81R12883 KSD-D
By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3940
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student loan repayment assistance for certain state
employees.
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. STATE EMPLOYEE LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Sec. 61.9781. REPAYMENT AUTHORIZED. The board shall
establish a program to provide, using funds appropriated for that
purpose and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the
board, assistance in the repayment of student loans for full-time
state employees who apply and qualify for the assistance.
Sec. 61.9782. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive
repayment assistance, a person:
(1) must apply for the assistance in the manner
prescribed by the board;
(2) must be currently employed full-time by this state
or an agency of this state;
(3) must enter into a written agreement with the board
under which the person:
(A) agrees to a continuous five-year state
employment obligation; and
(B) acknowledges the conditional nature of the
repayment assistance;
(4) may not be receiving loan repayment assistance
from any other source; and
(5) must comply with any other requirements adopted by
board rule under this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9783. EXCEPTION TO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT
REQUIREMENT. The board shall excuse an otherwise eligible person
from the requirement imposed by Section 61.9782(3)(A) that the
employment be performed in consecutive years if the break in
employment is a result of the person's:
(1) service on active duty as a member of the armed
forces of the United States;
(2) temporary total disability for a period of not
more than 36 months as established by the affidavit of a qualified
physician;
(3) inability to maintain the person's full-time
employment for a period not to exceed 12 months because the person
is caring for the person's disabled spouse or child; or
(4) satisfaction of the provisions of any other
exception adopted by the board for purposes of this section.
Sec. 61.9784. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
education at an institution of higher education or a private or
independent institution of higher education in this state,
including loans for undergraduate education, received by an
eligible person through any lender.
(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
application.
(c) In each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt
to use for loan repayment assistance under this subchapter all
funds appropriated to the board for that purpose.
Sec. 61.9785. REPAYMENT. (a) For the first year of state
employment for which a person is eligible to receive repayment
assistance under this subchapter and each following consecutive
year of state employment, as described by Section 61.9782(3)(A),
not to exceed a total of five years, the board shall provide
assistance for the repayment of a portion of an eligible person's
eligible loans. The board shall reduce the amount of a single
assistance payment or refrain from making an assistance payment to
an eligible person as necessary to avoid making total payments
under this section to the person in an amount greater than the total
amount of principal and interest due on the person's eligible
loans.
(b) The board shall deliver any repayment under this
subchapter in a lump sum:
(1) payable to both the state employee and the lender
or other holder of the affected loan; or
(2) delivered on the state employee's behalf directly
to the lender or other holder of the loan.
(c) A repayment under this subchapter may be applied to any
amount due in connection with the loan.
Sec. 61.9786. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. The total
amount of repayment assistance distributed by the board under this
subchapter may not exceed the total amount of gifts and grants
accepted by the board for repayment assistance, legislative
appropriations for repayment assistance, and other funds available
to the board for purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9787. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
necessary to administer this subchapter.
(b) The board shall distribute to each state agency copies
of the rules adopted under this section and other pertinent
information relating to this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9788. SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS. The
board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or
private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt the rules for repayment assistance under Subchapter FF,
Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
December 1, 2009.
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.