Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB700 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Giddings, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 700
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2015;
3		-	May 6, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
4		-	Education; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 700
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to the repeal of the Texas B-On-time student loan program.
12	6		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	7		SECTION 1. Section 52.89(c), Education Code, is amended to
14	8		read as follows:
15	9		(c) The board shall deposit to the credit of the fund any
16	10		proceeds from the sale of bonds, excluding:
17	11		(1) any accrued interest on the bonds which shall be
18	12		deposited in the board interest and sinking fund relating to the
19	13		bonds; and
20	14		(2) proceeds from the sale of bonds issued by the board
21	15		under Section 56.464(b), as that subsection existed immediately
22	16		before September 1, 2015 [to provide Texas B-On-time student
23	17		loans].
24	18		SECTION 2. Sections 52.90(a) and (b), Education Code, are
25	19		amended to read as follows:
26	20		(a) The board[:
27	21		[(1)] shall make a loan from the fund to a student who
28	22		qualifies for a loan under Subchapter C[; and
29	23		[(2) may make a loan from the fund to a student who
30	24		qualifies for a Texas B-On-time student loan under Subchapter Q,
31	25		Chapter 56].
32	26		(b) Loans from the fund are governed by Subchapter C [of
33	27		this chapter or Subchapter Q, Chapter 56, as appropriate, as if made
34	28		under that subchapter, except to the extent of conflict with this
35	29		subchapter].
36	30		SECTION 3. The heading to Section 52.91, Education Code, is
37	31		amended to read as follows:
38	32		Sec. 52.91. BONDS FOR FORMER TEXAS B-ON-TIME STUDENT LOAN
39	33		PROGRAM.
40	34		SECTION 4. Sections 52.91(a) and (c), Education Code, are
41	35		amended to read as follows:
42	36		(a) The board shall deposit to the credit of the Texas
43	37		B-On-time student loan account established under Section 56.0092
44	38		[56.463] any proceeds from the sale of bonds issued by the board to
45	39		fund Texas B-On-time student loans under Section 56.464(b), as that
46	40		subsection existed immediately before September 1, 2015, other
47	41		than[:
48	42		[(1)] accrued interest on the bonds, which shall be
49	43		deposited to the credit of the interest and sinking fund related to
50	44		the bonds[; and
51	45		[(2) any proceeds from the sale of the bonds that the
52	46		board by resolution deposits to the student loan auxiliary fund
53	47		under Section 52.89(c-1)].
54	48		(c) The board shall repay bonds described by Subsection (a)
55	49		[issued by the board to fund the Texas B-On-time student loan
56	50		program] using proceeds from the bonds, legislative
57	51		appropriations, and money collected by the board as repayment for
58	52		Texas B-On-time student loans awarded by the board under Section
59	53		56.0092(c) for a semester or term occurring before the 2020 fall
60	54		semester. The board may also repay the bonds by using [use] tuition
61	55		set aside under Section 56.465, as that section existed immediately
62	56		before September 1, 2015, for a semester or term occurring before
63	57		the 2015 fall semester [to repay bonds issued by the board for the
64	58		Texas B-On-time student loan program]. The board may not repay the
65	59		bonds with [use] money collected by the board as repayment for
66	60		student loans awarded by the board under Subchapter C [to repay
67	61		bonds issued by the board for the Texas B-On-time student loan
68	62		program under Section 56.464(b)].
69	63		SECTION 5. Section 54.0065(a), Education Code, is amended
70	64		to read as follows:
71	65		(a) A qualified student is eligible for a rebate of a
72	66		portion of the undergraduate tuition the student has paid if the
73	67		student:
74	68		(1) is awarded a baccalaureate degree from a general
75	69		academic teaching institution within:
76	70		(A) four calendar years after the date the
77	71		student initially enrolled in the institution or another
78	72		postsecondary educational institution if:
79	73		(i) the institution awarding the degree is
80	74		a four-year institution; and
81	75		(ii) the student is awarded a degree other
82	76		than a degree in engineering, architecture, or any other program
83	77		determined by the coordinating board to require more than four
84	78		years to complete; or
85	79		(B) five calendar years after the date the
86	80		student initially enrolled in the institution or another
87	81		postsecondary educational institution if:
88	82		(i) the institution awarding the degree is
89	83		a four-year institution; and
90	84		(ii) the student is awarded a degree in
91	85		engineering, architecture, or any other program determined by the
92	86		coordinating board to require more than four years to complete [the
93	87		period prescribed by Section 56.462(1)(A) or (B), as applicable, to
94	88		qualify for forgiveness of a Texas B-On-time loan]; and
95	89		(2) has attempted no more than three hours in excess of
96	90		the minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete
97	91		the degree program:
98	92		(A) including:
99	93		(i) transfer credits; and
100	94		(ii) course credit earned exclusively by
101	95		examination, except that, for purposes of this subsection, only the
102	96		number of semester credit hours earned exclusively by examination
103	97		in excess of nine semester credit hours is treated as hours
104	98		attempted; and
105	99		(B) excluding:
106	100		(i) course credit that is earned to satisfy
107	101		requirements for a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program
108	102		but that is not required to complete the degree program; and
109	103		(ii) course credit, other than course
110	104		credit earned exclusively by examination, that is earned before
111	105		graduating from high school.
112	106		SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
113	107		amended by adding Section 56.0092 to read as follows:
114	108		Sec. 56.0092. TEXAS B-ON-TIME STUDENT LOAN ACCOUNT; FORMER
115	109		LOAN PROGRAM CONTINUED IN EFFECT FOR CERTAIN ACADEMIC YEARS ONLY.
