Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1094 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	S.B. No. 1094
	1	+	87R24308 MM-D
	2	+	By: Creighton, et al. S.B. No. 1094
	3	+	(Frullo)
	4	+	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1094: No.
2	5
3	6
	7	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	8		AN ACT
5	9		relating to the payment of certain education expenses using the
6	10		state's programs for paying, prepaying, or saving toward the costs
7	11		of attending an institution of higher education.
8	12		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	13		SECTION 1. Section 54.605(a), Education Code, is amended to
10	14		read as follows:
11	15		(a) A prepaid tuition contract remains in effect after the
12	16		program is terminated if, when the program is terminated, the
13	17		beneficiary:
14	18		(1) has been accepted by or is enrolled in an
15	19		institution of higher education, a private or independent
16	20		institution of higher education, [or] a career school or college,
17	21		or a registered apprenticeship program described by Section
18	22		54.619(i); or
19	23		(2) is projected to graduate from high school not
20	24		later than the third anniversary of the date the program is
21	25		terminated.
22	26		SECTION 2. Section 54.619, Education Code, is amended by
23	27		adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
24	28		(i) Notwithstanding other provisions of this subchapter,
25	29		any contract benefits purchased under this subchapter may be
26	30		applied to the payment of tuition and required fees for a registered
27	31		apprenticeship program as if the apprenticeship program were an
28	32		institution of higher education or private or independent
29	33		institution of higher education. On the purchaser's request, the
30	34		board shall apply, in accordance with Section 54.628, any existing
31	35		amount of prepaid tuition contract benefits to the payment of
32	36		registered apprenticeship program tuition and required fees. The
33	37		board is not responsible for the payment of registered
34	38		apprenticeship program tuition and required fees in excess of that
35	39		amount. The board may adopt rules as necessary to implement this
36	40		subsection. In this subsection, "registered apprenticeship
37	41		program" means an apprenticeship program that is registered and
38	42		certified with the United States Department of Labor under Section
39	43		1 of the National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. Section 50 et seq.).
40	44		SECTION 3. Section 54.751, Education Code, is amended by
41	45		amending Subdivisions (2) and (6) and adding Subdivision (9-a) to
42	46		read as follows:
43	47		(2) "Beneficiary" means the person designated under a
44	48		prepaid tuition contract as the person entitled to apply one or more
45	49		tuition units purchased under the contract to the payment of the
46	50		person's:
47	51		(A) undergraduate tuition and required fees at a
48	52		general academic teaching institution, two-year institution of
49	53		higher education, private or independent institution of higher
50	54		education, medical and dental unit, career school, or accredited
51	55		out-of-state institution of higher education; and
52	56		(B) registered apprenticeship program tuition
53	57		and required fees.
54	58		(6) "Prepaid tuition contract" means a contract under
55	59		which a person purchases from the board on behalf of a beneficiary
56	60		one or more tuition units that the beneficiary is entitled to apply
57	61		to the payment of the beneficiary's:
58	62		(A) undergraduate tuition and required fees at a
59	63		general academic teaching institution, two-year institution of
60	64		higher education, private or independent institution of higher
61	65		education, medical and dental unit, career school, or accredited
62	66		out-of-state institution of higher education; or
63	67		(B) registered apprenticeship program tuition
64	68		and required fees.
65	69		(9-a) "Registered apprenticeship program" means an
66	70		apprenticeship program that is registered and certified with the
67	71		United States Department of Labor under Section 1 of the National
68	72		Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. Section 50 et seq.).
69	73		SECTION 4. Section 54.753(a), Education Code, is amended to
70	74		read as follows:
71	75		(a) Under the program, a purchaser may prepay the costs of
72	76		all or a portion of a beneficiary's undergraduate tuition and
73	77		required fees at a general academic teaching institution, two-year
74	78		institution of higher education, private or independent
75	79		institution of higher education, medical and dental unit, career
76	80		school, [or] accredited out-of-state institution of higher
77	81		education, or registered apprenticeship program by entering into a
78	82		prepaid tuition contract with the board to purchase one or more
79	83		tuition units of a type described by this section at the applicable
80	84		price established by the board for that type of unit for the year in
81	85		which the unit is purchased. The portion of the beneficiary's
82	86		undergraduate tuition and required fees for which a tuition unit
83	87		may be redeemed at a particular general academic teaching
84	88		institution or two-year institution of higher education is assigned
85	89		to the tuition unit at the time of purchase, and the tuition unit
86	90		may be redeemed to pay that portion of the tuition and fees at the
87	91		general academic teaching institution or two-year institution of
88	92		higher education in any academic year in which the unit is redeemed
89	93		in accordance with this subchapter. The purchaser may purchase one
90	94		type of unit or a combination of two or three types of units.
91	95		SECTION 5. Sections 54.754(a) and (d), Education Code, are
92	96		amended to read as follows:
93	97		(a) In accordance with this subchapter, when a beneficiary
94	98		under a prepaid tuition contract redeems one or more tuition units
95	99		to pay costs of tuition and required fees, the board shall apply
96	100		money in the fund, in the amount provided by Section 54.765 to pay
97	101		all or the applicable portion of the costs of the beneficiary's
98	102		tuition and required fees at the general academic teaching
99	103		institution, two-year institution of higher education, private or
100	104		independent institution of higher education, medical and dental
101	105		unit, career school, [or] accredited out-of-state institution of
102	106		higher education, or registered apprenticeship program in which the
103	107		beneficiary enrolls. Subject to Subsection (b)(2) and the other
104	108		provisions of this section, a beneficiary may redeem any type of
105	109		tuition unit for attendance at an institution, [or] unit, school,
106	110		or program described by this section. A general academic teaching
107	111		institution or two-year institution of higher education shall
108	112		accept the amount transferred to the institution under Section
109	113		54.765(c) when the unit or units are redeemed as payment for all or
110	114		the applicable portion of the beneficiary's tuition and required
111	115		fees.
112	116		(d) If a beneficiary redeems fewer tuition units of the type
113	117		or combination of types necessary to pay the total cost of the
114	118		beneficiary's tuition and required fees at the general academic
115	119		teaching institution, two-year institution of higher education,
116	120		private or independent institution of higher education, medical and
117	121		dental unit, career school, [or] accredited out-of-state
118	122		institution of higher education, or registered apprenticeship
119	123		program at which the beneficiary enrolls, the beneficiary is
120	124		responsible for paying the amount of the difference between the
121	125		amount of tuition and required fees for which the beneficiary pays
122	126		through the redemption of one or more tuition units and the total
123	127		cost of the beneficiary's tuition and required fees at the
124	128		institution, [or] unit, school, or program.
125	129		SECTION 6. Section 54.765(f), Education Code, is amended to
126	130		read as follows:
127	131		(f) When a beneficiary enrolls at a private or independent
128	132		institution of higher education, medical and dental unit, career
129	133		school, [or] accredited out-of-state institution of higher
130	134		education, or registered apprenticeship program, on written
131	135		authorization from the purchaser of the tuition unit or units for
132	136		that beneficiary, the comptroller or the comptroller's authorized
133	137		representative shall transfer to the institution the lesser of:
134	138		(1) an amount equal to the current cost of the tuition
135	139		and required fees that would be covered by redemption of the number
136	140		and type of tuition units the beneficiary is redeeming if the
137	141		beneficiary were redeeming the unit or units at a general academic
138	142		teaching institution or two-year institution of higher education as
139	143		follows:
140	144		(A) for a Type I unit, at the general academic
141	145		teaching institution that had the highest tuition and required fee
142	146		cost;
143	147		(B) for a Type II unit, at a general academic
144	148		teaching institution that had tuition and required fee cost at the
145	149		weighted average; and
146	150		(C) for a Type III unit, at a two-year
147	151		institution of higher education that had tuition and required fee
148	152		cost at the weighted average; or
149	153		(2) an amount equal to the total purchase price of the
150	154		tuition unit or units the beneficiary redeems for the semester or
151	155		other academic term plus the portion of the total return on assets
152	156		of the fund attributable to that amount.
153	157		SECTION 7. Section 54.767, Education Code, is amended to
154	158		read as follows:
155	159		Sec. 54.767. USE OF FUND ASSETS. The assets of the fund may
156	160		be used only to:
157	161		(1) pay the costs of program administration and
158	162		operations;
159	163		(2) make payments to general academic teaching
160	164		institutions, two-year institutions of higher education, private
161	165		or independent institutions of higher education, medical and dental
162	166		units, career schools, [and] accredited out-of-state institutions
163	167		of higher education, and registered apprenticeship programs on
164	168		behalf of beneficiaries; and
165	169		(3) make refunds under prepaid tuition contracts.
