Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4047 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R903 KJM-D
2	2	By: Castro H.B. No. 4047
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the residency requirements for tuition and fee
8	8	exemptions for certain military personnel and their dependents.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a), (b), (b-1), and (d) and adding Subsection
12	12	(a-1) to read as follows:
13	13	(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
14	14	education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
15	15	all dues, fees, and charges, including fees for correspondence
16	16	courses but excluding general deposit fees, student services fees,
17	17	and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or clothing, provided
18	18	the person [persons] seeking the exemption declared this state as
19	19	the person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
20	20	military or other service [exemptions were citizens of Texas] at
21	21	the time the person [they] entered the service [services indicated]
22	22	and is a resident of this state under Subchapter B [have resided in
23	23	Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of
24	24	registration]:
25	25	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
26	26	armed forces of the United States who served during the
27	27	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
28	28	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
29	29	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
30	30	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
31	31	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
32	32	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
33	33	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
34	34	person [he] be discharged from service;
35	35	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
36	36	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
37	37	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
38	38	the Korean War; and
39	39	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
40	40	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
41	41	duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
42	42	portion of their active duty during:
43	43	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
44	44	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) [of
45	45	this subsection];
46	46	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
47	47	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
48	48	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
49	49	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
50	50	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
51	51	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
52	52	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
53	53	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
54	54	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
55	55	(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
56	56	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
57	57	(G) any future national emergency declared in
58	58	accordance with federal law.
59	59	(a-1) A person who received an exemption provided by
60	60	Subsection (a) in the 2008-2009 academic year continues to be
61	61	eligible for the exemption provided by that subsection as long as
62	62	the person is continuously enrolled in an institution of higher
63	63	education, subject to the other provisions of this section other
64	64	than the requirement of Subsection (a) that the person must have
65	65	declared this state as the person's home of record at the time of
66	66	entering the service.
67	67	(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) [of this
68	68	section] also apply [and inure] to [the benefit of]:
69	69	(1) the children of members of the armed forces of the
70	70	United States:
71	71	(A) who are or were killed in action;
72	72	(B) who die or died while in service;
73	73	(C) who are missing in action;
74	74	(D) whose death is documented to be directly
75	75	caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
76	76	forces of the United States; or
77	77	(E) who became totally disabled for purposes of
78	78	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
79	79	of Veterans Affairs as a result of a service-related injury; and
80	80	(2) the [orphans or] children of members of the Texas
81	81	National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard who:
82	82	(A) were killed since January 1, 1946, while on
83	83	active duty either in the service of their state or the United
84	84	States; or
85	85	(B) are totally disabled for purposes of
86	86	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
87	87	of Veterans Affairs, regardless of whether the members are eligible
88	88	to receive disability benefits from the department, as a result of a
89	89	service-related injury suffered since January 1, 1946, while on
90	90	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
91	91	States.
92	92	(b-1) To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (b), a
93	93	person must [be a citizen of Texas and must] have resided in this
94	94	[the] state for at least 12 months immediately preceding the date of
95	95	the person's registration.
96	96	(d) The governing board of each institution of higher
97	97	education granting an exemption under this section [exemptions]
98	98	shall require every applicant claiming the [benefit of an]
99	99	exemption to submit satisfactory evidence that the applicant
100	100	qualifies for [he fulfills] the exemption [necessary citizenship
101	101	and residency requirements].
102	102	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies
103	103	beginning with tuition and fees for the 2009 fall semester. Tuition
104	104	and fees for a term or semester before the 2009 fall semester are
105	105	covered by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
106	106	of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
107	107	purpose.
108	108	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
109	109	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
110	110	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
111	111	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
112	112	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.