Fiscal Note
BILL # HB 2089 TITLE: military veterans; surviving spouses; scholarships
SPONSOR: Payne STATUS: As Introduced
PREPARED BY: Cameron Mortensen
Description
The bill would add surviving spouses who have not remarried to the Spouses of Military Veterans Tuition Scholarship
program. The program currently provides scholarships to spouses of military veterans attending an Arizona public
university or community college as a resident student.
Estimated Impact
The program currently receives $10,000,000 annually from the General Fund. The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) does
not expect the bill to increase costs above the current appropriation.
Analysis
The Spouses of Military Veterans Tuition Scholarship Fund was established in FY 2023 to provide scholarships to spouses
of honorably discharged veterans who reside in Arizona. This bill would expand the program to include the veteran's
surviving spouse who has not remarried.
Pursuant to A.R.S 15-1808, the universities and community colleges are currently required to provide tuition waivers to
spouses and dependents of military members that have died in the line of duty. HB 2089 would also provide scholarships
to spouses of veterans who have died from causes other than active duty.
Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, there are currently 120,451 veterans in Arizona under the age of 54. To provide an
estimate of the population of eligible students, we utilized additional data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center
for Education Statistics, and a 2017 Department of Veterans Affairs Mortality and Life Expectancy Study to make the
following assumptions:
• 50% of veterans are married
• 0.4% is the average mortality rate of veterans below the age of 50
• 32% of spouses already have a bachelor's degree
• 25% of individuals aged 25 and older attend higher education institutions
This results in up to 44 surviving spouses who could apply for this program.
Based on the current distribution of full-time student equivalent enrollment in the Arizona public higher education
system, we prorated the number of participants between the public universities and community colleges. For university
students, we assumed an average out-of-pocket cost of $6,464 after federal financial aid received. We estimate federal
financial aid grants for most students attending a community college would be sufficient to cover tuition costs and any
additional scholarships costs would be minimal. This methodology could generate a possible demand of $180,000 on the
fund. Actual costs would depend on utilization of the program.
(Continued) - 2 -
The budget includes $10,000,000 from the General Fund annually for the program. ABOR expects the current funding
level to cover the costs of surviving spouse scholarships.
Local Government Impact
None
2/3/23