By: Lozano H.B. No. 3766
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
higher education for legacy students who are eligible for tuition
and fee exemptions under the Hazlewood Legacy Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Hazlewood Legacy
Preservation Act.
SECTION 1.01. Section 54.341, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), (d), (h), (i), (k), (l), and (n) and
adding Subsection (a-5) to read as follows:
(a) The governing board of each institution of higher
education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for
correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees, student
services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or
clothing, provided the person seeking the exemption currently
resides in this state and entered the service at a location in this
state, declared this state as the person's home of record in the
manner provided by the applicable military or other service, or
would have been determined to be a resident of this state for
purposes of Subchapter B at the time the person entered the service:
(1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the
Spanish-American War or during World War I;
(2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary
Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency
Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces
of the United States who served during World War II except those who
were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or
because of a personal request on the part of the person that the
person be discharged from service;
(3) all honorably discharged men and women of the
armed forces of the United States who served during the national
emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as
the Korean War; and
(4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the
armed forces of the United States after serving on active military
duty, excluding training, for more than four years [180 days] and
who served a portion of their active duty during:
(A) the Cold War which began on the date of the
termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3);
(B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21,
1961, and ended on May 7, 1975;
(C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on
August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984;
(D) the Panama era which began on December 20,
1989, and ended on January 21, 1990;
(E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2,
1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential
proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first;
(F) the national emergency by reason of certain
terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or
(G) any future national emergency declared in
accordance with federal law.
(a-5) A person who received an exemption under this section
for an academic year before the 2017-2018 academic year continues
to be eligible for the exemption provided by this section as this
section existed on January 1, 2017.
(c) A person may not receive exemptions provided for by this
section for more than a cumulative total of 150 credit hours. A
person may not receive an exemption provided for by this section
after the end of the 15th year after the date the member of the armed
forces of the United States who qualifies for an exemption under
Subsection (a) is honorably discharged.
(d) The governing board of each institution of higher
education granting an exemption under this section shall require
each applicant claiming the exemption to submit to the institution,
in the form and manner prescribed by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board [Veterans Commission] for purposes of this
section under Section 61.101(b) [434.0079(b), Government Code], an
application for the exemption and necessary evidence that the
applicant qualifies for the exemption not later than the last class
date of the semester or term to which the exemption applies, except
that the governing board may encourage the submission of an
application and evidence by the official day of record for the
semester or term to which the exemption applies on which the
institution must determine the enrollment that is reported to the
coordinating board [Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board].
(h) The governing board of each institution of higher
education shall electronically report to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board [Veterans Commission] the information required
by Section 61.102 [434.00791, Government Code,] relating to each
individual receiving an exemption from fees and charges under
Subsection (a), (a-2), (b), or (k). The institution shall report
the information not later than January 31 of each year for the fall
semester, June 30 of each year for the spring semester, and
September 30 of each year for the summer session.
(i) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board [Veterans
Commission] may adopt rules to provide for the efficient and
uniform application of this section. In developing rules under
this subsection, the coordinating board [commission] shall consult
with [the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and]
institutions of higher education.
(k) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board [Veterans
Commission] by rule shall prescribe procedures to allow:
(1) a person who becomes eligible for an exemption
provided by Subsection (a) to waive the person's right to any unused
portion of the number of cumulative credit hours for which the
person could receive the exemption and assign the exemption for the
unused portion of those credit hours to a child of the person; and
(2) following the death of a person who becomes
eligible for an exemption provided by Subsection (a), the
assignment of the exemption for the unused portion of the credit
hours to a child of the person, to be made by the person's spouse or
by the conservator, guardian, custodian, or other legally
designated caretaker of the child, if the child does not otherwise
qualify for an exemption under Subsection (b).
(l) To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection
(k), the child must:
(1) be a student who is classified as a resident under
Subchapter B when the child enrolls in an institution of higher
education;
(2) as a graduate or undergraduate student, maintain a
grade point average that satisfies the grade point average
requirement for making satisfactory academic progress in a degree,
certificate, or continuing education program as determined by the
institution at which the child is enrolled in accordance with the
institution's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid;
[and]
(3) be 25 years of age or younger on the first day of
the semester or other academic term for which the exemption is
claimed; and
(4) complete a Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA).
(n) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board [Veterans
Commission] by rule shall prescribe procedures by which a child
assigned an exemption under Subsection (k) who suffered from a
severe illness or other debilitating condition that affected the
child's ability to use the exemption before reaching the age
described by Subsection (l)(3) may be granted additional time to
use the exemption corresponding to the time the child was unable to
use the exemption because of the illness or condition.
