Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3566 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 3566
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
7	7	higher education for certain military personnel and their
8	8	dependents.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 54.341, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subsections (a-5) and (c-1) and amending Subsections (c),
12	12	(d), (e), (f), and (l) to read as follows:
13	13	(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
14	14	education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
15	15	tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for
16	16	correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees, student
17	17	services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or
18	18	clothing, provided the person seeking the exemption established and
19	19	maintained a domicile in this state as described by Section
20	20	54.052(a)(1) and satisfies the residency requirement under
21	21	Subsection (a-0) [currently resides in this state and entered the
22	22	service at a location in this state, declared this state as the
23	23	person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
24	24	military or other service, or would have been determined to be a
25	25	resident of this state for purposes of Subchapter B at the time the
26	26	person entered the service]:
27	27	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
28	28	armed forces of the United States who served during the
29	29	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
30	30	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
31	31	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
32	32	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
33	33	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
34	34	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
35	35	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
36	36	person be discharged from service;
37	37	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
38	38	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
39	39	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
40	40	the Korean War; and
41	41	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
42	42	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
43	43	duty, excluding training, for more than 365 days and who served a
44	44	portion of their active duty during:
45	45	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
46	46	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3);
47	47	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
48	48	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
49	49	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
50	50	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
51	51	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
52	52	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
53	53	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
54	54	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
55	55	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
56	56	(F) the national emergency by reasons of certain
57	57	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
58	58	(G) any future national emergency declared in
59	59	accordance with federal law.
60	60	(a-0) To be eligible for an exemption provided by this
61	61	section, a person must have resided in this state continuously for
62	62	the eight years immediately preceding the first class date of the
63	63	semester or term to which the exemption would apply. This
64	64	subsection does not apply to a person who was born in this state.
65	65	(a-5) A person who received an exemption under this section
66	66	for an academic year before the 2015-2016 academic year continues
67	67	to be eligible for the exemption provided by this section as this
68	68	section existed on January 1, 2015.
69	69	(b-1) To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or
70	70	(b), the spouse or child must have established and maintained a
71	71	domicile in this state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2),
72	72	as applicable, and satisfy the residency requirement under
73	73	Subsection (a-0) [be classified as a resident under Subchapter B on
74	74	the date of the spouse's or child's registration].
75	75	(l) To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection
76	76	(k), the child must:
77	77	(1) Have established and maintained a domicile in this
78	78	state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2), as applicable,
79	79	and satisfy the residency requirement under Subsection (a-0) [be a
80	80	student who is classified as a resident under Subchapter B when the
81	81	child enrolls in an institution of higher education];
82	82	(2) As a graduate or undergraduate student, maintain a
83	83	grade point average that satisfied the grade point average
84	84	requirement for making satisfactory academic progress in a degree,
85	85	certificate, or continuing education program as determined by the
86	86	institution at which the child is enrolled in accordance with the
87	87	institution's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid;
88	88	[and]
89	89	(3) Be 25 years of age or younger on the first day of
90	90	the semester or other academic term for which the exemption is
91	91	claimed[.]; and
92	92	(4) if eligible, have utilized and exhausted benefits
93	93	established under the Montgomery GI Bill.
94	94	(c) Subject to Subsection (c-1), a [A] person may not
95	95	receive exemptions provided for by this section for more than a
96	96	cumulative total of 120 credit hours or the number of hours required
97	97	to graduate with specific degree.
98	98	(c-1) A person may not receive exemptions provided for by
99	99	Subsection (a) after the completion of one graduate degree.