116	110		(a) The Texas B-On-time student loan account previously
117	111		established by former Section 56.463 continues as an account in the
118	112		general revenue fund. The account consists of:
119	113		(1) gifts and grants;
120	114		(2) any legislative appropriations received for the
121	115		purpose of awarding Texas B-On-time student loans to students who
122	116		qualify and establish eligibility for the loans as described by
123	117		Subsection (c) and for discharging any other remaining obligations
124	118		under the former Texas B-On-time student loan program;
125	119		(3) tuition set aside under Section 56.465, as that
126	120		section existed immediately before September 1, 2015, for a
127	121		semester or term occurring before the 2015 fall semester;
128	122		(4) bond proceeds deposited under Section 52.91(a);
129	123		and
130	124		(5) any other money in the account on September 1,
131	125		2015.
132	126		(b) Money in the Texas B-On-time student loan account may be
133	127		used only to pay any costs of the coordinating board related to
134	128		loans awarded under the Texas B-On-time student loan program as
135	129		provided by Subsection (c) for a semester or term occurring before
136	130		the 2020 fall semester.
137	131		(c) Beginning with the 2015 fall semester, the coordinating
138	132		board may not award an initial Texas B-On-time student loan under
139	133		the Texas B-On-time student loan program. The coordinating board
140	134		may award, for a semester or term occurring before the 2020 fall
141	135		semester, a subsequent Texas B-On-time student loan to an eligible
142	136		student who received an initial Texas B-On-time student loan before
143	137		the 2015-2016 academic year. For Texas B-On-time student loans to
144	138		be awarded as described by this subsection:
145	139		(1) students may qualify and establish continued
146	140		eligibility, as applicable, under Subchapter Q as that subchapter
147	141		existed immediately before September 1, 2015; and
148	142		(2) the coordinating board may make loans using any
149	143		money available for the purposes of the former Texas B-On-time
150	144		student loan program.
151	145		(d) On September 1, 2020, the Texas B-On-time student loan
152	146		account is abolished, and any remaining money in the account may be
153	147		appropriated only to eligible institutions in the manner provided
154	148		by Subsection (e).
155	149		(e) An appropriation under Subsection (d) must be made in
156	150		accordance with a formula, adopted by coordinating board rule, that
157	151		the coordinating board determines fairly allocates the
158	152		appropriated amount to those eligible institutions at which the
159	153		Texas B-On-time student loan program was underutilized. For
160	154		purposes of this subsection, the Texas B-On-time student loan
161	155		program is considered to have been underutilized by students of an
162	156		institution in any period if the institution's percentage of the
163	157		total amount of tuition set aside by all institutions under the
164	158		program during the period was greater than the institution's
165	159		percentage of all students who received a Texas B-On-time student
166	160		loan under the program for the same period. The coordinating board
167	161		shall base the coordinating board's determination on a period of
168	162		academic years occurring before the 2015-2016 academic year that
169	163		the coordinating board considers representative of eligible
170	164		institutions' student participation in the Texas B-On-time student
171	165		loan program.
172	166		(f) In this section, "eligible institution" means a general
173	167		academic teaching institution described by Section 56.451(2)(A) or
174	168		a medical and dental unit described by Section 56.451(2)(B), as
175	169		those paragraphs existed immediately before September 1, 2015.
176	170		SECTION 7. Section 56.011(a), Education Code, is amended to
177	171		read as follows:
178	172		(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
179	173		education shall cause to be set aside not less than 15 [20] percent
180	174		of any amount of tuition charged to a resident undergraduate
181	175		student under Section 54.0513 in excess of $46 per semester credit
182	176		hour. The funds set aside under this section by an institution
183	177		shall be used to provide financial assistance for resident
184	178		undergraduate students enrolled in the institution.
185	179		SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Education Code
186	180		are repealed:
187	181		(1) Sections 52.89(c-1) and 52.91(b);
188	182		(2) Section 56.307(l); and
189	183		(3) Subchapter Q, Chapter 56.
190	184		SECTION 9. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, Subchapter
191	185		Q, Chapter 56, Education Code, as that subchapter existed
192	186		immediately before the effective date of this Act, is continued in
193	187		effect solely for the purposes of:
194	188		(1) awarding Texas B-On-time student loans as provided
195	189		by Section 56.0092(c), Education Code, as added by this Act; and
196	190		(2) discharging any other remaining obligations under
197	191		the former Texas B-On-time student loan program.
198	192		(b) The repeal by this Act of Section 56.465, Education
199	193		Code, applies beginning with tuition charged for the 2015 fall
200	194		semester.
201	195		SECTION 10. Section 56.011(a), Education Code, as amended
202	196		by this Act, applies beginning with tuition charged for the 2015
203	197		fall semester. Tuition charged for an academic period before that
204	198		term or semester is covered by the law in effect immediately before
205	199		the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
206	200		effect for that purpose.
207	201		SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
208		-	* * * * *
	202	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	203	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	204	+	I certify that H.B. No. 700 was passed by the House on April
	205	+	23, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 130, Nays 10, 2 present, not
	206	+	voting.
	207	+	______________________________
	208	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	209	+	I certify that H.B. No. 700 was passed by the Senate on May
	210	+	22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
	211	+	______________________________
	212	+	Secretary of the Senate
	213	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	214	+	Date
	215	+	_____________________
	216	+	Governor