Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4415 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Farias H.B. No. 4415
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
7	7	higher education for certain military personnel and the spouses of
8	8	certain deceased and missing military personnel.
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-1), (g), and (h) and adding Subsection
12	12	(a-1) and (k)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	tuition, [all] dues, fees, and other required charges, including
16	16	fees for correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees,
17	17	student services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board,
18	18	or clothing, provided the person [persons] seeking the exemption
19	19	[exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they] entered the
20	20	service at a location in this state, declared this state as the
21	21	person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
22	22	military or other service, or would have been determined to be a
23	23	resident of this state for purposes of Subchapter B at the time the
24	24	person entered the service [services indicated and have resided in
25	25	Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of
26	26	registration]:
27	27	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
28	28	armed forces of the United States who served during the
29	29	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
30	30	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
31	31	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
32	32	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
33	33	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
34	34	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
35	35	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
36	36	person [he] be discharged from service;
37	37	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
38	38	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
39	39	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
40	40	the Korean War; and
41	41	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
42	42	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
43	43	duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
44	44	portion of their active duty during:
45	45	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
46	46	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) [of
47	47	this subsection];
48	48	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
49	49	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
50	50	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
51	51	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
52	52	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
53	53	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
54	54	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
55	55	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
56	56	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
57	57	(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
58	58	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
59	59	(G) any future national emergency declared in
60	60	accordance with federal law.
61	61	(a-1) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) also
62	62	apply to the surviving spouse of:
63	63	(1) a member of the armed forces of the United States:
64	64	(A) who was killed in action;
65	65	(B) who died while in service;
66	66	(C) who is missing in action; or
67	67	(D) whose death is documented to be directly
68	68	caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
69	69	forces of the United States; or
70	70	(2) a member of the Texas National Guard or the Texas
71	71	Air National Guard who was killed since January 1, 1946, while on
72	72	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
73	73	States.
74	74	(b-1) To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (a-1) or
75	75	(b), the spouse or child [a person must be a citizen of Texas and]
76	76	must be classified as a resident under Subchapter B on [have resided
77	77	in the state for at least 12 months immediately preceding] the date
78	78	of the spouse's or child's [person's] registration.
79	79	(g) The governing board of a junior college district may
80	80	establish a fee for extraordinary costs associated with a specific
81	81	course or program and may provide that the exemptions provided by
82	82	this section [Subsections (a) and (b)] do not apply to this fee.
83	83	(h) The governing board of each institution of higher
84	84	education shall electronically report to the Texas Higher Education
85	85	Coordinating Board the information required by Section 61.0516
86	86	relating to each individual receiving an exemption from fees and
87	87	charges under Subsection (a), (a-1), or (b). The institution shall
88	88	report the information not later than December 31 of each year for
89	89	the fall semester, May 31 of each year for the spring semester, and
90	90	September 30 of each year for the summer session.
91	91	(k) For purposes of this section, a person is the child of
92	92	another person if:
93	93	(1) the person is the stepchild or the biological or
94	94	adopted child of the other person; or
95	95	(2) the other person claimed the person as a dependent
96	96	on a federal income tax return filed for the preceding year or will
97	97	claim the person as a dependent on a federal income tax return for
98	98	the current year.
99	99	SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, as amended by
100	100	this Act, applies beginning with tuition and other fees charged for
101	101	the 2009 fall semester. Tuition and other fees charged for an
102	102	academic period before that semester are covered by the law in
103	103	effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
104	104	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
105	105	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
106	106	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
107	107	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
108	108	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
109	109	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.