H.B. No. 700
AN ACT
relating to the repeal of the Texas B-On-time student loan program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 52.89(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The board shall deposit to the credit of the fund any
proceeds from the sale of bonds, excluding:
(1) any accrued interest on the bonds which shall be
deposited in the board interest and sinking fund relating to the
bonds; and
(2) proceeds from the sale of bonds issued by the board
under Section 56.464(b), as that subsection existed immediately
before September 1, 2015 [to provide Texas B-On-time student
loans].
SECTION 2. Sections 52.90(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The board[:
[(1)] shall make a loan from the fund to a student who
qualifies for a loan under Subchapter C[; and
[(2) may make a loan from the fund to a student who
qualifies for a Texas B-On-time student loan under Subchapter Q,
Chapter 56].
(b) Loans from the fund are governed by Subchapter C [of
this chapter or Subchapter Q, Chapter 56, as appropriate, as if made
under that subchapter, except to the extent of conflict with this
subchapter].
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 52.91, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 52.91. BONDS FOR FORMER TEXAS B-ON-TIME STUDENT LOAN
PROGRAM.
SECTION 4. Sections 52.91(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The board shall deposit to the credit of the Texas
B-On-time student loan account established under Section 56.0092
[56.463] any proceeds from the sale of bonds issued by the board to
fund Texas B-On-time student loans under Section 56.464(b), as that
subsection existed immediately before September 1, 2015, other
than[:
[(1)] accrued interest on the bonds, which shall be
deposited to the credit of the interest and sinking fund related to
the bonds[; and
[(2) any proceeds from the sale of the bonds that the
board by resolution deposits to the student loan auxiliary fund
under Section 52.89(c-1)].
(c) The board shall repay bonds described by Subsection (a)
[issued by the board to fund the Texas B-On-time student loan
program] using proceeds from the bonds, legislative
appropriations, and money collected by the board as repayment for
Texas B-On-time student loans awarded by the board under Section
56.0092(c) for a semester or term occurring before the 2020 fall
semester. The board may also repay the bonds by using [use] tuition
set aside under Section 56.465, as that section existed immediately
before September 1, 2015, for a semester or term occurring before
the 2015 fall semester [to repay bonds issued by the board for the
Texas B-On-time student loan program]. The board may not repay the
bonds with [use] money collected by the board as repayment for
student loans awarded by the board under Subchapter C [to repay
bonds issued by the board for the Texas B-On-time student loan
program under Section 56.464(b)].
SECTION 5. Section 54.0065(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A qualified student is eligible for a rebate of a
portion of the undergraduate tuition the student has paid if the
student:
(1) is awarded a baccalaureate degree from a general
academic teaching institution within:
(A) four calendar years after the date the
student initially enrolled in the institution or another
postsecondary educational institution if:
(i) the institution awarding the degree is
a four-year institution; and
(ii) the student is awarded a degree other
than a degree in engineering, architecture, or any other program
determined by the coordinating board to require more than four
years to complete; or
(B) five calendar years after the date the
student initially enrolled in the institution or another
postsecondary educational institution if:
(i) the institution awarding the degree is
a four-year institution; and
(ii) the student is awarded a degree in
engineering, architecture, or any other program determined by the
coordinating board to require more than four years to complete [the
period prescribed by Section 56.462(1)(A) or (B), as applicable, to
qualify for forgiveness of a Texas B-On-time loan]; and
(2) has attempted no more than three hours in excess of
the minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete
the degree program:
(A) including:
(i) transfer credits; and
(ii) course credit earned exclusively by
examination, except that, for purposes of this subsection, only the
number of semester credit hours earned exclusively by examination
in excess of nine semester credit hours is treated as hours
attempted; and
(B) excluding:
(i) course credit that is earned to satisfy
requirements for a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program
but that is not required to complete the degree program; and
(ii) course credit, other than course
credit earned exclusively by examination, that is earned before
graduating from high school.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.0092 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.0092. TEXAS B-ON-TIME STUDENT LOAN ACCOUNT; FORMER
LOAN PROGRAM CONTINUED IN EFFECT FOR CERTAIN ACADEMIC YEARS ONLY.
