SECTION 1.  Section 19 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph, the following new paragraph:—

Such guidelines shall provide tuition and fee waivers for veterans of Massachusetts, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, and active duty servicepersons who are permanent and legal residents of the commonwealth and whose educational costs for attending a public institution of higher education, as defined in section 5, are not fully covered by Title 38, U.S. Code, Section 3675, CFR 21.4253. The commonwealth, not the institutions of public higher education, shall bear the cost of such tuition and fee waivers for Massachusetts veterans and active duty servicepersons. The tuition and fee waiver shall be applied to unmet tuition and fee charges after the application of any educational entitlements under Title 38, U.S. Code, Section 3675, CFR 21.4253.