| 1 | 1 | | 88R17139 JTZ-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Ashby, Rogers H.B. No. 2158 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to tuition and fee exemptions for firefighters enrolled in |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain courses at public institutions of higher education. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.353(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) The governing board of an institution of higher |
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| 13 | 13 | | education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory |
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| 14 | 14 | | fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of |
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| 15 | 15 | | a fire science curriculum who: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) is employed as a firefighter by a political |
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| 17 | 17 | | subdivision of this state; or |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) is a member in good standing of a volunteer fire |
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| 19 | 19 | | department that is registered with the Texas A&M Forest Service and |
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| 20 | 20 | | responds to 9-1-1 emergency calls in a designated area [currently, |
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| 21 | 21 | | and has been for at least one year, an active member of an organized |
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| 22 | 22 | | volunteer fire department participating in the Texas Emergency |
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| 23 | 23 | | Services Retirement System or a retirement system established under |
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| 24 | 24 | | the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e, |
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| 25 | 25 | | Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)] and who: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (A) attends at least 20 hours of annual training |
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| 27 | 27 | | approved by the State Firefighters' and Fire Marshals' Association |
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| 28 | 28 | | of Texas; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (B) attends or provides support services for at |
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| 30 | 30 | | least 25 percent of the department's emergencies in a calendar |
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| 31 | 31 | | year; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (C) holds: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (i) [(A)] an Accredited Advanced level of |
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| 34 | 34 | | certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the |
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| 35 | 35 | | State Firefighters' [Firemen's] and Fire Marshals' Association of |
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| 36 | 36 | | Texas volunteer certification program; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | (ii) [(B)] Phase V (Firefighter II) |
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| 38 | 38 | | certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the |
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| 39 | 39 | | Texas Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification |
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| 40 | 40 | | program under Section 419.071, Government Code. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 2. Section 54.353(a), Education Code, as amended by |
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| 42 | 42 | | this Act, applies beginning with tuition and laboratory fees |
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| 43 | 43 | | charged for the 2023 fall semester. Tuition and laboratory fees |
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| 44 | 44 | | charged for an academic period before that semester are covered by |
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| 45 | 45 | | the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, |
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| 46 | 46 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 48 | 48 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 49 | 49 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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