Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1537 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R28420 KJM-D
2	2	By: Van de Putte, et al. S.B. No. 1537
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1537:
4	4	By: Farias C.S.S.B. No. 1537
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
10	10	higher education for certain military personnel and their
11	11	dependents and for the spouses and children of certain deceased,
12	12	missing, and disabled military personnel.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by
15	15	amending Subsections (a), (b), (b-1), (d), (g), and (h) and adding
16	16	Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and (k) to read as follows:
17	17	(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
18	18	education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
19	19	tuition, [all] dues, fees, and other required charges, including
20	20	fees for correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees,
21	21	student services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board,
22	22	or clothing, provided the person [persons] seeking the exemption
23	23	[exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they] entered the
24	24	service at a location in this state, declared this state as the
25	25	person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
26	26	military or other service, or would have been determined to be a
27	27	resident of this state for purposes of Subchapter B at the time the
28	28	person entered the service [services indicated and have resided in
29	29	Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of
30	30	registration]:
31	31	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
32	32	armed forces of the United States who served during the
33	33	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
34	34	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
35	35	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
36	36	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
37	37	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
38	38	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
39	39	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
40	40	person [he] be discharged from service;
41	41	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
42	42	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
43	43	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
44	44	the Korean War; and
45	45	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
46	46	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
47	47	duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
48	48	portion of their active duty during:
49	49	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
50	50	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) [of
51	51	this subsection];
52	52	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
53	53	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
54	54	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
55	55	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
56	56	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
57	57	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
58	58	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
59	59	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
60	60	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
61	61	(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
62	62	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
63	63	(G) any future national emergency declared in
64	64	accordance with federal law.
65	65	(a-1) A person who before the 2009-2010 academic year
66	66	received an exemption provided by Subsection (a) continues to be
67	67	eligible for the exemption provided by that subsection as that
68	68	subsection existed on January 1, 2009, subject to the other
69	69	provisions of this section other than the requirement of Subsection
70	70	(a) that the person must have entered the service at a location in
71	71	this state, declared this state as the person's home of record, or
72	72	would have been determined to be a resident of this state for
73	73	purposes of Subchapter B at the time the person entered the service.
74	74	(a-2) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) also
75	75	apply to the spouse of:
76	76	(1) a member of the armed forces of the United States:
77	77	(A) who was killed in action;
78	78	(B) who died while in service;
79	79	(C) who is missing in action;
80	80	(D) whose death is documented to be directly
81	81	caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
82	82	forces of the United States; or
83	83	(E) who became totally disabled for purposes of
84	84	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
85	85	of Veterans Affairs as a result of a service-related injury; or
86	86	(2) a member of the Texas National Guard or the Texas
87	87	Air National Guard who:
88	88	(A) was killed since January 1, 1946, while on
89	89	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
90	90	States; or
91	91	(B) is totally disabled for purposes of
92	92	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
93	93	of Veterans Affairs, regardless of whether the member is eligible
94	94	to receive disability benefits from the department, as a result of a
95	95	service-related injury suffered since January 1, 1946, while on
96	96	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
97	97	States.
98	98	(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) [of this
99	99	section] also apply [and inure] to [the benefit of]:
100	100	(1) the children of members of the armed forces of the
101	101	United States:
102	102	(A) who are or were killed in action;
103	103	(B) who die or died while in service;
104	104	(C) who are missing in action;
105	105	(D) whose death is documented to be directly
106	106	caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
107	107	forces of the United States; or
108	108	(E) who became totally disabled for purposes of
109	109	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
110	110	of Veterans Affairs as a result of a service-related injury; and
111	111	(2) the [orphans or] children of members of the Texas
112	112	National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard who:
113	113	(A) were killed since January 1, 1946, while on
114	114	active duty either in the service of their state or the United
115	115	States; or
116	116	(B) are totally disabled for purposes of
117	117	employability according to the disability ratings of the Department
118	118	of Veterans Affairs, regardless of whether the members are eligible
119	119	to receive disability benefits from the department, as a result of a
120	120	service-related injury suffered since January 1, 1946, while on
121	121	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
122	122	States.
123	123	(b-1) To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or
124	124	(b), the spouse or child [a person must be a citizen of Texas and]
125	125	must be classified as a resident under Subchapter B on [have resided
126	126	in the state for at least 12 months immediately preceding] the date
127	127	of the spouse's or child's [person's] registration.
128	128	(d) The governing board of each institution of higher
129	129	education granting an exemption under this section [exemptions]
130	130	shall require every applicant claiming the [benefit of an]
131	131	exemption to submit satisfactory evidence that the applicant
132	132	qualifies for [he fulfills] the exemption [necessary citizenship
133	133	and residency requirements].
134	134	(g) The governing board of a junior college district may
135	135	establish a fee for extraordinary costs associated with a specific
136	136	course or program and may provide that the exemptions provided by
137	137	this section [Subsections (a) and (b)] do not apply to this fee.
138	138	(h) The governing board of each institution of higher
139	139	education shall electronically report to the Texas Higher Education
140	140	Coordinating Board the information required by Section 61.0516
141	141	relating to each individual receiving an exemption from fees and
142	142	charges under Subsection (a), (a-2), or (b). The institution shall
143	143	report the information not later than December 31 of each year for
144	144	the fall semester, May 31 of each year for the spring semester, and
145	145	September 30 of each year for the summer session.
146	146	(k) For purposes of this section, a person is the child of
147	147	another person if:
148	148	(1) the person is the stepchild or the biological or
149	149	adopted child of the other person; or
150	150	(2) the other person claimed the person as a dependent
151	151	on a federal income tax return filed for the preceding year or will
152	152	claim the person as a dependent on a federal income tax return for
153	153	the current year.
154	154	SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, as amended by
155	155	this Act, applies beginning with tuition, dues, fees, and other
156	156	charges for the 2009 fall semester. If a person who becomes
157	157	eligible for an exemption in that semester under that section has
158	158	paid the tuition, dues, fees, and other charges for that semester,
159	159	the institution of higher education shall refund to the student the
160	160	amount of those charges paid by the person in the amount of the
161	161	exemption. Tuition, dues, fees, and other charges for a term or
162	162	semester before the 2009 fall semester are covered by the law in
163	163	effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
164	164	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
165	165	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
166	166	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
167	167	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
168	168	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
169	169	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.