(a) The Texas B-On-time student loan account previously
established by former Section 56.463 continues as an account in the
general revenue fund. The account consists of:
(1) gifts and grants;
(2) any legislative appropriations received for the
purpose of awarding Texas B-On-time student loans to students who
qualify and establish eligibility for the loans as described by
Subsection (c) and for discharging any other remaining obligations
under the former Texas B-On-time student loan program;
(3) tuition set aside under Section 56.465, as that
section existed immediately before September 1, 2015, for a
semester or term occurring before the 2015 fall semester;
(4) bond proceeds deposited under Section 52.91(a);
and
(5) any other money in the account on September 1,
2015.
(b) Money in the Texas B-On-time student loan account may be
used only to pay any costs of the coordinating board related to
loans awarded under the Texas B-On-time student loan program as
provided by Subsection (c) for a semester or term occurring before
the 2020 fall semester.
(c) Beginning with the 2015 fall semester, the coordinating
board may not award an initial Texas B-On-time student loan under
the Texas B-On-time student loan program. The coordinating board
may award, for a semester or term occurring before the 2020 fall
semester, a subsequent Texas B-On-time student loan to an eligible
student who received an initial Texas B-On-time student loan before
the 2015-2016 academic year. For Texas B-On-time student loans to
be awarded as described by this subsection:
(1) students may qualify and establish continued
eligibility, as applicable, under Subchapter Q as that subchapter
existed immediately before September 1, 2015; and
(2) the coordinating board may make loans using any
money available for the purposes of the former Texas B-On-time
student loan program.
(d) On September 1, 2020, the Texas B-On-time student loan
account is abolished, and any remaining money in the account may be
appropriated only to eligible institutions in the manner provided
by Subsection (e).
(e) An appropriation under Subsection (d) must be made in
accordance with a formula, adopted by coordinating board rule, that
the coordinating board determines fairly allocates the
appropriated amount to those eligible institutions at which the
Texas B-On-time student loan program was underutilized. For
purposes of this subsection, the Texas B-On-time student loan
program is considered to have been underutilized by students of an
institution in any period if the institution's percentage of the
total amount of tuition set aside by all institutions under the
program during the period was greater than the institution's
percentage of all students who received a Texas B-On-time student
loan under the program for the same period. The coordinating board
shall base the coordinating board's determination on a period of
academic years occurring before the 2015-2016 academic year that
the coordinating board considers representative of eligible
institutions' student participation in the Texas B-On-time student
loan program.
(f) In this section, "eligible institution" means a general
academic teaching institution described by Section 56.451(2)(A) or
a medical and dental unit described by Section 56.451(2)(B), as
those paragraphs existed immediately before September 1, 2015.
SECTION 7. Section 56.011(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
education shall cause to be set aside not less than 15 [20] percent
of any amount of tuition charged to a resident undergraduate
student under Section 54.0513 in excess of $46 per semester credit
hour. The funds set aside under this section by an institution
shall be used to provide financial assistance for resident
undergraduate students enrolled in the institution.
SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 52.89(c-1) and 52.91(b);
(2) Section 56.307(l); and
(3) Subchapter Q, Chapter 56.
SECTION 9. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, Subchapter
Q, Chapter 56, Education Code, as that subchapter existed
immediately before the effective date of this Act, is continued in
effect solely for the purposes of:
(1) awarding Texas B-On-time student loans as provided
by Section 56.0092(c), Education Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) discharging any other remaining obligations under
the former Texas B-On-time student loan program.
(b) The repeal by this Act of Section 56.465, Education
Code, applies beginning with tuition charged for the 2015 fall
semester.
SECTION 10. Section 56.011(a), Education Code, as amended
by this Act, applies beginning with tuition charged for the 2015
fall semester. Tuition charged for an academic period before that
term or semester is covered by the law in effect immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 700 was passed by the House on April
23, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 130, Nays 10, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 700 was passed by the Senate on May
22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor