Amend the bill in section 4 in §11681 in the indented paragraph in the 9th and 10th lines (page 1, line 25 and 26 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " annual family income is less than $30,000" and inserting the following: ' expected family contribution is less than an amount established by the authority'

Amend the bill in section 4 in §11681 in the indented paragraph in the last line (page 1, line 31 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: " section." the following: ' For purposes of this section, "expected family contribution" means the amount that the family of a student may be reasonably expected to contribute toward postsecondary education for the academic year for which the student is seeking a scholarship under this chapter.'

summary

This amendment, which is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, modifies the Maine Merit Scholarship Program to replace income eligibility with eligibility based on expected family contribution. Expected family contribution is the standard that is used to determine financial need under various federal scholarship programs and under the Maine State Grant Program administered by the Finance Authority of Maine.