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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to tuition and fee exemptions for firefighters enrolled in |
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certain courses at public institutions of higher education. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 54.353(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) The governing board of an institution of higher |
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education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory |
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fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of |
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a fire science curriculum who: |
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(1) is employed as a firefighter by a political |
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subdivision of this state; or |
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(2) is a member in good standing of a volunteer fire |
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department that is registered with the Texas A&M Forest Service and |
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responds to 9-1-1 emergency calls in a designated area [currently, |
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and has been for at least one year, an active member of an organized |
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volunteer fire department participating in the Texas Emergency |
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Services Retirement System or a retirement system established under |
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the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e, |
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Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)] and who: |
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(A) attends at least 20 hours of annual training |
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approved by the State Firefighters' and Fire Marshals' Association |
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of Texas; |
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(B) attends or provides support services for at |
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least 25 percent of the department's emergencies in a calendar |
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year; and |
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(C) holds: |
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(i) [(A)] an Accredited Advanced level of |
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certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the |
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State Firefighters' [Firemen's] and Fire Marshals' Association of |
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Texas volunteer certification program; or |
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(ii) [(B)] Phase V (Firefighter II) |
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certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the |
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Texas Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification |
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program under Section 419.071, Government Code. |
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SECTION 2. Section 54.353(a), Education Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies beginning with tuition and laboratory fees |
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charged for the 2023 fall semester. Tuition and laboratory fees |
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charged for an academic period before that semester are covered by |
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the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |