Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3452 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 3452
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the establishment of the Texas Armed Services
6	6	Scholarship.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
9	9	Subchapter FF to read as follows:
10	10	SUBCHAPTER FF. TEXAS ARMED SERVICES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
11	11	Sec. 61.9771. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a)
12	12	The board shall establish and administer, in accordance with this
13	13	subchapter and board rules, the Texas Armed Services Scholarship
14	14	Program under which the board provides an annual conditional
15	15	scholarship to a student who meets the eligibility criteria
16	16	prescribed by Section 61.9772 and is appointed to receive a
17	17	scholarship.
18	18	(b) The amount of a scholarship under this subchapter in an
19	19	academic year is the lesser of:
20	20	(1) $15,000; or
21	21	(2) the amount available for each scholarship from
22	22	appropriations that may be used for scholarships under this
23	23	subchapter for that academic year.
24	24	Sec. 61.9772. ELIGIBILITY; NOMINATION AND SELECTION. (a)
25	25	To receive an initial scholarship under this subchapter, a student
26	26	must:
27	27	(1) be enrolled as a freshman in a public or private
28	28	institution of higher education in this state;
29	29	(2) enroll in and be a member in good standing of a
30	30	Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program while enrolled in a
31	31	public or private institution of higher education in this state;
32	32	(3) be appointed to receive a scholarship by the
33	33	governor, the lieutenant governor, a state senator, or a state
34	34	representative; and
35	35	(4) enter into an agreement with the board under
36	36	Section 61.9773.
37	37	(b) In each year, the governor and the lieutenant governor
38	38	may each appoint two students and each state senator and each state
39	39	representative may appoint one student to receive an initial
40	40	scholarship under this subchapter.
41	41	(c) For a student to continue to receive a scholarship
42	42	awarded under this subchapter, the student must maintain
43	43	satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution in
44	44	which the student is enrolled.
45	45	Sec. 61.9773. AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) To receive a
46	46	scholarship under this subchapter, a student must enter into an
47	47	agreement with the board as provided by this section. The agreement
48	48	must require the student to:
49	49	(1) complete four years of ROTC training;
50	50	(2) graduate not later than five years after the date
51	51	the student first enrolls in a public or private institution of
52	52	higher education in this state;
53	53	(3) after graduation, enter into:
54	54	(A) a four-year commitment to be a member of the
55	55	Texas Army or Air Force National Guard; or
56	56	(B) a contract to serve as a commissioned officer
57	57	in any branch of the armed services of the United States;
58	58	(4) meet the physical examination requirements and all
59	59	other prescreening requirements of the Texas Army or Air Force
60	60	National Guard or the branch of the armed services with which the
61	61	student enters into a contract; and
62	62	(5) agree to repay the scholarship if the student:
63	63	(A) fails to maintain satisfactory academic
64	64	progress;
65	65	(B) withdraws from the scholarship program; or
66	66	(C) fails to fulfill a commitment or contract
67	67	described by Subdivision (3).
68	68	(b) The board shall adopt rules to exempt a student from the
69	69	repayment of a scholarship under an agreement entered into under
70	70	this section if the student is unable to meet the obligations of the
71	71	agreement solely as a result of physical inability.
72	72	Sec. 61.9774. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules as
73	73	necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including
74	74	rules regarding the eligibility criteria and the selection of
75	75	scholarship recipients.
76	76	(b) The board by rule shall provide that any amount paid to a
77	77	student by a branch of the armed services of the United States
78	78	during an academic year for which the student receives a
79	79	scholarship under this subchapter because the student is under a
80	80	contract with that branch shall be deducted from the amount of the
81	81	scholarship awarded to the student for that academic year.
82	82	Sec. 61.9775. LIMITATION ON SCHOLARSHIP. A person may not
83	83	receive a scholarship under this subchapter after earning a
84	84	cumulative total of 150 credit hours or after being awarded a
85	85	baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first.
86	86	Sec. 61.9776. FUNDING. The board shall administer this
87	87	subchapter using available appropriations and gifts, grants, and
88	88	donations made for the purposes of this subchapter.
89	89	SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
90	90	shall award scholarships under Subchapter FF, Chapter 61, Education
91	91	Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2010-2011 academic
92	92	year. The coordinating board shall adopt the rules required by that
93	93	subchapter as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect.
94	94	SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
95	95	provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
96	96	creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
97	97	entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
98	98	legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
99	99	provision.
100	100	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
101	101	______________________________ ______________________________
102	102	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
103	103	I certify that H.B. No. 3452 was passed by the House on May
104	104	13, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, 1 present, not
105	105	voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
106	106	H.B. No. 3452 on May 29, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
107	107	conference committee to consider the differences between the two
108	108	houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
109	109	on H.B. No. 3452 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145,
110	110	Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
111	111	______________________________
112	112	Chief Clerk of the House
113	113	I certify that H.B. No. 3452 was passed by the Senate, with
114	114	amendments, on May 23, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
115	115	0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
116	116	committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
117	117	that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
118	118	3452 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
119	119	______________________________
120	120	Secretary of the Senate
121	121	APPROVED: __________________
122	122	Date
123	123	__________________
124	124	Governor