Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3940 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R12883 KSD-D
2	2	By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3940
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to student loan repayment assistance for certain state
8	8	employees.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter FF to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER FF. STATE EMPLOYEE LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 61.9781. REPAYMENT AUTHORIZED. The board shall
14	14	establish a program to provide, using funds appropriated for that
15	15	purpose and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the
16	16	board, assistance in the repayment of student loans for full-time
17	17	state employees who apply and qualify for the assistance.
18	18	Sec. 61.9782. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive
19	19	repayment assistance, a person:
20	20	(1) must apply for the assistance in the manner
21	21	prescribed by the board;
22	22	(2) must be currently employed full-time by this state
23	23	or an agency of this state;
24	24	(3) must enter into a written agreement with the board
25	25	under which the person:
26	26	(A) agrees to a continuous five-year state
27	27	employment obligation; and
28	28	(B) acknowledges the conditional nature of the
29	29	repayment assistance;
30	30	(4) may not be receiving loan repayment assistance
31	31	from any other source; and
32	32	(5) must comply with any other requirements adopted by
33	33	board rule under this subchapter.
34	34	Sec. 61.9783. EXCEPTION TO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT
35	35	REQUIREMENT. The board shall excuse an otherwise eligible person
36	36	from the requirement imposed by Section 61.9782(3)(A) that the
37	37	employment be performed in consecutive years if the break in
38	38	employment is a result of the person's:
39	39	(1) service on active duty as a member of the armed
40	40	forces of the United States;
41	41	(2) temporary total disability for a period of not
42	42	more than 36 months as established by the affidavit of a qualified
43	43	physician;
44	44	(3) inability to maintain the person's full-time
45	45	employment for a period not to exceed 12 months because the person
46	46	is caring for the person's disabled spouse or child; or
47	47	(4) satisfaction of the provisions of any other
48	48	exception adopted by the board for purposes of this section.
49	49	Sec. 61.9784. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
50	50	repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
51	51	education at an institution of higher education or a private or
52	52	independent institution of higher education in this state,
53	53	including loans for undergraduate education, received by an
54	54	eligible person through any lender.
55	55	(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
56	56	student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
57	57	application.
58	58	(c) In each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt
59	59	to use for loan repayment assistance under this subchapter all
60	60	funds appropriated to the board for that purpose.
61	61	Sec. 61.9785. REPAYMENT. (a) For the first year of state
62	62	employment for which a person is eligible to receive repayment
63	63	assistance under this subchapter and each following consecutive
64	64	year of state employment, as described by Section 61.9782(3)(A),
65	65	not to exceed a total of five years, the board shall provide
66	66	assistance for the repayment of a portion of an eligible person's
67	67	eligible loans. The board shall reduce the amount of a single
68	68	assistance payment or refrain from making an assistance payment to
69	69	an eligible person as necessary to avoid making total payments
70	70	under this section to the person in an amount greater than the total
71	71	amount of principal and interest due on the person's eligible
72	72	loans.
73	73	(b) The board shall deliver any repayment under this
74	74	subchapter in a lump sum:
75	75	(1) payable to both the state employee and the lender
76	76	or other holder of the affected loan; or
77	77	(2) delivered on the state employee's behalf directly
78	78	to the lender or other holder of the loan.
79	79	(c) A repayment under this subchapter may be applied to any
80	80	amount due in connection with the loan.
81	81	Sec. 61.9786. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. The total
82	82	amount of repayment assistance distributed by the board under this
83	83	subchapter may not exceed the total amount of gifts and grants
84	84	accepted by the board for repayment assistance, legislative
85	85	appropriations for repayment assistance, and other funds available
86	86	to the board for purposes of this subchapter.
87	87	Sec. 61.9787. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
88	88	necessary to administer this subchapter.
89	89	(b) The board shall distribute to each state agency copies
90	90	of the rules adopted under this section and other pertinent
91	91	information relating to this subchapter.
92	92	Sec. 61.9788. SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS. The
93	93	board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or
94	94	private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
95	95	SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
96	96	shall adopt the rules for repayment assistance under Subchapter FF,
97	97	Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
98	98	December 1, 2009.
99	99	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
100	100	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
101	101	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
102	102	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
103	103	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.