal Article 2 of Chapter 1

The House Committee on Higher Education offers the following substitute to HB 206:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to scholarships, loans, and grants relative to postsecondary education, so as to remove convictions for certain offenses related to marijuana as cause for a student to become ineligible for state funds for certain loans, grants, and scholarships; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to scholarships, loans, and grants relative to postsecondary education, is amended in Subpart 4A of Part 3, relating to direct loans to students on basis of need and merit, by revising paragraph (5) of Code Section 20-3-395.4, relating to ineligibility, as follows: "(5) Has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug as set out in Code Section 20-1-23 or 20-1-24 of the 'Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990,' provided that such ineligibility extends from the date of conviction to the completion of the next academic term; provided, however, that no student shall be deemed ineligible for any loan described in this subpart because of a conviction for an offense based solely on the possession of marijuana for personal use. As used in this paragraph, the term 'possession of marijuana for personal use' means a conviction for possession of marijuana that does not include an element of intent to distribute, manufacture, sell, or traffic and does not involve a quantity exceeding the weight threshold provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 16-13-2 for the misdemeanor possession of marijuana;"

SECTION 2.

Said article is further amended in Subpart 4B of said part, relating to graduate on time student loans, by revising paragraph (5) of Code Section 20-3-400.6, relating to ineligibility, as follows:

"(5) Has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug as set out in Code Section 20-1-23 or 20-1-24 of the 'Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990,' provided that such ineligibility extends from the date of conviction to the completion of the next academic term; provided, however, that no student shall be deemed ineligible for any loan described in this subpart because of a conviction for an offense based solely on the possession of marijuana for personal use. As used in this paragraph, the term 'possession of marijuana for personal use' means a conviction for possession of marijuana that does not include an element of intent to distribute, manufacture, sell, or traffic and does not involve a quantity exceeding the weight threshold provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 16-13-2 for the misdemeanor possession of marijuana;"

SECTION 3.

Said article is further amended in Subpart 4C of said part, relating to education for public service student loan, by revising paragraph (5) of Code Section 20-3-405.7, relating to ineligibility, as follows:

"(5) Has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug as set out in Code Section 20-1-23 or 20-1-24 of the 'Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990,' provided that such ineligibility extends from the date of conviction to the completion of the next academic term; provided, however, that no student shall be deemed ineligible for any loan described in this subpart because of a conviction for an offense based solely on the possession of marijuana for personal use. As used in this paragraph, the term 'possession of marijuana for personal use' means a conviction for possession of marijuana that does not include an element of intent to distribute, manufacture, sell, or traffic and does not involve a quantity exceeding the weight threshold provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 16-13-2 for the misdemeanor possession of marijuana;"

SECTION 4.

Said article is further amended in Part 7 of Article 7, relating to HOPE scholarships and grants, by revising paragraph (5) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-3-519.1, relating to residency requirements for eligibility and disqualifying factors, and by adding a new subsection to read as follows:

"(5) Has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug as set out in Code Section 20-1-23 or 20-1-24 of the 'Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990,' provided that such ineligibility extends from the date of conviction to the completion of the next academic term; provided, however, that no student shall be deemed ineligible for any scholarship or grant described in this part because of a conviction for an offense based solely on the possession of marijuana for personal use;"

"(c) A student shall not be deemed ineligible for any scholarship or grant described in this part because of a conviction for an offense based solely on the possession of marijuana for personal use. As used in this subsection and paragraph (5) of subsection (b) of this Code section, the term 'possession of marijuana for personal use' means a conviction for possession of marijuana that does not include an element of intent to distribute, manufacture, sell, or traffic and does not involve a quantity exceeding the weight threshold provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 16-13-2 for the misdemeanor possession of marijuana."

SECTION 5.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.