84R25708 JRJ-D
By: Flynn H.B. No. 119
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 119:
By: Clardy C.S.H.B. No. 119
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to tuition assistance for members of the Texas State
Guard.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter S to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER S. ASSISTANCE FOR TUITION AND FEES FOR MEMBERS
OF TEXAS STATE GUARD
Sec. 56.501. PURPOSE. Because the Texas State Guard is the
state's only organized, trained, and equipped military force under
the direction of the governor available to respond to natural and
man-made disasters, assistance for tuition and mandatory fees is
provided under this subchapter to eligible members of the Texas
State Guard to encourage voluntary membership, to improve the
education level of its members, to diversify the composition of the
forces, and to enhance the state's workforce.
Sec. 56.502. EXEMPTION. An institution of higher education
shall exempt an eligible person from the payment of tuition and
mandatory fees for the semester credit hours for which the person
enrolls, not to exceed a total of 120 semester credit hours. If the
person is not charged tuition at the rate provided for other Texas
residents, the amount of the exemption may not exceed the amount of
tuition the person would be charged as a Texas resident for the
number of semester credit hours for which the person enrolls, not to
exceed 120 semester credit hours.
Sec. 56.503. ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive
an exemption under this subchapter, a person must:
(1) be a member in good standing for at least one
calendar year, as certified by the adjutant general, of the Texas
State Guard;
(2) commit to serve the Texas State Guard as follows:
(A) for an undergraduate program, eight years,
four years of which must be served while enrolled in an institution
of higher education and four years of which must be served following
the period of enrollment; and
(B) for a graduate program, five years, two years
of which must be served while enrolled in an institution of higher
education and three years of which must be served following the
period of enrollment; and
(3) be selected by the commander of the Texas State
Guard under Subsection (b).
(b) The commander of the Texas State Guard, as the commander
considers appropriate to advance the purposes of this subchapter,
may select no more than 50 members of the Texas State Guard from the
entirety of the state to receive an exemption under this subchapter
for each semester or other academic term.
Sec. 56.504. REPAYMENT. The Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board by rule shall require a person who does not
fulfill the commitment to serve in the Texas State Guard under
Section 56.503(2) to repay the amount of all tuition and mandatory
fees for which the person received an exemption under this
subchapter to the institution of higher education from which the
person received the exemption.
Sec. 56.505. RULES. The Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board shall adopt rules as necessary for the
administration of this subchapter.
SECTION 2. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
beginning with the 2015 fall semester.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter S, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added 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 3. 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, 2015.