By: Patrick, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Ogden) H.B. No. 3470
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011;
May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran
Affairs and Military Installations; May 12, 2011, reported
favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 12, 2011,
sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.9772(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) To receive an initial scholarship under this
subchapter, a student must:
(1) be enrolled [as a freshman] in a public or private
institution of higher education in this state;
(2) enroll in and be a member in good standing of a
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program while enrolled in a
public or private institution of higher education in this state;
(3) be appointed to receive a scholarship by the
governor, the lieutenant governor, a state senator, or a state
representative; and
(4) enter into an agreement with the board under
Section 61.9773.
SECTION 2. Section 61.9773(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) To receive a scholarship under this subchapter, a
student must enter into an agreement with the board as provided by
this section. The agreement must require the student to:
(1) complete four years of ROTC training;
(2) graduate not later than six [five] years after the
date the student first enrolls in a public or private institution of
higher education in this state;
(3) after graduation, enter into:
(A) a four-year commitment to be a member of the
Texas Army National Guard, Texas [or] Air [Force] National Guard,
Texas State Guard, United States Coast Guard, or United States
Merchant Marine; or
(B) a contract to serve as a commissioned officer
in any branch of the armed services of the United States;
(4) meet the physical examination requirements and all
other prescreening requirements of the Texas Army National Guard,
Texas [or] Air [Force] National Guard, Texas State Guard, United
States Coast Guard, or United States Merchant Marine or the branch
of the armed services with which the student enters into a contract;
and
(5) agree to repay the scholarship if the student:
(A) fails to maintain satisfactory academic
progress;
(B) withdraws from the scholarship program; or
(C) fails to fulfill a commitment or contract
described by Subdivision (3).
SECTION 3. Sections 61.9774 and 61.9775, Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.9774. RULES. [(a)] The board shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including
rules regarding the eligibility criteria and the selection of
scholarship recipients.
[(b) The board by rule shall provide that any amount paid to
a student by a branch of the armed services of the United States
during an academic year for which the student receives a
scholarship under this subchapter because the student is under a
contract with that branch shall be deducted from the amount of the
scholarship awarded to the student for that academic year.]
Sec. 61.9775. LIMITATIONS [LIMITATION] ON SCHOLARSHIP. (a)
A person may not receive a scholarship under this subchapter after
earning a cumulative total of 150 credit hours or after being
awarded a baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first.
(b) A scholarship awarded to a student under this subchapter
shall be reduced for an academic year by the amount by which the
full amount of the scholarship plus the total amount to be paid to
the student for being under contract with one of the branches of the
armed services of the United States exceeds the student's total
cost of attendance for that academic year at the public or private
institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled.
SECTION 4. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter FF, Chapter
61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable
after this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating
board may adopt the rules in the manner provided by law for
emergency rules.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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