2023S0259-T 03/07/23
By: Smith H.B. No. 4487
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student loan repayment assistance for prosecutors and
certain criminal lawyers practicing in rural counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Y, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Y. REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN LAW SCHOOL EDUCATION LOANS:
RURAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS [ASSISTANT DISTRICT OR COUNTY ATTORNEY]
Sec. 61.9601. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this
subchapter:
(1) "Rural[, "rural] county" means a county with a
population of 100,000 [50,000] or less.
(2) "Appointed attorney" means an attorney who accepts
appointments to represent adult or juvenile indigent criminal
defendants.
(3) "Employed" means:
(A) full-time salaried work;
(B) for part-time employees, an annualized
average of 15 hours per week of salaried work; or
(C) an annualized average of 15 hours per week of
work as an appointed attorney.
Sec. 61.9602. REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. (a) The
board shall provide, using funds appropriated for that purpose and
in accordance with this subchapter and board rules, assistance in
the repayment of [law school] education loans for attorneys who
apply and qualify for the assistance.
(b) The provision of financial assistance in the repayment
of education loans under this subchapter promotes a public purpose.
Sec. 61.9603. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive
repayment assistance, an attorney must:
(1) apply to the board;
(2) hold a law degree from an accredited institution
of higher education;
(3) at the time of the application, be licensed to
practice law in the State of Texas;
(4) have outstanding student loan debt; and
(5) be employed as a prosecutor, public defender, or
appointed attorney providing services in one or more rural counties
[be currently employed as an attorney by a district or county
attorney's office that serves a rural county; and
[(3) enter into an agreement to remain employed by the
district or county attorney's office as provided by Section
61.9605].
Sec. 61.9604. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
education at an institution of higher education, including loans
for undergraduate education, received by the individual [education
loan received by the attorney] through any lender [for education at
a school of law authorized by the board to award a degree that
satisfies the law study requirements for licensure as an attorney
in this state].
(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for an
education loan that is in default at the time of the attorney's
application.
[Sec. 61.9605. AGREEMENT. (a) To qualify for loan
repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter
into a written agreement with the board as provided by this section.
The agreement must specify the conditions the person must satisfy
to receive repayment assistance.
[(b) The agreement must require the person to be employed
for a period of five years with a district or county attorney's
office that serves a rural county. Only employment with that
district or county attorney's office as an attorney after the date
the person enters into the agreement may be used to satisfy the
employment requirement under the agreement.
[(c) The agreement must provide that the repayment
assistance the person receives before the person has been employed
for five years as required by the agreement constitutes a loan until
the person completes the five years of employment and satisfies any
other applicable conditions of the agreement. The agreement must
require the person to sign a promissory note acknowledging the
conditional nature of the repayment assistance received and
promising to repay the amount of that assistance received plus
applicable interest and reasonable collection costs if the person
does not satisfy the applicable conditions. The board shall
determine the terms of the promissory note. To the extent
practicable, the terms must be the same as those applicable to state
or federally guaranteed student loans made at the same time. All
amounts collected in repayment of a loan under this subsection,
including interest, but excluding collection costs paid by the
board to another person to collect or assist in collecting the
amount, shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund
established by Section 61.9608.]
Sec. 61.9606. REPAYMENT. (a) The amount of loan repayment
provided under this program shall be determined by the board and
shall not exceed the following amounts for each year for which the
individual establishes eligibility for the assistance:
(1) for the first year, $30,000;
(2) for the second year, $40,000;
(3) for the third year, $50,000; and
(4) for the fourth year, $60,000.
(b) The total amount of repayment assistance made to an
individual may not exceed $180,000.
(c) An individual may receive repayment assistance grants
for not more than four years [Except as provided by Section
61.9609(a), the board shall provide repayment assistance under this
subchapter in the following amounts:
[(1) 60 percent of each payment due on an attorney's
eligible loans during the first 12-month period after the attorney
enters into the agreement under Section 61.9605;
[(2) 80 percent of each payment due on an attorney's
eligible loans during the second 12-month period after the attorney
enters into the agreement; and
[(3) 100 percent of each payment due on an attorney's
eligible loans during the third 12-month period after the attorney
enters into the agreement].
(d) [(b)] The board shall deliver any repayment assistance
made under this subchapter in a lump sum payable:
(1) to both the individual and the lender or other
holder of the affected loan; or
(2) directly to the lender or other holder of the loan
on the individual's behalf [and the attorney and in accordance with
any applicable federal law].
(e) [(c)] Loan repayment assistance received under this
subchapter may be applied to the principal amount of the loan and to
interest that accrues.
Sec. 61.9607. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The board shall
[may] appoint an advisory committee from outside the board's
membership to assist the board in performing the board's duties
under this subchapter.
(b) The advisory committee members must be comprised of
equal numbers of members recommended by:
(1) the Texas District and County Attorneys
Association;
(2) the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; and
(3) the Texas Judicial Council.
(c) The advisory committee shall make recommendations to
the board regarding rules that:
(1) establish a method for documenting and verifying
the hours worked or cases defended by applicants who are appointed
attorneys; and
(2) allocate repayment in a manner that incentivizes
service in the most rural counties. To do so, the advisory
committee shall consider:
(A) the population of the counties in which
applicants provide services;
(B) the degree of criminal lawyer scarcity in
those counties; and
(C) for appointed attorneys:
(i) the distances between the counties in
which an applicant provides service;
(ii) the volume of cases handled by the
applicant; and
(iii) the hours that the applicant devoted
to rural appointed cases during the previous calendar year.
Sec. 61.9608. FUNDING. (a) The loan repayment assistance
program established by this subchapter is funded from the rural
prosecution and defense [district and county attorney] student loan
assistance trust fund. The trust fund is established outside the
treasury and is administered by the comptroller. Money in the trust
fund may be spent without appropriation and only to fund the
program. Interest and income from the assets of the trust fund
shall be credited to and deposited in the trust fund.
(b) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this
subchapter and shall deposit money accepted under this subsection
to the credit of the trust fund.
(c) The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund.
Sec. 61.9609. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
necessary for the administration of this subchapter[, including a
rule that sets the maximum amount of loan repayment assistance that
an attorney may receive in one year].
(b) The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted
under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter to:
(1) each school of law authorized by the board to award
a degree described by Section 61.9604(a); [and]
(2) any appropriate district or county attorneys;
(3) the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; and
(4) any appropriate public defender offices.
(c) The board shall administer the program under this
subchapter in a manner that maximizes any matching funds available
through other sources.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.