SECTION 1. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 44 the following section:-

Section 45.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the commonwealth shall pay the tuition and mandatory curriculum fees or course fees not paid by state grants, federal grants, or gift aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process for an eligible student. An eligible student must:

(1) attend high school in the commonwealth for not less than 3 years;

(2) graduate from a high school in the commonwealth or attain the equivalent thereof in the commonwealth;

(3) be a resident of the commonwealth;

(4) have an annual family income of $200,000 or less;

(5) apply for federal and state grants and aid via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process; provided, however, that a person who is not eligible to apply for federal and state grants and aid via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process shall be exempt from the aid application requirement in this paragraph;

(6) be enrolled full-time in a program of higher education at a higher education institution listed in section 5 of chapter 15A, at a per-semester minimum course load of 15 credits;

(7) maintain a grade point average of at least 2.7; and

(8) not hold a baccalaureate or higher degree granted by a higher education institution listed in section 5 of chapter 15A.

(b) The commonwealth shall pay the housing and transportation costs for an eligible student whose annual family income is not more than the median income in the commonwealth as determined by the United States Census Bureau. The board of higher education shall create a formula for payment of housing and transportation costs; provided, however, that the formula shall take into account the living expenses in the area where the student’s higher education institute is located.