H.B. No. 3452
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Armed Services
Scholarship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter FF to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER FF. TEXAS ARMED SERVICES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 61.9771. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a)
The board shall establish and administer, in accordance with this
subchapter and board rules, the Texas Armed Services Scholarship
Program under which the board provides an annual conditional
scholarship to a student who meets the eligibility criteria
prescribed by Section 61.9772 and is appointed to receive a
scholarship.
(b) The amount of a scholarship under this subchapter in an
academic year is the lesser of:
(1) $15,000; or
(2) the amount available for each scholarship from
appropriations that may be used for scholarships under this
subchapter for that academic year.
Sec. 61.9772. ELIGIBILITY; NOMINATION AND SELECTION. (a)
To receive an initial scholarship under this subchapter, a student
must:
(1) be enrolled as a freshman in a public or private
institution of higher education in this state;
(2) enroll in and be a member in good standing of a
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program while enrolled in a
public or private institution of higher education in this state;
(3) be appointed to receive a scholarship by the
governor, the lieutenant governor, a state senator, or a state
representative; and
(4) enter into an agreement with the board under
Section 61.9773.
(b) In each year, the governor and the lieutenant governor
may each appoint two students and each state senator and each state
representative may appoint one student to receive an initial
scholarship under this subchapter.
(c) For a student to continue to receive a scholarship
awarded under this subchapter, the student must maintain
satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution in
which the student is enrolled.
Sec. 61.9773. AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) To receive a
scholarship under this subchapter, a student must enter into an
agreement with the board as provided by this section. The agreement
must require the student to:
(1) complete four years of ROTC training;
(2) graduate not later than five years after the date
the student first enrolls in a public or private institution of
higher education in this state;
(3) after graduation, enter into:
(A) a four-year commitment to be a member of the
Texas Army or Air Force National Guard; or
(B) a contract to serve as a commissioned officer
in any branch of the armed services of the United States;
(4) meet the physical examination requirements and all
other prescreening requirements of the Texas Army or Air Force
National Guard or the branch of the armed services with which the
student enters into a contract; and
(5) agree to repay the scholarship if the student:
(A) fails to maintain satisfactory academic
progress;
(B) withdraws from the scholarship program; or
(C) fails to fulfill a commitment or contract
described by Subdivision (3).
(b) The board shall adopt rules to exempt a student from the
repayment of a scholarship under an agreement entered into under
this section if the student is unable to meet the obligations of the
agreement solely as a result of physical inability.
Sec. 61.9774. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including
rules regarding the eligibility criteria and the selection of
scholarship recipients.
(b) The board by rule shall provide that any amount paid to a
student by a branch of the armed services of the United States
during an academic year for which the student receives a
scholarship under this subchapter because the student is under a
contract with that branch shall be deducted from the amount of the
scholarship awarded to the student for that academic year.
Sec. 61.9775. LIMITATION ON SCHOLARSHIP. A person may not
receive a scholarship under this subchapter after earning a
cumulative total of 150 credit hours or after being awarded a
baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first.
Sec. 61.9776. FUNDING. The board shall administer this
subchapter using available appropriations and gifts, grants, and
donations made for the purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall award scholarships under Subchapter FF, Chapter 61, Education
Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2010-2011 academic
year. The coordinating board shall adopt the rules required by that
subchapter as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect.
SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
provision.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3452 was passed by the House on May
13, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 3452 on May 29, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 3452 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145,
Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3452 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 23, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
3452 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor