86R5332 SOS-D
By: Hernandez H.B. No. 730
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to exempting certain homeless individuals from the payment
of tuition and fees at public institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 54.3671 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.3671. EXEMPTIONS FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS. (a) In
this section, "homeless individual":
(1) means an individual who:
(A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence; or
(B) has a primary nighttime residence that is:
(i) a supervised publicly or privately
operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
transitional housing for the mentally ill;
(ii) an institution that provides a
temporary residence for individuals intended to be
institutionalized; or
(iii) a public or private place not
designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
accommodation for human beings; and
(2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned
or otherwise detained in a correctional facility.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a homeless
individual is exempt from the payment of tuition and fees
authorized in this chapter, including tuition and fees charged by
an institution of higher education for a dual credit course or other
course for which a high school student may earn joint high school
and college credit, if the individual:
(1) submits to the institution of higher education, as
prescribed by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rule, a
notarized affidavit confirming the individual's status as a
homeless individual from:
(A) an employee of a homeless shelter or
transitional housing facility;
(B) an employee of an organization that provides
to homeless individuals or assists homeless individuals in
obtaining services such as health services, mental or behavioral
health services, substance abuse services, public assistance
services, or employment services;
(C) an attorney licensed to practice law in this
state;
(D) a peace officer who is an official homeless
liaison;
(E) an employee of a faith-based organization
that provides benefits or services to homeless individuals; or
(F) a counselor or administrator at a school
attended by the homeless individual;
(2) enrolls in an institution of higher education as
an undergraduate student or in a dual credit course or other course
for which a high school student may earn joint high school and
college credit not later than the individual's 25th birthday; and
(3) demonstrates financial need as determined by Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board rule.
(c) A person may not charge a fee for providing or
notarizing the affidavit described by Subsection (b).
(d) An affidavit described by Subsection (b) may not be used
for an exemption under this section if the affidavit was signed more
than 60 days before the date the affidavit is submitted to an
institution of higher education under Subsection (b).
(e) A person is not eligible for an exemption under this
section if the person:
(1) has previously received an exemption under this
section for 10 semesters or summer sessions at any institution or
institutions of higher education;
(2) has received a baccalaureate degree; or
(3) is subject to the registration requirements of
Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 2. (a) Section 54.3671, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with tuition and fees charged for the
2020 spring semester.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules to implement Section 54.3671, Education Code, as added
by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.