| 1 | 1 | | H.B. No. 2026 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 5 | | relating to the Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program. |
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| 6 | 6 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 7 | 7 | | SECTION 1. Section 56.101(7), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 8 | 8 | | read as follows: |
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| 9 | 9 | | (7) "Rural county" means a county in this state with a |
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| 10 | 10 | | population of less than 150,000 [100,000]. |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 2. Section 56.105(b), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) To participate as a sponsor in the program, the |
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| 14 | 14 | | community or political subdivision must enter into an agreement |
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| 15 | 15 | | with the eligible participant to provide financial support to the |
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| 16 | 16 | | eligible participant in an amount not less than the tuition and fees |
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| 17 | 17 | | required for a full academic year for a student enrolled in a [the] |
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| 18 | 18 | | college in exchange for the eligible participant's agreement to |
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| 19 | 19 | | practice veterinary medicine in the sponsoring community or |
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| 20 | 20 | | political subdivision. |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 3. Sections 56.106(a) and (b), Education Code, are |
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| 22 | 22 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (a) To participate in the program, an eligible participant |
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| 24 | 24 | | must enter into an agreement with the Texas Higher Education |
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| 25 | 25 | | Coordinating Board [university system] that: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) requires the participant to practice veterinary |
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| 27 | 27 | | medicine in a rural county for one calendar year for each academic |
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| 28 | 28 | | year for which the participant receives financial support under the |
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| 29 | 29 | | program; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) specifies the conditions the participant must |
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| 31 | 31 | | satisfy to receive financial support under the program; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) provides that any financial support the |
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| 33 | 33 | | participant receives under the program constitutes a loan until the |
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| 34 | 34 | | participant satisfies the conditions of the agreement; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (4) requires the participant to sign a promissory note |
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| 36 | 36 | | acknowledging the conditional nature of the financial support |
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| 37 | 37 | | received under the program and promising to repay the amount of the |
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| 38 | 38 | | financial support, any applicable interest, and reasonable |
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| 39 | 39 | | collection costs if the participant does not satisfy the conditions |
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| 40 | 40 | | of the agreement. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (b) The financial support received by an eligible |
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| 42 | 42 | | participant under this subchapter must be used to retire student |
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| 43 | 43 | | loan debt or to pay tuition and fees to a college [the university |
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| 44 | 44 | | system] while the eligible participant is enrolled in the college. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 46 | 46 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 47 | 47 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 48 | 48 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 49 | 49 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 50 | 50 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 51 | 51 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 52 | 52 | | I certify that H.B. No. 2026 was passed by the House on May 2, |
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| 53 | 53 | | 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 112, Nays 33, 1 present, not |
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| 54 | 54 | | voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to |
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| 55 | 55 | | H.B. No. 2026 on May 23, 2023, and requested the appointment of a |
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| 56 | 56 | | conference committee to consider the differences between the two |
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| 57 | 57 | | houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report |
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| 58 | 58 | | on H.B. No. 2026 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 118, |
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| 59 | 59 | | Nays 26, 2 present, not voting. |
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| 60 | 60 | | ______________________________ |
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| 61 | 61 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 62 | 62 | | I certify that H.B. No. 2026 was passed by the Senate, with |
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| 63 | 63 | | amendments, on May 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays |
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| 64 | 64 | | 4; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference |
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| 65 | 65 | | committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and |
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| 66 | 66 | | that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. |
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| 67 | 67 | | 2026 on May 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4. |
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| 68 | 68 | | ______________________________ |
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| 69 | 69 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 70 | 70 | | APPROVED: __________________ |
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| 71 | 71 | | Date |
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| 72 | 72 | | __________________ |
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| 73 | 73 | | Governor |
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