§1807. Persons over fifty-five; exemption from tuition; fifty percent reduction in cost of textbooks; the Pursuing Rewarding, Innovative, and Meaningful Education (PRIME) Fund

            A. Any person age fifty-five years or over who registers for one or more courses of instruction at a public college or university in this state and who is a resident of this state shall be exempt from the payment of tuition and other registration fees and shall receive a fifty percent reduction in the cost of textbooks, reference books, manuals, and other aids to instruction which are required by any course in which such student is enrolled when purchased from a public college or university operated bookstore. This exemption shall apply regardless of the manner that instruction is provided in the course, including but not limited to in-person instruction, online instruction, or the combination thereof.

            B. Any funds lost to any public college or university as a result of this Section shall be reimbursed to the college or university by the state.

            C. The tuition exemption and reduction in textbook costs provided in this Section shall be provided only if and to the extent that there are sufficient funds appropriated by the legislature to reimburse the public college or university granting them.

            D.(1) There is hereby created in the state treasury, as a special fund, the Pursuing Rewarding, Innovative, and Meaningful Education (PRIME) Fund, for the purpose of the reimbursement provided for in this Section. Monies in the fund shall be invested in the same manner as monies in the general fund. Interest earned on investment of monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund.

            (2) After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the fund all monies received from grants or donations for the purposes of this Section.

            (3) Monies in the fund shall be appropriated, administered, and used solely as provided in this Section. Disbursements from the fund shall not exceed two hundred dollars per credit hour.

            E. The fund shall be administered by the Board of Regents.

            F. The fund is in addition to, and separate from, any monies allocated to the institutions under the management and control of a public postsecondary education management board. The availability of the funds shall not in any way substitute, limit, or otherwise affect the allocation of funds otherwise available to those institutions under state or federal laws.

            Acts 1990, No. 824, §1, eff. July 24, 1990; Acts 1995, No. 307, §1; Acts 2022, No. 471, §1.