LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6895 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 28, 2025
BILL NUMBER: SB 334 BILL AMENDED: Jan 28, 2025
SUBJECT: Higher Education Benefits for Military Service.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Spencer BILL STATUS: CR Adopted - 1
st
House
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: (Amended) This bill provides that a child of a disabled veteran may be eligible
for a tuition exemption if the person's mother or father served in the armed forces of the United States.
(Current law requires the person's mother or father to serve in the armed forces of the United States during
a war or perform duty equally hazardous that was recognized by the award of a service or campaign medal
of the United States.)
The bill also repeals a provision that reduces a Child of a Disabled Veteran Tuition (CVO) exemption if the
individual's father or mother suffered a disability as determined by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs with a rating of less than 80%.
Effective Date: July 1, 2025.
Explanation of State Expenditures: CVO Wartime Service Requirement: This bill removes the current
requirement that a disabled veteran must have served during wartime or received certain decorations in order
for the veteran’s child to receive a CVO exemption. Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs (IDVA)
disapproved 19 out of 706 applicants for failing to meet this requirement from August 1 to December 31,
2024. If a similar trend holds for future applications, expenditures could increase by up to $960,000 per year
in the short term, though that number is likely to decrease over time. [According to the criteria used to
evaluate such claims by IDVA, any person who has served in the US military since the initiation of Operation
Desert Shield in 1990 meets the wartime service requirement. No end date for this “Gulf War” period has
been determined by the US Department of Defense.]
Repeal of Reduction of Fee Exemption Based on Disability Rating: There will be minimal impact on
expenditures for fee exemptions due to this bill in the near term because very few CVO applicants for
financial assistance have parents who enlisted after June 30, 2011. The IDVA reports that applicants who
fall under the 2011 enlistment rule have thus far had disability ratings of 80% or above and are receiving the
same 100% exemption to which they would be entitled under this bill. However, this bill will increase
expenditures for CVO fee remissions in the future as children of veterans who enlisted after June 30, 2011,
reach college age and become eligible. The full impact of the proposal will likely occur 10 to 20 years from
SB 334 1 now, at which point the cost could be significant.
Commission for Higher Education (CHE): The CHE administers the CVO fee exemptions and would have
to make administrative changes based on the provisions of this bill. The provision that removes the reduction
of the fee exemption based on the parent’s disability rating would simplify administration of the fee
exemption, while processing and awarding additional CVO exemptions will create an increase in workload
for CHE. The bill’s requirements should be able to be implemented with no additional appropriations,
assuming near customary agency staffing and resource levels.
Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA): Determining whether students are eligible for a fee exemption based
on the service connected death or disability of a parent is within the IDVA’s routine administrative functions
and should be able to be implemented with no additional appropriations, assuming near customary agency
staffing and resource levels.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Commission for Higher Education.
Local Agencies Affected:
Information Sources: Kyle Gross, IDVA.
Fiscal Analyst: Alexander Raggio, 317-234-9485.
SB 334 2