Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3572 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	84R25053 JSL-D
2	2	By: Zerwas, Miller of Fort Bend, Otto H.B. No. 3572
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3572:
4	4	By: Raney C.S.H.B. No. 3572
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
10	10	higher education for certain military personnel and their
11	11	dependents.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 54.341, Education Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsections (a), (b-1), (e), (k), and (l) and adding
15	15	Subsections (a-0), (a-5), (c-1), (k-2), and (p) to read as follows:
16	16	(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
17	17	education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
18	18	tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for
19	19	correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees, student
20	20	services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or
21	21	clothing, provided the person seeking the exemption established and
22	22	maintained a domicile in this state as described by Section
23	23	54.052(a)(1) and satisfies the residency requirement under
24	24	Subsection (a-0) [currently resides in this state and entered the
25	25	service at a location in this state, declared this state as the
26	26	person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
27	27	military or other service, or would have been determined to be a
28	28	resident of this state for purposes of Subchapter B at the time the
29	29	person entered the service]:
30	30	(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
31	31	armed forces of the United States who served during the
32	32	Spanish-American War or during World War I;
33	33	(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
34	34	Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
35	35	Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
36	36	of the United States who served during World War II except those who
37	37	were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
38	38	because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
39	39	person be discharged from service;
40	40	(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
41	41	armed forces of the United States who served during the national
42	42	emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
43	43	the Korean War; and
44	44	(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
45	45	armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
46	46	duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a
47	47	portion of their active duty during:
48	48	(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
49	49	termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3);
50	50	(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
51	51	1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
52	52	(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
53	53	August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
54	54	(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
55	55	1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
56	56	(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
57	57	1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
58	58	proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
59	59	(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
60	60	terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
61	61	(G) any future national emergency declared in
62	62	accordance with federal law.
63	63	(a-0) To be eligible for an exemption provided by this
64	64	section, a person must have resided in this state continuously for
65	65	the eight years immediately preceding the first class date of the
66	66	semester or other academic term to which the exemption would apply.
67	67	This subsection does not apply to a person who was born in this
68	68	state.
69	69	(a-5) A person who received an exemption under this section
70	70	for a semester or other academic term before the 2016 spring
71	71	semester continues to be eligible for the exemption provided by
72	72	this section as this section existed on January 1, 2015.
73	73	(b-1) To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or
74	74	(b), the spouse or child must have established and maintained a
75	75	domicile in this state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2),
76	76	as applicable, and satisfy the residency requirement under
77	77	Subsection (a-0) [be classified as a resident under Subchapter B on
78	78	the date of the spouse's or child's registration].
79	79	(c-1) In addition to the limitation prescribed by
80	80	Subsection (c), a person who qualifies for an exemption under
81	81	Subsection (a) based on the person's military service, or a person
82	82	to whom an exemption is assigned under Subsection (k) based on the
83	83	military service of the person's parent, may not receive the
84	84	exemption for a semester or other academic term the first class date
85	85	of which is later than the 15th anniversary of the date of the
86	86	person's or parent's honorable discharge from active military duty,
87	87	as applicable. This subsection does not apply to a person who is
88	88	eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or (b) or to
89	89	continue to receive an exemption under Subsection (a-1), (a-3),
90	90	(a-4), or (a-5).
91	91	(e) The exemption from tuition, fees, and other charges
92	92	provided for by this section does not apply to a person who at the
93	93	time of registration is entitled to receive state or federal grant
94	94	aid or educational benefits under federal legislation that may be
95	95	used only for the payment of tuition and fees if the value of the
96	96	grant aid and [those] benefits received in a semester or other term
97	97	is equal to or exceeds the value of the exemption for the same
98	98	semester or other term. If the value of state or federal grant aid
99	99	or federal benefits that may be used only for the payment of tuition
100	100	and fees and are received in a semester or other term does not equal
101	101	or exceed the value of the exemption for the same semester or other
102	102	term, the person is entitled to receive both the grant aid or
103	103	[those] federal benefits and the exemption in the same semester or
104	104	other term. The combined amount of the state or federal grant aid or
105	105	federal benefit that may be used only for the payment of tuition and
106	106	fees plus the amount of the exemption received in a semester or
107	107	other term may not exceed the cost of tuition and fees for that
108	108	semester or other term. An institution of higher education may not
109	109	require a person eligible for an exemption under Subsection (a) to
110	110	apply for or obtain a student loan.
111	111	(k) Subject to the limitation prescribed by Subsection
112	112	(k-2), the [The] Texas Veterans Commission by rule shall prescribe
113	113	procedures to allow:
114	114	(1) a person who becomes eligible for an exemption
115	115	provided by Subsection (a) to waive the person's right to any unused
116	116	portion of the number of cumulative credit hours for which the
117	117	person could receive the exemption and assign the exemption for up
118	118	to 60 credit hours of the unused portion of those credit hours to a
119	119	child of the person; and
120	120	(2) following the death of a person who becomes
121	121	eligible for an exemption provided by Subsection (a), the
122	122	assignment of the exemption for up to 60 credit hours of the unused
123	123	portion of the credit hours to a child of the person, to be made by
124	124	the person's spouse or by the conservator, guardian, custodian, or
125	125	other legally designated caretaker of the child, if the child does
126	126	not otherwise qualify for an exemption under Subsection (b).
127	127	(k-2) A person who becomes eligible for an exemption
128	128	provided by Subsection (a) must have served on active military
129	129	duty, excluding training, for at least six years before any portion
130	130	of the exemption may be assigned to a child of the person under
131	131	Subsection (k).
132	132	(l) To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection
133	133	(k), the child must:
134	134	(1) have established and maintained a domicile in this
135	135	state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2), as applicable,
136	136	and satisfy the residency requirement under Subsection (a-0) [be a
137	137	student who is classified as a resident under Subchapter B when the
138	138	child enrolls in an institution of higher education];
139	139	(2) be an [as a graduate or] undergraduate student[,
140	140	maintain a grade point average that satisfies the grade point
141	141	average requirement for making satisfactory academic progress in a
142	142	degree, certificate, or continuing education program as determined
143	143	by the institution at which the child is enrolled in accordance with
144	144	the institution's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid];
145	145	[and]
146	146	(3) maintain:
147	147	(A) a course load of at least 24 semester credit
148	148	hours per academic year; and
149	149	(B) a cumulative grade point average of at least
150	150	2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent; and
151	151	(4) be 25 years of age or younger on the first class
152	152	date [day] of the semester or other academic term for which the
153	153	exemption is claimed.
154	154	(p) An institution of higher education shall require a
155	155	person receiving an exemption under this section to complete a Free
156	156	Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The institution may
157	157	not use the information obtained from a person's FAFSA to encourage
158	158	or require the person to obtain a student loan, but may use the
159	159	information to make a person aware of grant opportunities.
160	160	SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
161	161	section, the changes in law made by this Act to Section 54.341,
162	162	Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and fees charged for
163	163	the 2016 spring semester. Tuition and fees charged for a term or
164	164	semester before the 2016 spring semester are covered by the law in
165	165	effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
166	166	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
167	167	(b) The changes in law made by this Act in adding Section
168	168	54.341(a-0), Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and fees
169	169	charged for the first academic semester beginning on or after the
170	170	effective date of this Act.
171	171	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
172	172	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
173	173	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
174	174	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
175	175	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.