BILL ANALYSIS C.S.S.B. 1154 By: Ratliff Education 04-06-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Minorities have historically been under-represented in certain professional occupations with the Texas Department of Transportation. To help address this problem, the 72nd Texas Legislature established a Conditional Grant Program which provided the opportunity for eligible minorities to pursue a degree in civil engineering paid by the department if they agreed to work for the department for two years. PURPOSE As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1154 expands the Conditional Grant Program to include women as an eligible minority since women are also under-represented in the engineering field. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is granted to the Texas Department of Transportation under SECTIONS 4 (Sec. 56.144, Education Code) and 5 (Sec. 56.145(a), Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 56.141, Education Code, by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (3), (4), and (5), as follows: (1) Redefines "department." (2)-(5) Define "eligible degree," "eligible profession," and "profession." SECTION 2. Amends Section 56.142(a), Education Code, to require the Texas Department of Transportation (department) to establish and administer a conditional grant program under this subchapter to provide financial assistance to eligible women and minority students who agree to work for the department in an eligible profession for the two academic years immediately following the date of the student's receipt of an eligible degree. SECTION 3. Amends Section 56.143, Education Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 4. Amends Section 56.144, Education Code, as follows: Sec. 56.144. AMOUNT AND PAYMENT OF CONDITIONAL GRANTS. (a) Requires the department, by rule, to prescribe criteria for the selection of applicants for grants under this subchapter. Requires the criteria to include consideration of a student's secondary school scholastic record. (b) Makes conforming changes. (c)-(e) Redesignate existing Subsections (b)-(d). SECTION 5. Amends Sections 56.145(a) and (b), Education Code, as follows: (a) Authorizes the department, by rule, to establish conditions under which a student who has received a conditional grant may be required to repay all or part of the grant because the student has withdrawn from or dropped out of the student's institution or has otherwise failed to maintain eligibility for the grant. Deletes text regarding a requirement to repay a grant received for the semester. (b) Makes conforming changes. SECTION 6. Amends Section 56.147, Education Code, as follows: Sec. 56.147. FUNDING (a) Authorizes the department to use available money credited to the state highway fund. (b) Requires the department to issue not less than $400,000 annually in conditional grants under this subchapter from gifts, grants, and funds described by Subsection (a). SECTION 7. Repealer: Section 56.146, Education Code (Funding). SECTION 8. Effective date: September 1, 1995. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 9. Emergency clause.