166	170		SECTION 8. Sections 54.769(b) and (c), Education Code, are
167	171		amended to read as follows:
168	172		(b) The rights of a purchaser, beneficiary, or successor in
169	173		interest of a purchaser or beneficiary in and under a prepaid
170	174		tuition contract and the payment of tuition and required fees for a
171	175		beneficiary under a prepaid tuition contract to a general academic
172	176		teaching institution, two-year institution of higher education,
173	177		private or independent institution of higher education, medical and
174	178		dental unit, career school, [or] accredited out-of-state
175	179		institution of higher education, or registered apprenticeship
176	180		program under this chapter are exempt from attachment, levy,
177	181		garnishment, execution, and seizure for the satisfaction of any
178	182		debt, judgment, or claim against a purchaser, beneficiary, or
179	183		successor in interest of a purchaser or beneficiary.
180	184		(c) A claim or judgment against a purchaser, beneficiary, or
181	185		successor in interest of a purchaser or beneficiary does not impair
182	186		or entitle the claim or judgment holder to assert or enforce a lien
183	187		against:
184	188		(1) the rights of a purchaser, beneficiary, or
185	189		successor in interest of a purchaser or beneficiary in and under a
186	190		prepaid tuition contract; or
187	191		(2) the right of a beneficiary to the payment of
188	192		tuition and required fees to a general academic teaching
189	193		institution, two-year institution of higher education, private or
190	194		independent institution of higher education, medical and dental
191	195		unit, career school, [or] accredited out-of-state institution of
192	196		higher education, or registered apprenticeship program under a
193	197		prepaid tuition contract.
194	198		SECTION 9. Section 54.774(a), Education Code, is amended to
195	199		read as follows:
196	200		(a) A prepaid tuition contract remains in effect after the
197	201		program is terminated if, when the program is terminated, the
198	202		beneficiary:
199	203		(1) has been accepted by or is enrolled at a general
200	204		academic teaching institution, two-year institution of higher
201	205		education, private or independent institution of higher education,
202	206		medical and dental unit, career school, [or] accredited
203	207		out-of-state institution of higher education, or registered
204	208		apprenticeship program; or
205	209		(2) is projected to graduate from high school not
206	210		later than the third anniversary of the date the program is
207	211		terminated.
208	212		SECTION 10. Section 54.775(b), Education Code, is amended
209	213		to read as follows:
210	214		(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the board may release
211	215		information described by that subsection to a general academic
212	216		teaching institution, two-year institution of higher education,
213	217		private or independent institution of higher education, medical and
214	218		dental unit, career school, [or] accredited out-of-state
215	219		institution of higher education, or registered apprenticeship
216	220		program at which a beneficiary may enroll or is enrolled. The
217	221		institution, [or] unit, school, or program shall keep the
218	222		information confidential.
219	223		SECTION 11. Section 54.801(1), Education Code, is amended
220	224		to read as follows:
221	225		(1) "Accredited out-of-state institution of higher
222	226		education," "career school," "general academic teaching
223	227		institution," "medical and dental unit," "private or independent
224	228		institution of higher education," "registered apprenticeship
225	229		program," and "two-year institution of higher education" have the
226	230		meanings assigned by Section 54.751.
227	231		SECTION 12. Section 54.806(b), Education Code, is amended
228	232		to read as follows:
229	233		(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the board or program
230	234		entity may release information described by Subsection (a) to the
231	235		extent required by a general academic teaching institution,
232	236		two-year institution of higher education, private or independent
233	237		institution of higher education, medical and dental unit, career
234	238		school, [or] accredited out-of-state institution of higher
235	239		education, or registered apprenticeship program at which a
236	240		beneficiary may enroll or is enrolled. The institution, unit, [or]
237	241		school, or program receiving information described by Subsection
238	242		(a) shall keep the information confidential.
239	243		SECTION 13. The change in law made by this Act regarding the
240	244		application of prepaid tuition contract benefits to the payment of
241	245		tuition and required fees for a registered apprenticeship program
242	246		applies to contract benefits purchased under Subchapters F and H,
243	247		Chapter 54, Education Code, as amended by this Act, before, on, or
244	248		after the effective date of this Act.
245	249		SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
246		-	______________________________ ______________________________
247		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
248		-	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1094 passed the Senate on
249		-	April 23, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
250		-	the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 28, 2021, by the
251		-	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
252		-	______________________________
253		-	Secretary of the Senate
254		-	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1094 passed the House, with
255		-	amendment, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 138,
256		-	Nays 1, one present not voting.
257		-	______________________________
258		-	Chief Clerk of the House
259		-	Approved:
260		-	______________________________
261		-	Date
262		-	______________________________
263		-	Governor