Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 2323 amends the Education Code to establish two school loan repayment assistance programs for certain qualified attorneys. One program provides loan repayment assistance for attorneys currently practicing in the state and employed full-time by tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that receive funds from either the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account program administered by the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation or the basic civil legal services account in the judicial fund administered by the Texas Supreme Court to provide legal services to indigent individuals. The other program provides similar assistance to attorneys who are currently employed by a district or county attorney's office in a rural county and who have entered into an agreement with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to remain employed in the office for five years under terms and conditions that require reimbursement of assistance for failure to remain employed in that capacity for the full five years.

            The bill requires the coordinating board to provide assistance to qualified applicants and establishes eligibility criteria under each program. The bill also establishes a 10-year limit on the number of annual loan repayment assistance grants and a limit on the total amount of assistance provided for an attorney providing legal services to indigent individuals and establishes a limited three-year schedule of increasing repayment assistance provided in lump sums for an attorney in a rural district or county attorney's office. The bill authorizes the board to establish separate advisory committees to assist it in performing its duties under each program.