By: Stucky, Thompson of Harris, H.B. No. 14
King of Parker, Meyer, Minjarez, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a student loan repayment assistance program for certain
full-time peace officers in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter NN to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER NN. PEACE OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Sec. 61.9951. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "peace
officer" has the meaning assigned by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Sec. 61.9952. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED;
PURPOSE. The board shall establish and administer a program to
provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board rules, loan
repayment assistance in the repayment of eligible loans for
eligible persons who agree to continued employment as full-time
peace officers in this state for a specified period.
Sec. 61.9953. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to
receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for the
first year for which the person seeks loan repayment assistance, a
person must:
(1) submit to the board an initial application for the
loan repayment assistance, in the manner and on a form prescribed by
board rule, that requires:
(A) employer verification of the person's
employment as a full-time peace officer in this state for at least
one year and the person's current employment as a peace officer in
this state as of the date of the application;
(B) a transcript of the person's postsecondary
course work; and
(C) a statement of the total amount of principal,
accrued interest, fees, and other charges due on all outstanding
eligible loans for which the person is applying for repayment
assistance;
(2) have earned at least 60 semester credit hours or
the equivalent at an institution of higher education or a private or
independent institution of higher education before the person's
initial employment as a peace officer;
(3) be currently employed, and have completed at least
one year of employment, as a full-time peace officer in this state;
and
(4) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
board under this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9954. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), after initially qualifying for loan
repayment assistance under Section 61.9953, a person may continue
to receive loan repayment assistance in a subsequent year only if
the person annually submits an application, in the manner and on a
form prescribed by board rule, that requires employer verification
of the person's continuous employment as a full-time peace officer
in this state for the year ending immediately before the date the
application is submitted under this section.
(b) A person may not receive loan repayment assistance under
this subchapter for more than five years.
Sec. 61.9955. AWARD. (a) Except as provided by this
section, an eligible person is entitled to receive an annual amount
of loan repayment assistance payments under this subchapter payable
to the holders of the eligible person's eligible loans for each year
of eligibility approved by the board under Section 61.9953 or
61.9954 in an amount equal to the lesser of $4,000 or 20 percent of
the total amount stated in the person's application under Section
61.9953, subject to the amount of available funding.
(b) If at the time an eligible person submits an initial
application under Section 61.9953 the payoff period for the
person's total outstanding balance of eligible loans is less than
five years, the board shall make annual payments under this
subchapter to the holders of the person's eligible loans in the
amounts of the payments and accrued interest due for the applicable
year.
(c) The total amount of repayment assistance provided under
this subchapter to an eligible person may not exceed $20,000.
(d) If in any year the amount of money available for loan
repayment assistance under this subchapter is insufficient to
provide loan repayment assistance to cover all the payments for the
year for all eligible loans of all eligible persons, the board shall
establish criteria to determine the amount of available money to
allocate to the holders of student loans of eligible persons as the
board determines appropriate to further the purpose of this
subchapter.
(e) An eligible person whose annual loan repayment
assistance under this section is less than the amount necessary to
cover the amount of principal and interest due on the person's
eligible loans for that year is responsible for the payment of the
remainder of the amount due and for otherwise preventing a default
on the loan.
Sec. 61.9956. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment
of any student loan received by an eligible person through any
lender for the cost of attendance at an institution of higher
education or a private or independent institution of higher
education for a semester or other term that ended in the five years
immediately preceding the person's initial employment as a peace
officer.
(b) If the loan is not a state or federal guaranteed student
loan, the promissory note or other loan agreement document
governing the terms of the loan must require all the loan proceeds
to be used for expenses incurred by a person in attending an
institution of higher education or a private or independent
institution of higher education.
(c) The board may not provide loan repayment assistance
under this subchapter for an eligible loan that is in default on the
date the person's application for loan repayment assistance is
submitted under Section 61.9953 or 61.9954.
Sec. 61.9957. PAYMENT OF LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. (a)
The board shall pay any loan repayment assistance under this
subchapter in a lump sum delivered on the eligible person's behalf
directly to the holder of the loan.
(b) Loan repayment assistance provided under this
subchapter may be applied to any amount due on the loan.
(c) Each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
allocate all money available to the board for the purpose of
providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9958. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The board may
solicit and accept gifts, grants, and other donations from any
public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9959. RULES; POSTING REQUIRED. (a) The board shall
adopt rules necessary for the administration of this subchapter.
(b) The board shall post on the board's Internet website a
copy of the rules adopted under this subchapter and information
regarding the program established under this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules for the peace officer loan repayment assistance
program under Subchapter NN, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added
by this Act, not later than December 1, 2019.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.