Today, the House Education Committee advanced House Bill 2308, which would create the Business PROMISE+ Program. The program would allow West Virginia employers to fund premium scholarships for certain PROMISE-eligible applicants. The bill assigns the management of the program to the Higher Education Policy Commission. A student may receive either the PROMISE Scholarship or the Business PROMISE+ Scholarship, but not both, during any single academic term.
Any West Virginia business donating $10,000 or more to the Business PROMISE+ Program shall receive a tax credit of 50 percent of the donation. Eligible businesses may also sponsor eligible students. The sponsorship is an agreement from the business to provide summer work to the student during the summer months during the student’s college years.
Any student who is eligible for the PROMISE Scholarship is also eligible to receive the Business PROMISE+ Scholarship. To apply for the Business PROMISE+ Program, the student must complete the application, listing up to three eligible businesses the student has an interest in working. To receive the award, the sponsored student must agree to maintain requirements for a PROMISE Scholarship, work for the sponsoring business during summers, and work in West Virginia after college graduation for the period equal to the number of years the student received the scholarship.
House Bill 2308 was amended to state that a business owner could not sponsor an immediate family member. This amendment was made as a nepotism clause. The bill moves on for consideration in House Finance.
The Committee also discussed House Bill 2143, which would allow retired bus operators to work as substitutes without affecting their monthly retirement.
The House Education Committee will meet again tomorrow at 2 pm.
