| 1 | 1 | | 81R3151 KJM-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Gallego H.B. No. 812 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | higher education for the spouses of certain 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 Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-2) to read as |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | (b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) [of this |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | section] also apply [and inure] to [the benefit of]: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | (1) the children of a member [members] of the armed |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | forces of the United States: |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | (A) who was [are or were] killed in action; |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (B) who [die or] died while in service; |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | (C) who is [are] missing in action; |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (D) whose death is documented to be directly |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | forces of the United States; or |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (E) who became totally disabled for purposes of |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | employability according to the disability ratings of the Department |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | of Veterans Affairs as a result of a service-related injury; and |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (2) the [orphans or] children and the current or |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | surviving spouse of a member [members] of the Texas National Guard |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | and the Texas Air National Guard who: |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | (A) was [were] killed since January 1, 1946, |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | while on active duty either in the service of this [their] state or |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | the United States; or |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (B) is [are] totally disabled for purposes of |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | employability according to the disability ratings of the Department |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | of Veterans Affairs, regardless of whether the member is [members |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | are] eligible to receive disability benefits from the department, |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | as a result of a service-related injury suffered since January 1, |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 1946, while on active duty either in the service of this state or |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | the United States. |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | (b-2) The eligibility of a spouse under Subsection (b) for |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | an exemption provided for in Subsection (a) expires on the earlier |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | of: |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (1) the date the spouse remarries; or |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | (2) the 10th anniversary of: |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | (A) the date of the death of the member of |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | the Texas National Guard or the Texas Air National Guard, as |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | applicable; or |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | (B) the date the member was initially |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | determined to be totally disabled as described by Subsection |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (b)(2)(B). |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, as amended by |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | this Act, applies beginning with tuition and other fees charged for |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | the first term or semester that begins after the effective date of |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | this Act, but not earlier than the 2009 fall semester. Tuition and |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | other fees charged for an academic period before that term or |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | semester are covered by the law in effect immediately before the |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | effect for that purpose. |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
|---|