Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3639 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R22338 KKA-D
2	2	By: Pitts, Aycock H.B. No. 3639
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3639:
4	4	By: Pitts C.S.H.B. No. 3639
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to state fiscal matters related to public and higher
10	10	education.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES
13	13	AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES GENERALLY
14	14	SECTION 1.01. This article applies to any state agency,
15	15	school, institution of higher education, or other entity that
16	16	receives an appropriation under Article III of the General
17	17	Appropriations Act.
18	18	SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this
19	19	state, each entity to which this article applies is authorized to
20	20	reduce or recover expenditures by:
21	21	(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
22	22	entity is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
23	23	reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
24	24	(2) extending the effective period of any license,
25	25	permit, or registration the entity grants or administers;
26	26	(3) entering into a contract with another governmental
27	27	entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the entity's
28	28	duties;
29	29	(4) adopting additional eligibility requirements for
30	30	persons who receive benefits under any law the entity administers
31	31	to ensure that those benefits are received by the most deserving
32	32	persons consistent with the purposes for which the benefits are
33	33	provided;
34	34	(5) providing that any communication between the
35	35	entity and another person and any document required to be delivered
36	36	to or by the entity, including any application, notice, billing
37	37	statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
38	38	e-mail or through the Internet; and
39	39	(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
40	40	any costs the entity incurs in performing its lawful functions.
41	41	ARTICLE 2. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING RETIRED TEACHERS
42	42	SECTION 2.01. Section 825.404(a), Government Code, is
43	43	amended to read as follows:
44	44	(a) During each fiscal year, the state shall contribute to
45	45	the retirement system an amount equal to at least six and not more
46	46	than 10 percent of the aggregate annual compensation of all members
47	47	of the retirement system during that fiscal year. [The amount of
48	48	the state contribution made under this section may not be less than
49	49	the amount contributed by members during that fiscal year in
50	50	accordance with Section 825.402.]
51	51	SECTION 2.02. Section 1575.202(a), Insurance Code, is
52	52	amended to read as follows:
53	53	(a) Each state fiscal year, the state shall contribute to
54	54	the fund an amount equal to 0.5 [one] percent of the salary of each
55	55	active employee.
56	56	SECTION 2.03. The changes in law made by this article apply
57	57	beginning with the state fiscal year that begins September 1, 2011.
58	58	ARTICLE 3. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING
59	59	FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM PAYMENTS
60	60	SECTION 3.01. Sections 42.259(c), (d), and (f), Education
61	61	Code, are amended to read as follows:
62	62	(c) Payments from the foundation school fund to each
63	63	category 2 school district shall be made as follows:
64	64	(1) 22 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
65	65	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
66	66	25th day of September of a fiscal year;
67	67	(2) 18 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
68	68	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
69	69	25th day of October;
70	70	(3) 9.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
71	71	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
72	72	25th day of November;
73	73	(4) 7.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
74	74	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
75	75	25th day of April;
76	76	(5) five percent of the yearly entitlement of the
77	77	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
78	78	25th day of May;
79	79	(6) 10 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
80	80	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
81	81	25th day of June;
82	82	(7) 13 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
83	83	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
84	84	25th day of July; and
85	85	(8) 15 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
86	86	district shall be paid in an installment to be made after the 5th
87	87	day of September and not later than the 10th day of September of the
88	88	calendar year following the calendar year of the payment made under
89	89	Subdivision (1) [on or before the 25th day of August].
90	90	(d) Payments from the foundation school fund to each
91	91	category 3 school district shall be made as follows:
92	92	(1) 45 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
93	93	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
94	94	25th day of September of a fiscal year;
95	95	(2) 35 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
96	96	district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the
97	97	25th day of October; and
98	98	(3) 20 percent of the yearly entitlement of the
99	99	district shall be paid in an installment to be made after the 5th
100	100	day of September and not later than the 10th day of September of the
101	101	calendar year following the calendar year of the payment made under
102	102	Subdivision (1) [on or before the 25th day of August].
103	103	(f) Except as provided by Subsection (c)(8) or (d)(3), any
104	104	[Any] previously unpaid additional funds from prior fiscal years
105	105	owed to a district shall be paid to the district together with the
106	106	September payment of the current fiscal year entitlement.
107	107	SECTION 3.02. Section 466.355(c), Government Code, is
108	108	repealed.
109	109	SECTION 3.03. The changes made by this article to Section
110	110	42.259, Education Code, apply only to a payment from the foundation
111	111	school fund that is made on or after the effective date of this Act.
