| 1 | 1 | | 81R3067 SJM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Veasey H.B. No. 380 |
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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 tuition and fees charged to employees of public |
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| 8 | 8 | | institutions of higher education and a spouse, child, or dependent |
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| 9 | 9 | | of those employees. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.059, Education Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 54.059. FACULTY AND DEPENDENTS. (a) In this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Child" means a child of any age. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) "Faculty member" has the meaning assigned by |
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| 16 | 16 | | Section 51.917. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) A faculty member or other employee [teacher or |
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| 18 | 18 | | professor] of an institution of higher education[,] and the spouse, |
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| 19 | 19 | | child, or dependent [and children] of the employee who enrolls in |
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| 20 | 20 | | any institution of higher education is [such a teacher or |
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| 21 | 21 | | professor, are] entitled to pay [register in an institution of |
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| 22 | 22 | | higher education by paying the] tuition [fee] and [other] fees at |
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| 23 | 23 | | the rate established by the governing board of the institution at |
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| 24 | 24 | | which the person is enrolled. That rate may not exceed one-half of |
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| 25 | 25 | | the rate charged by the institution to a similarly situated |
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| 26 | 26 | | resident student who is not entitled to pay tuition at a reduced |
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| 27 | 27 | | rate under this section [or charges required for Texas residents |
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| 28 | 28 | | without regard to the length of time the teacher or professor has |
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| 29 | 29 | | resided in Texas]. For purposes of this subsection, students are |
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| 30 | 30 | | similarly situated if they share the same residency status, degree |
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| 31 | 31 | | program, course load, course level, tuition exemption status, and |
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| 32 | 32 | | other circumstances affecting the tuition charged to the student. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) A faculty member or other employee [teacher or |
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| 34 | 34 | | professor] of an institution of higher education and a spouse, |
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| 35 | 35 | | child, or dependent of the employee is [the teacher's or professor's |
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| 36 | 36 | | family are] entitled to the benefits provided by [benefit of] this |
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| 37 | 37 | | section only if: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1) the employee [teacher or professor] is employed at |
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| 39 | 39 | | least one-half time on a regular monthly salary basis by an |
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| 40 | 40 | | institution of higher education; and |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2) neither the employee nor the employee's spouse |
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| 42 | 42 | | holds an elective public office in this state. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (d) An institution of higher education may not consider a |
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| 44 | 44 | | person's eligibility for the benefits provided by this section in |
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| 45 | 45 | | determining whether to admit the person to the institution. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies |
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| 47 | 47 | | beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2009 fall semester. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 49 | 49 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 50 | 50 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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