SECTION 2. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D-1, and a heading is added to that subchapter to read as
follows:
SUBCHAPTER D-1. DUTIES REGARDING CERTAIN TUITION AND FEE EXEMPTIONS
FOR VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS
SECTION 3. Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791, Government
Code, are transferred to Subchapter D-1, Chapter 61, Education
Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Sections 61.101 and
61.102, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.101 [434.0079]. DUTIES REGARDING CERTAIN TUITION
AND FEE EXEMPTIONS FOR VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. (a) The board
[commission, through its veteran education program,] shall assist
veterans and their family members in claiming and qualifying for
exemptions from the payment of tuition and fees at institutions of
higher education under Section 54.341[, Education Code].
(b) The board [commission] shall establish the application
and necessary evidence requirements for a person to claim an
exemption under Section 54.341[, Education Code,] at an institution
of higher education. The requirements established under this
subsection must include a requirement that a person claiming an
exemption under Section 54.341 submit an official certificate of
honorable discharge.
(c) The board [commission] shall adopt rules governing the
coordination of federal and state benefits of a person eligible to
receive an exemption under Section 54.341(k)[, Education Code],
including rules governing:
(1) the total number of credit hours assigned under
that section that a person may apply to an individual degree or
certificate program, consistent with the standards of the
appropriate recognized regional accrediting agency; and
(2) the application of the assigned exemption to
credit hours for which the institution of higher education does not
receive state funding.
Sec. 61.102 [434.00791]. ELECTRONIC SYSTEM TO MONITOR
TUITION EXEMPTIONS FOR VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. [(a) In this
section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned
by Section 61.003, Education Code.
[(b)] The board
[commission] shall ensure a system to
electronically monitor the use of tuition and fee exemptions at
institutions of higher education under Section 54.341[, Education
Code,] is developed. The system must allow the board [commission]
to electronically receive, for each semester, the following
information from institutions of higher education:
(1) the name of the institution;
(2) the name, identification number, and date of birth
of each individual attending the institution and receiving benefits
for the semester under Section 54.341[, Education Code];
(3) for each individual receiving benefits, the number
of credit hours for which the individual received an exemption for
the semester;
(4) for each individual receiving benefits at the
institution during the semester, the total cumulative number of
credit hours for which the individual has received an exemption at
the institution; and
(5) any other information required by the board
[commission].
SECTION 4. Section 54.341(o), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the imposition of an administrative penalty for a violation that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. The imposition
of an administrative penalty for a violation that occurs before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the violation occurred, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 6. (a) In this section, "former governing body"
means the Texas Veterans Commission, relating to the oversight of
Section 54.341, Education Code, and former Sections 434.0079 and
434.00791, Government Code.
(b) On September 1, 2017:
(1) all functions and activities relating to Section
54.341, Education Code, performed by the former governing body
immediately before that date are transferred to the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board;
(2) all rules, policies, procedures, decisions, and
forms adopted by the former governing body relating to Section
54.341, Education Code, or former Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791,
Government Code, are continued in effect as rules, policies,
procedures, decisions, and forms of the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board and remain in effect until amended or replaced
by that board;
(3) a complaint, investigation, or other proceeding
before the former governing body that is related to Section 54.341,
Education Code, or former Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791,
Government Code, is transferred without change in status to the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board assumes, as appropriate and without a
change in status, the position of the former governing body in an
action or proceeding to which the former governing body is a party;
(4) all money, contracts, leases, property, and
obligations of the former governing body relating to Section
54.341, Education Code, or former Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791,
Government Code, are transferred to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board;
(5) all property in the custody of the former
governing body related to Section 54.341, Education Code, or former
Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791, Government Code, is transferred to
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
(6) the unexpended and unobligated balance of any
money appropriated by the legislature for the former governing body
related to Section 54.341, Education Code, or former Sections
434.0079 and 434.00791, Government Code, is transferred to the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, the Texas Veterans Commission may agree with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board to transfer any property of the Texas
Veterans Commission to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board to implement the transfer required by this Act.
(d) Unless the context indicates otherwise, a reference to
the former governing body in a law or administrative rule that
relates to Section 54.341, Education Code, or former Sections
434.0079 and 434.00791, Government Code, means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(e) A license, permit, certification, or registration
issued by the former governing body is continued in effect as a
license, permit, certification, or registration of the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(f) On September 1, 2017, all full-time equivalent employee
positions at the former governing body that primarily concern the
administration, enforcement, or other direct or indirect support of
Section 54.341, Education Code, or former Sections 434.0079 and
434.00791, Government Code, become positions at the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board. When filling the positions, the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall give first
consideration to an applicant who, as of August 31, 2017, was an
employee at the former governing body primarily involved in
administering or enforcing Section 54.341, Education Code, or
former Sections 434.0079 and 434.00791, Government Code.
SECTION 7. In adopting rules under this Act, including
rules implementing authority transferred by this Act from the Texas
Veterans Commission, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall engage institutions of higher education in a negotiated
rulemaking process as described by Chapter 2008, Government Code.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply
beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2017 fall semester.
Tuition and fees charged for a term or semester before the 2017 fall
semester are governed 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 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.