81R29425 SJM-D
By: McClendon H.B. No. 2140
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2140:
By: Rose C.S.H.B. No. 2140
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
higher education for certain veterans of the Texas State Guard.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.203(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
all dues, fees, and charges, including fees for correspondence
courses but excluding general deposit fees, student services fees,
and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or clothing, provided
the persons seeking the exemptions were citizens of Texas at the
time they entered the services indicated and have resided in Texas
for at least the period of 12 months before the date of
registration:
(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the
Spanish-American War or during World War I;
(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
of the United States who served during World War II except those who
were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
person [he] be discharged from service;
(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the national
emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
the Korean War; [and]
(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
portion of their active duty during:
(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) [of
this subsection];
(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
(G) any future national emergency declared in
accordance with federal law; and
(5) all persons who:
(A) were honorably discharged from the Texas
State Guard after serving on active duty in the Texas State Guard by
call or order of the governor under Section 431.053, Government
Code, excluding training, for a cumulative period of more than 90
days; and
(B) served a portion of the active duty described
by Paragraph (A) on or after September 1, 1971.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies
beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2009 fall semester.
Tuition and fees charged for an academic term or semester 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 3. 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.