112	112	A payment to a school district from the foundation school fund that
113	113	is made before that date is governed by Section 42.259, Education
114	114	Code, as it existed before amendment by this article, and the former
115	115	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
116	116	ARTICLE 4. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING ADVANCED PLACEMENT
117	117	SECTION 4.01. Section 28.053(h), Education Code, is amended
118	118	to read as follows:
119	119	(h) The commissioner may enter into agreements with the
120	120	college board and the International Baccalaureate Organization to
121	121	pay for all examinations taken by eligible public school students.
122	122	An eligible student is a student [one] who:
123	123	(1) takes a college advanced placement or
124	124	international baccalaureate course at a public school or who is
125	125	recommended by the student's principal or teacher to take the test;
126	126	and
127	127	(2) demonstrates financial need as determined in
128	128	accordance with guidelines adopted by the board that are consistent
129	129	with the definition of financial need adopted by the college board
130	130	or the International Baccalaureate Organization.
131	131	ARTICLE 5. FISCAL MATTERS
132	132	CONCERNING EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
133	133	SECTION 5.01. Subchapter K, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
134	134	amended by adding Section 56.2012 to read as follows:
135	135	Sec. 56.2012. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER; ELIGIBILITY
136	136	CLOSED. (a) This subchapter expires September 1, 2017.
137	137	(b) Notwithstanding Section 56.203, a person may not
138	138	receive an award under this subchapter if the person graduates from
139	139	high school on or after September 1, 2011.
140	140	SECTION 5.02. Section 54.213(b), Education Code, is amended
141	141	to read as follows:
142	142	(b) [Savings to the foundation school fund that occur as a
143	143	result of the Early High School Graduation Scholarship program
144	144	created in Subchapter K, Chapter 56, and that are not required for
145	145	the funding of state credits for tuition and mandatory fees under
146	146	Section 56.204 or school district credits under Section 56.2075
147	147	shall be used first to provide tuition exemptions under Section
148	148	54.212. Any of those savings remaining after providing tuition
149	149	exemptions under Section 54.212 shall be used to provide tuition
150	150	exemptions under Section 54.214.] The Texas Education Agency shall
151	151	[also] accept and make available to provide tuition exemptions
152	152	under Section 54.214 gifts, grants, and donations made to the
153	153	agency for that purpose. The commissioner of education shall
154	154	transfer those funds to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
155	155	Board to distribute to institutions of higher education that
156	156	provide exemptions under that section. [Payment of funds under
157	157	this subsection shall be made in the manner provided by Section
158	158	56.207 for state credits under Subchapter K, Chapter 56.]
159	159	SECTION 5.03. Section 56.210, Education Code, is repealed.
160	160	ARTICLE 6. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING TUITION EXEMPTIONS
161	161	SECTION 6.01. Section 54.214(c), Education Code, is amended
162	162	to read as follows:
163	163	(c) To be eligible for an exemption under this section, a
164	164	person must:
165	165	(1) be a resident of this state;
166	166	(2) be a school employee serving in any capacity;
167	167	(3) for the initial term or semester for which the
168	168	person receives an exemption under this section, have worked as an
169	169	educational aide for at least one school year during the five years
170	170	preceding that term or semester;
171	171	(4) establish financial need as determined by
172	172	coordinating board rule;
173	173	(5) be enrolled at the institution of higher education
174	174	granting the exemption in courses required for teacher
175	175	certification in one or more subject areas determined by the Texas
176	176	Education Agency to be experiencing a critical shortage of teachers
177	177	at the public schools in this state [at the institution of higher
178	178	education granting the exemption];
179	179	(6) maintain an acceptable grade point average as
180	180	determined by coordinating board rule; and
181	181	(7) comply with any other requirements adopted by the
182	182	coordinating board under this section.
183	183	SECTION 6.02. The change in law made by this article applies
184	184	beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2011 fall semester.
185	185	Tuition and fees charged for a term or semester before the 2011 fall
186	186	semester are covered by the law in effect during the term or
187	187	semester for which the tuition and fees are charged, and the former
188	188	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
189	189	ARTICLE 7. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING DUAL
190	190	HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE CREDIT
191	191	SECTION 7.01. Section 130.008(c), Education Code, is
192	192	amended to read as follows:
193	193	(c) The contact hours attributable to the enrollment of a
194	194	high school student in a course offered for joint high school and
195	195	junior college credit under this section, excluding a course for
196	196	which the student attending high school may receive course credit
197	197	toward the physical education curriculum requirement under Section
198	198	28.002(a)(2)(C), shall be included in the contact hours used to
199	199	determine the junior college's proportionate share of the state
200	200	money appropriated and distributed to public junior colleges under
201	201	Sections 130.003 and 130.0031, even if the junior college waives
202	202	all or part of the tuition or fees for the student under Subsection
203	203	(b).
204	204	SECTION 7.02. This article applies beginning with funding
205	205	for the 2011 fall semester.
206	206	ARTICLE 8. EFFECTIVE DATE
207	207	SECTION 8.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.