100	100	(d) Not later than the last class date of the semester or
101	101	term to which an exemption under this section applies, except that
102	102	the governing board may encourage an earlier submission by the
103	103	official day of record for that semester or term on which the
104	104	institution must determine the enrollment that is reported to the
105	105	Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the [The] governing
106	106	board of each institution of higher education granting an exemption
107	107	under this section shall require each applicant claiming the
108	108	exemption to submit to the institution, in the form and manner
109	109	prescribed by the Texas Veterans Commission for purposes of this
110	110	section under Section 434.0079(b), Government Code:
111	111	(1) [,] an application for the exemption and necessary
112	112	evidence that the applicant qualifies for the exemption;
113	113	(2) a completed Free Application for Federal Student
114	114	Aid (FAFSA); and
115	115	(3) a degree plan listing all courses required to
116	116	graduate evaluated and signed by the applicant's academic advisor
117	117	[not later than the last class date of the semester or term to which
118	118	the exemption applies, except that the governing board may
119	119	encourage the submission of an application and evidence by the
120	120	official day of record for the semester or term to which the
121	121	exemption applies on which the institution must determine the
122	122	enrollment that is reported to the Texas Higher Education
123	123	Coordinating Board].
124	124	(e) The exemption from tuition, fees, and other charges
125	125	provided for by this section does not apply to a person who at the
126	126	time of registration is entitled to receive state or federal grant
127	127	aid or educational benefits under federal legislation that may be
128	128	used only for the payment of tuition and fees if the value of the
129	129	grant aid and [those] benefits received in a semester or other term
130	130	is equal to or exceeds the value of the exemption for the same
131	131	semester or other term. If the value of state or federal grant aid
132	132	or federal benefits that may be used only for the payment of tuition
133	133	and fees and are received in a semester or other term does not equal
134	134	or exceed the value of the exemption for the same semester or other
135	135	term, the person is entitled to receive both the grant aid or
136	136	[those] federal benefits and the exemption in the same semester or
137	137	other term. The combined amount of the state or federal grant aid
138	138	or federal benefit that may be used only for the payment of tuition
139	139	and fees plus the amount of the exemption received in a semester or
140	140	other term may not exceed the cost of tuition and fees for that
141	141	semester or other term. An institution of higher education may not
142	142	require a person eligible for an exemption under Subsection (a) to
143	143	apply for or obtain a student loan.
144	144	(f) A person may apply an exemption under this section only
145	145	to credit hours for which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
146	146	Board certifies student enrollment for the purposes of formula
147	147	funding [The governing board of each institution of higher
148	148	education may enter into contracts with the United States
149	149	government, or any of its agencies, to furnish instruction to
150	150	ex-servicemen and ex-service women at a tuition rate which covers
151	151	the estimated cost of the instruction or, in the alternative, at a
152	152	tuition rate of $100 a semester, as may be determined by the
153	153	governing board. If the rates specified are prohibited by federal
154	154	law for any particular class of ex-servicemen or ex-service women,
155	155	the tuition rate shall be set by the governing board, but shall not
156	156	be less than the established rate for civilian students. If
157	157	federal law provides as to any class of veterans that the tuition
158	158	payments are to be deducted from subsequent benefits to which the
159	159	veteran may be entitled, the institution shall refund to any
160	160	veteran who is a resident of Texas within the meaning of this
161	161	section the amount by which any adjusted compensation payment is
162	162	actually reduced because of tuition payments made to the
163	163	institution by the federal government for the veteran].
164	164	(l) To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection
165	165	(k), the child must:
166	166	(1) be an undergraduate [a] student who is classified
167	167	as a resident under Subchapter B when the child enrolls in an
168	168	institution of higher education;
169	169	(2) as an [a graduate or] undergraduate student,
170	170	maintain a grade point average that satisfies the grade point
171	171	average requirement for making satisfactory academic progress in a
172	172	degree, certificate, or continuing education program as determined
173	173	by the institution at which the child is enrolled in accordance with
174	174	the institution's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid;
175	175	and
176	176	(3) be 25 years of age or younger on the first day of
177	177	the semester or other academic term for which the exemption is
178	178	claimed.
179	179	SECTION 2. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
180	180	beginning with tuition and fees for the 2015 fall semester. Tuition
181	181	and fees for a term or semester before the 2015 fall semester are
182	182	covered by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
183	183	of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
184	184	purpose.
185	185	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the
186	186	Texas Veterans Commission shall adopt the rules required by Section
187	187	54.341, Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as
188	188	practicable after the effective date of this Act. For that purpose,
189	189	the coordinating board and the commission may adopt the initial
190	190	rules in the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
191	191	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
192	192	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
193	193	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
194	194	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
195	195	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.