| 1 | 1 | | 81R4111 KSD-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bolton H.B. No. 1120 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to limitations on increases in designated tuition charged |
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| 8 | 8 | | by certain general academic teaching institutions. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.0513, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | adding Subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (g) The amount of tuition the governing board of a general |
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| 13 | 13 | | academic teaching institution other than a public state college |
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| 14 | 14 | | charges under this section to a student for an academic year may not |
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| 15 | 15 | | exceed the total amount of tuition that the governing board would |
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| 16 | 16 | | have charged under this section to a similarly situated student in |
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| 17 | 17 | | the preceding academic year, as that amount is adjusted for each |
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| 18 | 18 | | academic year for inflation as determined under Subsection (h). |
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| 19 | 19 | | The governing board may not increase the amount of tuition charged |
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| 20 | 20 | | under this section to a student more than once in any academic year. |
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| 21 | 21 | | For purposes of this subsection, students are similarly situated if |
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| 22 | 22 | | they share the same residency status, degree program, course load, |
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| 23 | 23 | | course level, tuition exemption status, and other circumstances |
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| 24 | 24 | | affecting the tuition charged to the student. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (h) Not later than March 1 of each year, the Texas Higher |
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| 26 | 26 | | Education Coordinating Board by rule shall determine the inflation |
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| 27 | 27 | | rate to be used for purposes of Subsection (g) for the next academic |
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| 28 | 28 | | year and shall certify that rate to the governing board of each |
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| 29 | 29 | | institution of higher education to which Subsection (g) applies. |
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| 30 | 30 | | For purposes of Subsection (g), the inflation rate is the |
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| 31 | 31 | | percentage increase, if any, as expressed in decimal form rounded |
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| 32 | 32 | | to the nearest thousandth, in the consumer price index, as defined |
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| 33 | 33 | | by Section 341.201, Finance Code, for the preceding calendar year |
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| 34 | 34 | | as compared to the consumer price index for the year preceding that |
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| 35 | 35 | | year. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (i) The coordinating board may adopt rules as necessary to |
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| 37 | 37 | | administer Subsections (g) and (h). |
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| 38 | 38 | | (j) In this section, "general academic teaching |
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| 39 | 39 | | institution" and "public state college" have the meanings assigned |
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| 40 | 40 | | by Section 61.003. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act to Section |
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| 42 | 42 | | 54.0513, Education Code, apply beginning with tuition charged for |
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| 43 | 43 | | the 2010-2011 academic year. Tuition charged for an academic year |
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| 44 | 44 | | before that academic year is covered by the law in effect before the |
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| 45 | 45 | | effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in |
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| 46 | 46 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 48 | 48 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 49 | 49 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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