Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3470 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Patrick, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Ogden) H.B. No. 3470
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011;
3	3	May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran
4	4	Affairs and Military Installations; May 12, 2011, reported
5	5	favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 12, 2011,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 61.9772(a), Education Code, is amended
14	14	to read as follows:
15	15	(a) To receive an initial scholarship under this
16	16	subchapter, a student must:
17	17	(1) be enrolled [as a freshman] in a public or private
18	18	institution of higher education in this state;
19	19	(2) enroll in and be a member in good standing of a
20	20	Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program while enrolled in a
21	21	public or private institution of higher education in this state;
22	22	(3) be appointed to receive a scholarship by the
23	23	governor, the lieutenant governor, a state senator, or a state
24	24	representative; and
25	25	(4) enter into an agreement with the board under
26	26	Section 61.9773.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 61.9773(a), Education Code, is amended
28	28	to read as follows:
29	29	(a) To receive a scholarship under this subchapter, a
30	30	student must enter into an agreement with the board as provided by
31	31	this section. The agreement must require the student to:
32	32	(1) complete four years of ROTC training;
33	33	(2) graduate not later than six [five] years after the
34	34	date the student first enrolls in a public or private institution of
35	35	higher education in this state;
36	36	(3) after graduation, enter into:
37	37	(A) a four-year commitment to be a member of the
38	38	Texas Army National Guard, Texas [or] Air [Force] National Guard,
39	39	Texas State Guard, United States Coast Guard, or United States
40	40	Merchant Marine; or
41	41	(B) a contract to serve as a commissioned officer
42	42	in any branch of the armed services of the United States;
43	43	(4) meet the physical examination requirements and all
44	44	other prescreening requirements of the Texas Army National Guard,
45	45	Texas [or] Air [Force] National Guard, Texas State Guard, United
46	46	States Coast Guard, or United States Merchant Marine or the branch
47	47	of the armed services with which the student enters into a contract;
48	48	and
49	49	(5) agree to repay the scholarship if the student:
50	50	(A) fails to maintain satisfactory academic
51	51	progress;
52	52	(B) withdraws from the scholarship program; or
53	53	(C) fails to fulfill a commitment or contract
54	54	described by Subdivision (3).
55	55	SECTION 3. Sections 61.9774 and 61.9775, Education Code,
56	56	are amended to read as follows:
57	57	Sec. 61.9774. RULES. [(a)] The board shall adopt rules as
58	58	necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including
59	59	rules regarding the eligibility criteria and the selection of
60	60	scholarship recipients.
61	61	[(b) The board by rule shall provide that any amount paid to
62	62	a student by a branch of the armed services of the United States
63	63	during an academic year for which the student receives a
64	64	scholarship under this subchapter because the student is under a
65	65	contract with that branch shall be deducted from the amount of the
66	66	scholarship awarded to the student for that academic year.]
67	67	Sec. 61.9775. LIMITATIONS [LIMITATION] ON SCHOLARSHIP. (a)
68	68	A person may not receive a scholarship under this subchapter after
69	69	earning a cumulative total of 150 credit hours or after being
70	70	awarded a baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first.
71	71	(b) A scholarship awarded to a student under this subchapter
72	72	shall be reduced for an academic year by the amount by which the
73	73	full amount of the scholarship plus the total amount to be paid to
74	74	the student for being under contract with one of the branches of the
75	75	armed services of the United States exceeds the student's total
76	76	cost of attendance for that academic year at the public or private
77	77	institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled.
78	78	SECTION 4. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
79	79	shall adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter FF, Chapter
80	80	61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable
81	81	after this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating
82	82	board may adopt the rules in the manner provided by law for
83	83	emergency rules.
84	84	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
85	85	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
86	86	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
87	87	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
88	88	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
89	89	* * * * *