H.B. No. 2013
AN ACT
relating to tuition and laboratory fee exemptions at public
institutions of higher education for certain volunteer
firefighters enrolled in fire science courses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.208, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 54.208. FIREFIGHTERS [FIREMEN] ENROLLED IN FIRE
SCIENCE COURSES. (a) The governing board of an institution of
higher education [boards of the state institutions of collegiate
rank supported in whole or in part by public funds] shall exempt
from the payment of tuition and laboratory fees any student
enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of a fire science
curriculum who:
(1) [person who] is employed as a firefighter
[fireman] by a [any] political subdivision of this [the] state; or
(2) is currently, and has been for at least one year,
an active member of an organized volunteer fire department in this
state, as defined by the fire fighters' pension commissioner, who
holds:
(A) an Accredited Advanced level of
certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the
State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer
certification program; or
(B) Phase V (Firefighter II) certification, or an
equivalent successor certification, under the Texas Commission on
Fire Protection's voluntary certification program under Section
419.071, Government Code [and who enrolls in a course or courses
offered as part of a fire science curriculum].
(b) An [The] exemption provided under this section does not
apply to deposits that [which] may be required in the nature of
security for the return or proper care of property loaned for the
use of students.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who for a
semester or term at an institution of higher education receives an
exemption under this section may continue to receive the exemption
for a subsequent semester or term at any institution only if the
student makes satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or
certificate at that institution as determined by the institution
for purposes of financial aid.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
under this section does not apply to any amount of additional
tuition the institution elects to charge a resident undergraduate
student under Section 54.014(a) or (f).
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
under this section does not apply to any amount of tuition the
institution charges a graduate student in excess of the amount of
tuition charged to similarly situated graduate students because the
student has a number of semester credit hours of doctoral work in
excess of the applicable number provided by Section 61.059(l)(1) or
(2).
(f) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt:
(1) rules governing the granting or denial of an
exemption under this section, including rules relating to the
determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and
(2) a uniform listing of degree programs covered by
the exemption under this section.
SECTION 2. A student who received an exemption under
Section 54.208, Education Code, before the 2009 fall semester may
continue to receive the exemption under the provisions of that
section as it existed immediately before the effective date of this
Act as long as the student remains enrolled in the same degree or
certificate program and is otherwise eligible to continue to
receive the exemption under that former law.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
54.208, Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and laboratory
fees charged for the 2009 fall semester. Tuition and laboratory
fees charged for an academic period before the 2009 fall semester
are covered by the law in effect immediately before the effective
date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2013 was passed by the House on May
11, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 125, Nays 20, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2013 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2013 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor