By: Ogden S.B. No. 1581
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2011; March 23, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 26, 2011,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 6; April 26, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1581 By: Ogden
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state fiscal matters related to public and higher
education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES
GENERALLY
SECTION 1.01. This article applies to any state agency,
school, institution of higher education, or other entity that
receives an appropriation under Article III of the General
Appropriations Act.
SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this
state, each entity to which this article applies is authorized to
reduce or recover expenditures by:
(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
entity is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
(2) extending the effective period of any license,
permit, or registration the entity grants or administers;
(3) entering into a contract with another governmental
entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the entity's
duties;
(4) adopting additional eligibility requirements for
persons who receive benefits under any law the entity administers
to ensure that those benefits are received by the most deserving
persons consistent with the purposes for which the benefits are
provided;
(5) providing that any communication between the
entity and another person and any document required to be delivered
to or by the entity, including any application, notice, billing
statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
e-mail or through the Internet; and
(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
any costs the entity incurs in performing its lawful functions.
ARTICLE 2. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING ADVANCED PLACEMENT
SECTION 2.01. Subsection (h), Section 28.053, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(h) The commissioner may enter into agreements with the
college board and the International Baccalaureate Organization to
pay for all examinations taken by eligible public school students.
An eligible student is a student [one] who:
(1) takes a college advanced placement or
international baccalaureate course at a public school or who is
recommended by the student's principal or teacher to take the test;
and
(2) demonstrates financial need as determined in
accordance with guidelines adopted by the board that are consistent
with the definition of financial need adopted by the college board
or the International Baccalaureate Organization.
ARTICLE 3. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
SECTION 3.01. Subchapter K, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.2012 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.2012. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER; ELIGIBILITY
CLOSED. (a) This subchapter expires September 1, 2017.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 56.203, a person may not
receive an award under this subchapter if the person graduates from
high school on or after September 1, 2011.
SECTION 3.02. Subsection (b), Section 54.213, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) [Savings to the foundation school fund that occur as a
result of the Early High School Graduation Scholarship program
created in Subchapter K, Chapter 56, and that are not required for
the funding of state credits for tuition and mandatory fees under
Section 56.204 or school district credits under Section 56.2075
shall be used first to provide tuition exemptions under Section
54.212. Any of those savings remaining after providing tuition
exemptions under Section 54.212 shall be used to provide tuition
exemptions under Section 54.214.] The Texas Education Agency shall
[also] accept and make available to provide tuition exemptions
under Section 54.214 gifts, grants, and donations made to the
agency for that purpose. The commissioner of education shall
transfer those funds to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board to distribute to institutions of higher education that
provide exemptions under that section [Payment of funds under this
subsection shall be made in the manner provided by Section 56.207
for state credits under Subchapter K, Chapter 56].
SECTION 3.03. Section 56.210, Education Code, is repealed.
ARTICLE 4. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING TUITION EXEMPTIONS
SECTION 4.01. Subsection (c), Section 54.214, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) To be eligible for an exemption under this section, a
person must:
(1) be a resident of this state;
(2) be a school employee serving in any capacity;
(3) for the initial term or semester for which the
person receives an exemption under this section, have worked as an
educational aide for at least one school year during the five years
preceding that term or semester;
(4) establish financial need as determined by
coordinating board rule;
(5) be enrolled at the institution of higher education
granting the exemption in courses required for teacher
certification in one or more subject areas determined by the Texas
Education Agency to be experiencing a critical shortage of teachers
at the public schools in this state [at the institution of higher
education granting the exemption];
(6) maintain an acceptable grade point average as
determined by coordinating board rule; and
(7) comply with any other requirements adopted by the
coordinating board under this section.
SECTION 4.02. The change in law made by this article applies
beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2011 fall semester.
Tuition and fees charged for a term or semester before the 2011 fall
semester are covered by the law in effect during the term or
semester for which the tuition and fees are charged, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
ARTICLE 5. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING CERTAIN DISTRIBUTIONS TO
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
SECTION 5.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 63, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 63.0035 to read as follows:
Sec. 63.0035. LIQUIDATION OF INSTITUTION'S SHARE OF FUND.
(a) The comptroller in consultation with the board of regents of
The University of Texas System shall establish procedures by which
any institution entitled in a state fiscal year to receive a
distribution from the permanent fund established under this
subchapter may, in lieu of receiving the distribution owed to the
institution for that year, request and receive a liquidation
distribution of the institution's proportional share of the total
value of the fund. The board of regents shall make the liquidation
distribution in accordance with the procedures established under
this section.
(b) For purposes of making a liquidation distribution under
this section:
(1) the institution's proportional share of the total
value of the fund is the same as the institution's proportional
share of the total amount of distributions from the fund made during
the preceding state fiscal year; and
(2) the total value of the fund is determined at the
close of business on the date on which the institution makes its
request for a liquidation distribution.
(c) Any expenses associated with the liquidation
distribution shall be deducted from the amount of the liquidation
distribution before payment is made to the institution.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 63.002(c), an institution that
receives a liquidation distribution of the institution's
proportional share of the fund is not entitled to any subsequent
distributions from the fund.
(e) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this
subchapter, an institution that receives a liquidation
distribution under this section may use those funds for any lawful
purpose of the institution. The comptroller shall establish
procedures to ensure that a liquidation distribution to Baylor
College of Medicine is used for public purposes consistent with a
contract in effect under Section 61.092.
ARTICLE 6. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING DUAL HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR
COLLEGE CREDIT
SECTION 6.01. Subsection (c), Section 130.008, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The contact hours attributable to the enrollment of a
high school student in a course offered for joint high school and
junior college credit under this section, excluding a course for
which the student attending high school may receive course credit
toward the physical education curriculum requirement under Section
28.002(a)(2)(C), shall be included in the contact hours used to
determine the junior college's proportionate share of the state
money appropriated and distributed to public junior colleges under
Sections 130.003 and 130.0031, even if the junior college waives
all or part of the tuition or fees for the student under Subsection
(b).
SECTION 6.02. This article applies beginning with funding
for the 2011 fall semester.
ARTICLE 7. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 7.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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