Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB297 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	S.B. No. 297
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to resident tuition rates and fees at public institutions
6	6	of higher education for certain veterans and servicemembers and
7	7	their spouses and children.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 54.058, Education Code, is amended by
10	10	adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
11	11	(k) A person is entitled to pay tuition and fees at an
12	12	institution of higher education at the rates provided for Texas
13	13	residents without regard to the length of time the person has
14	14	resided in this state if the person files with the institution at
15	15	which the person intends to register a letter of intent to establish
16	16	residence in this state and resides in this state while enrolled in
17	17	the institution and the person:
18	18	(1) is eligible for benefits under the federal
19	19	Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (38 U.S.C.
20	20	Section 3301 et seq.) or any other federal law authorizing
21	21	educational benefits for veterans;
22	22	(2) is the spouse of a person described by Subdivision
23	23	(1); or
24	24	(3) is a child of a person described by Subdivision (1)
25	25	who is 25 years of age or younger on the first day of the semester or
26	26	other academic term for which the person is registering, except
27	27	that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by rule shall
28	28	prescribe procedures by which a person who suffered from a severe
29	29	illness or other debilitating condition that affected the person's
30	30	ability to use the benefit provided by this subsection before
31	31	reaching that age may be granted additional time to use the benefit
32	32	corresponding to the time the person was unable to use the benefit
33	33	because of the illness or condition.
34	34	(l) In this section, "child" includes a stepchild.
35	35	SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by
36	36	adding Subsection (b-2) to read as follows:
37	37	(b-2) The governing board of an institution of higher
38	38	education shall exempt from the payment of resident tuition at the
39	39	institution a dependent child, including a stepchild, of a member
40	40	of the Armed Forces of the United States who is a resident of this
41	41	state or is entitled to pay resident tuition under this subchapter,
42	42	for any semester or other academic term during which the member of
43	43	the armed forces is deployed on active duty for the purpose of
44	44	engaging in a combative military operation outside the United
45	45	States. In its appropriations to institutions of higher education,
46	46	the legislature shall provide sufficient funds to cover the full
47	47	costs of the exemptions provided by this subsection.
48	48	SECTION 3. Subsection (k), Section 54.058, Education Code,
49	49	as added by this Act, applies beginning with tuition and other fees
50	50	charged for the 2009 fall semester. Tuition and other fees charged
51	51	for an academic period before that semester are covered by the law
52	52	in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
53	53	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
54	54	SECTION 4. Subsection (b-2), Section 54.203, Education
55	55	Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with tuition charged
56	56	for the 2009 fall semester. Tuition charged for an academic period
57	57	before that semester is covered by the law in effect immediately
58	58	before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is
59	59	continued in effect for that purpose.
60	60	SECTION 5. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
61	61	shall adopt the rules required by Subdivision (3), Subsection (k),
62	62	Section 54.058, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
63	63	practicable after this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the
64	64	coordinating board may adopt the initial rules in the manner
65	65	provided by law for emergency rules.
66	66	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
67	67	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
68	68	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
69	69	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
70	70	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
71	71	______________________________ ______________________________
72	72	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
73	73	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 297 passed the Senate on
74	74	March 24, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
75	75	the Senate concurred in House amendments on June 1, 2009, by the
76	76	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
77	77	______________________________
78	78	Secretary of the Senate
79	79	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 297 passed the House, with
80	80	amendments, on April 8, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148,
81	81	Nays 0, one present not voting.
82	82	______________________________
83	83	Chief Clerk of the House
84	84	Approved:
85	85	______________________________
86	86	Date
87	87	______________________________
88	88	Governor