Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2688 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R25234 KYF-D
2	2	By: Lucio III, Patrick H.B. No. 2688
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2688:
4	4	By: Pickett C.S.H.B. No. 2688
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to tuition and scholarships and fee exemptions for certain
10	10	members of the armed services and certain military veterans
11	11	attending institutions of higher education.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by
14	14	adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows:
15	15	(a-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(4), a person who meets
16	16	the requirements of Subsection (a)(4), other than the requirement
17	17	that the person must have served on active military duty for more
18	18	than the stated number of days, is entitled to the exemption
19	19	provided by Subsection (a)(4) regardless of the length of the
20	20	member's active military duty if the person was a member of the
21	21	Texas National Guard or the Texas Air National Guard who was
22	22	assigned to a theater of combat operation with the armed forces of
23	23	the United States.
24	24	SECTION 2. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
25	25	Subchapter S to read as follows:
26	26	SUBCHAPTER S. ASSISTANCE FOR TUITION AND FEES FOR MEMBERS
27	27	OF TEXAS STATE GUARD
28	28	Sec. 56.501. PURPOSE. Because the Texas State Guard is the
29	29	state's only organized, trained, and equipped military force under
30	30	the direction of the governor available to respond to natural and
31	31	man-made disasters, assistance for tuition and mandatory fees is
32	32	provided under this subchapter to eligible members of the Texas
33	33	State Guard to encourage voluntary membership, to improve the
34	34	education level of its members, to diversify the composition of the
35	35	forces, and to enhance the state's workforce.
36	36	Sec. 56.502. EXEMPTION. An institution of higher education
37	37	shall exempt an eligible person from the payment of tuition and
38	38	mandatory fees for the semester credit hours for which the person
39	39	enrolls, not to exceed a total of 120 semester credit hours. If the
40	40	person is not charged tuition at the rate provided for other Texas
41	41	residents, the amount of the exemption may not exceed the amount of
42	42	tuition the person would be charged as a Texas resident for the
43	43	number of semester credit hours for which the person enrolls, not to
44	44	exceed 120 semester credit hours.
45	45	Sec. 56.503. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive an
46	46	exemption under this subchapter, a person must:
47	47	(1) be a member in good standing for at least one
48	48	calendar year, as certified by the adjutant general, of the Texas
49	49	State Guard; and
50	50	(2) commit to serve the Texas State Guard as follows:
51	51	(A) for an undergraduate program, eight years,
52	52	four years of which must be served while enrolled in an institution
53	53	of higher education and four years of which must be served following
54	54	the period of enrollment; and
55	55	(B) for a graduate program, five years, two years
56	56	of which must be served while enrolled in an institution of higher
57	57	education and three years of which must be served following the
58	58	period of enrollment.
59	59	Sec. 56.504. REPAYMENT. The Texas Higher Education
60	60	Coordinating Board by rule shall require a person who does not
61	61	fulfill the commitment to serve in the Texas State Guard under
62	62	Section 56.503(2) to repay the amount of all tuition and mandatory
63	63	fees for which the person received an exemption under this
64	64	subchapter to the institution of higher education from which the
65	65	person received the exemption.
66	66	Sec. 56.505. RULES. The Texas Higher Education
67	67	Coordinating Board shall adopt rules as necessary for the
68	68	administration of this subchapter.
69	69	SECTION 3. Section 61.9774(b), Education Code, is amended
70	70	to read as follows:
71	71	(b) The board by rule shall provide that:
72	72	(1) any amount paid to a student by a branch of the
73	73	armed services of the United States during an academic year for
74	74	which the student receives a scholarship under this subchapter
75	75	because the student is under a contract with that branch shall be
76	76	deducted from the amount of the scholarship awarded to the student
77	77	for that academic year; and
78	78	(2) after a deduction under Subdivision (1) is made,
79	79	the student is entitled to the remaining amount of the scholarship
80	80	awarded to the student under this subchapter for that academic
81	81	year, not to exceed the student's total cost of attendance for that
82	82	academic year at the public or private institution of higher
83	83	education in which the student is enrolled.
84	84	SECTION 4. The following provisions are repealed:
85	85	(1) Section 54.2155, Education Code; and
86	86	(2) Section 431.090, Government Code.
87	87	SECTION 5. (a) Section 54.203(a-3), Education Code, as
88	88	added by this Act, applies beginning with tuition and fees at a
89	89	public institution of higher education for the 2011 fall semester.
90	90	Tuition and fees for a term or semester before the 2011 fall
91	91	semester are covered by the law in effect immediately before the
92	92	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
93	93	effect for that purpose.
94	94	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
95	95	adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter S, Chapter 56,
96	96	Education Code, as added by this Act, and Section 61.9774(b),
97	97	Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after
98	98	this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating board may
99	99	adopt the rules in the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
100	100	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
101	101	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
102	102	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
103	103	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
104	104	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.