Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1163 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Keffer (Senate Sponsor - Hegar) H.B. No. 1163
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2011;
3	3	April 29, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
4	4	Education; May 19, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 19, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
11	11	higher education for certain peace officers and firefighters.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 54.208, Education Code, as amended by
14	14	Chapters 1285 (H.B. 2013) and 1299 (H.B. 2347), Acts of the 81st
15	15	Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, is reenacted to read as
16	16	follows:
17	17	Sec. 54.208. FIREFIGHTERS ENROLLED IN FIRE SCIENCE COURSES.
18	18	(a) The governing board of an institution of higher education
19	19	shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory fees any
20	20	student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of a fire
21	21	science curriculum who:
22	22	(1) is employed as a firefighter by a political
23	23	subdivision of this state; or
24	24	(2) is currently, and has been for at least one year,
25	25	an active member of an organized volunteer fire department in this
26	26	state, as defined by the fire fighters' pension commissioner, who
27	27	holds:
28	28	(A) an Accredited Advanced level of
29	29	certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the
30	30	State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer
31	31	certification program; or
32	32	(B) Phase V (Firefighter II) certification, or an
33	33	equivalent successor certification, under the Texas Commission on
34	34	Fire Protection's voluntary certification program under Section
35	35	419.071, Government Code.
36	36	(b) An exemption provided under this section does not apply
37	37	to deposits that may be required in the nature of security for the
38	38	return or proper care of property loaned for the use of students.
39	39	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who for a
40	40	semester or term at an institution of higher education receives an
41	41	exemption under this section may continue to receive the exemption
42	42	for a subsequent semester or term at any institution only if the
43	43	student makes satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or
44	44	certificate at that institution as determined by the institution
45	45	for purposes of financial aid.
46	46	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
47	47	under this section does not apply to any amount of additional
48	48	tuition the institution elects to charge a resident undergraduate
49	49	student under Section 54.014(a) or (f).
50	50	(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the exemption provided
51	51	under this section does not apply to any amount of tuition the
52	52	institution charges a graduate student in excess of the amount of
53	53	tuition charged to similarly situated graduate students because the
54	54	student has a number of semester credit hours of doctoral work in
55	55	excess of the applicable number provided by Section 61.059(l)(1) or
56	56	(2).
57	57	(f) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
58	58	adopt:
59	59	(1) rules governing the granting or denial of an
60	60	exemption under this section, including rules relating to the
61	61	determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and
62	62	(2) a uniform listing of degree programs covered by
63	63	the exemption under this section.
64	64	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
65	65	amended by adding Section 54.2081 to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 54.2081. PEACE OFFICERS ENROLLED IN CERTAIN COURSES.
67	67	(a) The governing board of an institution of higher education
68	68	shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory fees
69	69	charged by the institution for a criminal justice or law
70	70	enforcement course or courses an undergraduate student who:
71	71	(1) is employed as a peace officer by this state or by
72	72	a political subdivision of this state;
73	73	(2) is enrolled in a criminal justice or law
74	74	enforcement-related degree program at the institution;
75	75	(3) is making satisfactory academic progress toward
76	76	the student's degree as determined by the institution; and
77	77	(4) applies for the exemption at least one week before
78	78	the last date of the institution's regular registration period for
79	79	the applicable semester or other term.
80	80	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student may not
81	81	receive an exemption under this section for any course if the
82	82	student has previously attempted a number of semester credit hours
83	83	for courses taken at any institution of higher education while
84	84	classified as a resident student for tuition purposes in excess of
85	85	the maximum number of those hours specified by Section 61.0595(a)
86	86	as eligible for funding under the formulas established under
87	87	Section 61.059.
88	88	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the governing board of
89	89	an institution of higher education may not provide exemptions under
90	90	this section to students enrolled in a specific class in a number
91	91	that exceeds 20 percent of the maximum student enrollment
92	92	designated by the institution for that class.
93	93	(d) An exemption provided under this section does not apply
94	94	to deposits that may be required in the nature of security for the
95	95	return or proper care of property loaned for the use of students.
96	96	(e) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
97	97	adopt:
98	98	(1) rules governing the granting or denial of an
99	99	exemption under this section, including rules relating to the
100	100	determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and
101	101	(2) a uniform listing of degree programs covered by
102	102	the exemption under this section.
103	103	(f) If the legislature does not specifically appropriate
104	104	funds to an institution of higher education in an amount sufficient
105	105	to pay the institution's costs in complying with this section for a
106	106	semester, the governing board of the institution of higher
107	107	education shall report to the Senate Finance Committee and the
108	108	House Appropriations Committee the cost to the institution of
109	109	complying with this section for that semester.
110	110	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
111	111	exemption from tuition and fees beginning with the 2011 fall
112	112	semester.
113	113	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
114	114	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
115	115	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
116	116	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
117	117	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
118	118	* * * * *