Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1951 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2147 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Springer H.B. No. 1951
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to tuition exemptions at public institutions of higher
8	8	education for certain active members of the armed forces of the
9	9	United States and the dependent children of those members.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 54.341, Education Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-2) to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
15	15	education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
16	16	tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for
17	17	correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees, student
18	18	services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or
19	19	clothing, provided the person seeking the exemption currently
20	20	resides in this state and entered the service at a location in this
21	21	state, declared this state as the person's home of record in the
22	22	manner provided by the applicable military or other service, or
23	23	would have been determined to be a resident of this state for
24	24	purposes of Subchapter B at the time the person entered the service:
25	25	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
26	26	armed forces of the United States who served during the
27	27	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
28	28	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
29	29	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
30	30	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
31	31	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
32	32	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
33	33	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
34	34	person be discharged from service;
35	35	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
36	36	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
37	37	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
38	38	the Korean War; [and]
39	39	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
40	40	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
41	41	duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
42	42	portion of their active duty during:
43	43	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
44	44	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3);
45	45	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
46	46	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
47	47	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
48	48	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
49	49	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
50	50	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
51	51	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
52	52	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
53	53	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
54	54	(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
55	55	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
56	56	(G) any future national emergency declared in
57	57	accordance with federal law; and
58	58	(5) subject to Subsection (b-2), members of the armed
59	59	forces of the United States who are currently serving and have
60	60	served at least 10 years on active military duty.
61	61	(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) also apply
62	62	to:
63	63	(1) the children of members of the armed forces of the
64	64	United States:
65	65	(A) who are or were killed in action;
66	66	(B) who die or died while in service;
67	67	(C) who are missing in action;
68	68	(D) whose death is documented to be directly
69	69	caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
70	70	forces of the United States; [or]
71	71	(E) who became totally and permanently disabled
72	72	or meet the eligibility requirements for individual
73	73	unemployability according to the disability ratings of the
74	74	Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of a service-related
75	75	injury; or
76	76	(F) subject to Subsection (b-2), who are
77	77	currently serving and have served at least 10 years on active
78	78	military duty; and
79	79	(2) the children of members of the Texas National
80	80	Guard and the Texas Air National Guard who:
81	81	(A) were killed since January 1, 1946, while on
82	82	active duty either in the service of their state or the United
83	83	States; or
84	84	(B) are totally and permanently disabled or meet
85	85	the eligibility requirements for individual unemployability
86	86	according to the disability ratings of the Department of Veterans
87	87	Affairs, regardless of whether the members are eligible to receive
88	88	disability benefits from the department, as a result of a
89	89	service-related injury suffered since January 1, 1946, while on
90	90	active duty either in the service of this state or the United
91	91	States.
92	92	(b-2) The Texas Veterans Commission by rule shall establish
93	93	conditions under which a student who previously qualified for an
94	94	exemption under Subsection (a)(5) or (b)(1)(F) for attendance at an
95	95	institution of higher education loses that eligibility and is
96	96	required to repay an amount equal to the amount of tuition, dues,
97	97	fees, and other required charges the student would, but for the
98	98	exemption, have owed the institution. The conditions must include
99	99	the student's withdrawal from or dropping out of the institution,
100	100	the student's failure to maintain a cumulative grade point average
101	101	of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or the receipt of a dishonorable
102	102	discharge from active military service by the student or the
103	103	student's parent, as applicable. The commission shall establish a
104	104	schedule for installment repayment under this subsection.
105	105	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies
106	106	beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2015 fall semester.
107	107	Tuition and fees charged for a term or semester before the 2015 fall
108	108	semester are covered by the law in effect immediately before the
109	109	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
110	110	effect for that purpose.
111	111	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
112	112	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
113	113	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
114	114	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
115	115	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.