Amends existing law to revise eligibility and other provisions regarding Armed Forces and public safety officer scholarships.

This legislation makes the following amendments to the Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer Scholarship. • Codifies current and past practice for how Idaho residency is determined. • Increases the allowance for books, equipmentandsuppliesfrom$500to$750persemester. Thisamountwaslastincreased21yearsagofrom$200 to $500. • Extends the time period for eligibility from 10 years to 19 years after occurrence of the qualifying event, and makes the effective date retroactive to July 1, 2022. • Makes a technical correction regarding the determination of disability for members of the Armed Forces. Currently, the statute references disability determinations made by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) and determinations made by the Idaho Division of Veterans Services. However, the Idaho Division of Veterans Services does not make disability determinations, so the proposed amendment would remove that reference. Disability determinations made by the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) apply a different standard from that used by SSA and PERSI (which applies to public safety officers). Under SSA and PERSI determinations of disability, the individual is preventedfromengaginginanyoccupationoremployment. RemovingthereferencetotheDivisionofVeterans Services ensures that disability determinations are internally consistent when applied to Armed Forces and Public Safety Officer applicants.