Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4465 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 4465
	1	+	By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 4465
	2	+	(Senate Sponsor - Bettencourt)
	3	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2019;
	4	+	April 29, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
	5	+	Education; May 6, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
	6	+	Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 6, 2019, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	8
3	9
	10	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	11		AN ACT
5	12		relating to the student loan program administered by the Texas
6	13		Higher Education Coordinating Board and to the repeal of a related
7	14		bond program.
8	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	16		SECTION 1. Sections 52.11(c), (d), (h), (k), and (n),
10	17		Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	18		(c) The proceeds from the sale of bonds shall be placed in
12	19		the student loan auxiliary fund [Texas Opportunity Plan Fund].
13	20		(d) To assure the orderly and economical marketing of the
14	21		bonds and the reasonable availability of money in the student loan
15	22		auxiliary fund [Texas Opportunity Plan Fund], the bonds may be
16	23		issued in installments.
17	24		(h) The bonds shall be executed on behalf of the
18	25		coordinating board, or its successor, as general obligations of the
19	26		State of Texas [in the following manner: They shall be signed by
20	27		the chairman or vice chairman and the secretary of the board, and
21	28		the seal of the board shall be impressed on them. They shall be
22	29		signed by the governor and attested by the secretary of state and
23	30		the state seal impressed on them. The resolution authorizing the
24	31		issuance of any installment or series of bonds may prescribe the
25	32		extent to which facsimile signatures and facsimile seals may be
26	33		used in executing the bonds and appurtenant coupons. Interest
27	34		coupons may be signed with the facsimile signatures of the chairman
28	35		or vice chairman and the secretary of the board. In the event any
29	36		officer whose manual or facsimile signature appears on any bond or
30	37		coupon ceases to hold that office before the delivery of the bond or
31	38		coupon, the signature will nevertheless be valid and sufficient for
32	39		all purposes as if he had remained in office until the delivery had
33	40		been made].
34	41		(k) The performance of official duties prescribed by
35	42		Sections 50b-4, 50b-5, 50b-6, and 50b-7, Article III, [Section 50b,
36	43		of the] Texas Constitution, in reference to the provision for the
37	44		payment and the payment of the bonds may be enforced in any court of
38	45		competent jurisdiction through mandamus or other appropriate
39	46		proceedings.
40	47		(n) This section applies only to bonds issued under Sections
41	48		50b-4, 50b-5, 50b-6, and 50b-7, Article III, [Section 50b, of the]
42	49		Texas Constitution.
43	50		SECTION 2. Section 52.16, Education Code, is amended to
44	51		read as follows:
45	52		Sec. 52.16. PROCEEDS FROM BOND SALE. All proceeds from the
46	53		sale of bonds authorized by Sections 50b-4, 50b-5, 50b-6, and
47	54		50b-7, Article III, [Section 50b, 50b-1, or 50b-2 of the] Texas
48	55		Constitution, shall be deposited in the state treasury in the
49	56		student loan auxiliary fund [Texas Opportunity Plan Fund].
50	57		SECTION 3. Section 52.32(a), Education Code, is amended to
51	58		read as follows:
52	59		(a) The board may authorize loans from the Texas Opportunity
53	60		Plan Fund or the student loan auxiliary fund to a qualified
54	61		applicant who:
55	62		(1) is a resident of this state as defined by the board
56	63		in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 54;
57	64		(2) has been accepted for enrollment at a
58	65		participating higher educational institution[, provided that if
59	66		the institution is a public or private postsecondary educational
60	67		institution, the institution must be approved by an agency of the
61	68		United States government for the purpose of guaranteeing the maker
62	69		of such loans against loss due to the death, disability, or default
63	70		of the borrower];
64	71		(3) has established that the student has insufficient
65	72		resources to finance the student's college education or alternative
66	73		educator certification program;
67	74		(4) has submitted to the board at least two
68	75		references, including the names of the persons giving those
69	76		references and appropriate contact information for those persons;
70	77		and
71	78		(5) has complied with other requirements established
72	79		by the rules adopted by the board in conformity with this chapter.
73	80		SECTION 4. Section 52.33, Education Code, is amended to
74	81		read as follows:
75	82		Sec. 52.33. AMOUNT OF LOAN. The amount of the loan to any
76	83		qualified applicant shall be limited to the difference between the
77	84		financial resources available to the applicant, including [but not
78	85		limited to] the applicant's [income from parents and other
79	86		sources,] scholarships, gifts, grants, and other financial aid,
80	87		[and the amount the applicant can reasonably be expected to earn,]
81	88		and the amount necessary to pay the applicant's reasonable expenses
82	89		as a student at the participating institution of higher education
83	90		where the applicant has been accepted for enrollment, under the
84	91		rules and regulations adopted by the board. The total loan to any
85	92		individual student may never be more than the amount the student can
86	93		reasonably be expected to repay in the maximum loan period provided
87	94		by board rule, except as otherwise provided for in this chapter.
