SB476 Summary

• Appropriates $40 million total from the General Improvement Fund to the Department of Higher Education for six specific purposes during fiscal year 2017.

• Allocates $5 million each for: statewide innovation and entrepreneurship programs, workforce training incentives for employers, and scholarships for Historically Black Colleges and Universities with outreach programs.

• Allocates $5 million for grants to higher education institutions for construction, renovation, maintenance, equipment, security enhancements, technology upgrades, and library resources.

• Allocates $10 million each for: student assistance grants and various scholarship programs including Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships and National Guard tuition assistance, and contracts with out-of-state institutions for education in dentistry, optometry, osteopathy, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, and podiatry.

• Requires compliance with state purchasing, accounting, budgetary procedures, and fiscal control laws; prohibits use of maintenance and general operations funds for these appropriations; takes effect July 1, 2017 on an emergency basis.