88	95		SECTION 5. Sections 52.34(a) and (f), Education Code, are
89	96		amended to read as follows:
90	97		(a) No payment may be made to any student until the student
91	98		has executed a note payable to the Texas Opportunity Plan Fund or
92	99		the student loan auxiliary fund for the full amount of the
93	100		authorized loan plus interest.
94	101		(f) The board shall distribute money to a participating
95	102		institution through the current statewide accounting system
96	103		[electronic funds transfer system maintained by the Texas
97	104		Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation for disbursing loan funds from
98	105		commercial lenders participating in the guaranteed student loan
99	106		program under Chapter 57, except that at the request of a
100	107		participating institution the board may distribute the money
101	108		through other means. The board shall enter into a contract with the
102	109		corporation for the use of the system, and the corporation shall
103	110		make the system available to the board as necessary to carry out
104	111		this subsection].
105	112		SECTION 6. Section 52.38, Education Code, is amended to
106	113		read as follows:
107	114		Sec. 52.38. REPAYMENT OF LOANS. Repayment of any loan and
108	115		interest authorized under this chapter shall be made monthly and
109	116		shall begin not later than nine months after the date the student
110	117		borrower is last enrolled in a participating institution or any
111	118		other institution of higher education [and in no event later than
112	119		five years from the date the first note evidencing a loan under this
113	120		chapter is executed]. The board may, however, authorize a longer
114	121		period before beginning repayment of loans to medical students,
115	122		dental students, and other students seeking professional or
116	123		graduate degrees. The board may extend the time for beginning
117	124		repayment for unusual financial hardships, with the approval of the
118	125		attorney general. Repayment shall be made directly to the board [or
119	126		to a participating institution] pursuant to a contract executed by
120	127		the board in accordance with its rules and regulations.
121	128		SECTION 7. The heading to Section 52.41, Education Code, is
122	129		amended to read as follows:
123	130		Sec. 52.41. SERVICING [RESTRICTION ON ISSUANCE] OF CERTAIN
124	131		FEDERALLY INSURED STUDENT LOANS.
125	132		SECTION 8. Section 52.41(b), Education Code, is amended to
126	133		read as follows:
127	134		(b) The board may service any outstanding student loans
128	135		issued by the board under the Federal Family Education Loan Program
129	136		authorized under Part B, Title IV, of the Higher Education Act of
130	137		1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1071 et seq.).
131	138		SECTION 9. Section 52.53, Education Code, is amended to
132	139		read as follows:
133	140		Sec. 52.53. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The board may accept gifts,
134	141		grants, or donations of real or personal property from any
135	142		individual, group, association, or corporation or the United
136	143		States, subject to limitations or conditions set by law. The board
137	144		shall deposit gifts, grants, or donations of money [in the Texas
138	145		Opportunity Plan Fund or] in the student loan auxiliary fund and
139	146		shall separately account for and expend the funds in accordance
140	147		with the specific purpose for which given and under such conditions
141	148		as are imposed by the donor and as provided by law.
142	149		SECTION 10. Section 52.541(a), Education Code, is amended
143	150		to read as follows:
144	151		(a) The board shall establish separate accounting within
145	152		the Texas Opportunity Plan Fund and the student loan auxiliary fund
146	153		for each of its existing loan programs[, including accounting for
147	154		the federally insured loans that are insured by the United States
148	155		Department of Education, the federally insured loans that are
149	156		insured by the United States Department of Health and Human
150	157		Services, and each loan program that consists of loans insured by
151	158		the State of Texas].
152	159		SECTION 11. The following provisions of the Education Code
153	160		are repealed:
154	161		(1) Sections 52.32(a-1) and (b);
155	162		(2) Section 52.40;
156	163		(3) Sections 52.41(a) and (c); and
157	164		(4) Subchapter E, Chapter 52.
158	165		SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
159		-	______________________________ ______________________________
160		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
161		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4465 was passed by the House on April
162		-	26, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 2, 2 present, not
163		-	voting.
164		-	______________________________
165		-	Chief Clerk of the House
166		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4465 was passed by the Senate on May
167		-	15, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
168		-	______________________________
169		-	Secretary of the Senate
170		-	APPROVED: _____________________
171		-	Date
172		-	_____________________
173		-	Governor
	166	+	* * * * *