By Alonzo H.B. No. 2440
74R6625 SMH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment of a trust fund to provide
1-3 scholarships to minority students studying abroad.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter Q to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER Q. TRUST FUND FOR MINORITY STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD
1-8 Sec. 61.791. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. (a) The trust fund for
1-9 minority students studying abroad is outside the state treasury.
1-10 The fund consists of:
1-11 (1) money acquired from private sources on behalf of
1-12 specified students;
1-13 (2) state appropriations for purposes of the fund;
1-14 (3) gifts and grants made to the fund; and
1-15 (4) the income from money deposited in the fund.
1-16 (b) The board shall administer the assets of the fund. The
1-17 board is the trustee of the fund's assets.
1-18 (c) The board shall deposit in a separate account in the
1-19 fund contributions from private sources on behalf of a specified
1-20 student. The income from the money in the account shall be
1-21 credited to the account.
1-22 (d) The legislature shall appropriate an amount of general
1-23 revenue to the fund, not to the credit of any student account, for
1-24 each biennium equal to the contributions made under Subsection (c)
2-1 for the preceding biennium.
2-2 Sec. 61.792. STATE TREASURER. (a) Except as provided by
2-3 Subsection (d), the state treasurer is the custodian of the assets
2-4 of the fund.
2-5 (b) The state treasurer shall pay money from the fund on a
2-6 warrant drawn by the comptroller supported only on a voucher signed
2-7 by the commissioner of higher education or the commissioner's
2-8 authorized representative.
2-9 (c) The state treasurer annually shall furnish to the board
2-10 a sworn statement of the amount of the fund's assets in the
2-11 treasurer's custody.
2-12 (d) The board may select one or more commercial banks,
2-13 depository trust companies, or other entities to serve as custodian
2-14 of all or part of the assets of the fund.
2-15 Sec. 61.793. INVESTMENT OF FUND ASSETS. (a) The board
2-16 shall invest the assets of the fund.
2-17 (b) The board may contract with private professional
2-18 investment managers to assist the board in investing the assets of
2-19 the fund.
2-20 (c) The board shall develop written investment objectives
2-21 concerning the investment of the assets of the fund. The
2-22 objectives may address desired rates of return, risks involved,
2-23 investment time frames, and any other relevant considerations.
2-24 (d) In investing the assets of the fund, the board shall
2-25 exercise the judgment and care, under the circumstances prevailing
2-26 at the time of the investment, that persons of ordinary prudence,
2-27 discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their
3-1 own affairs, not in speculation but when making a permanent
3-2 disposition of their money, considering the probable income from
3-3 the disposition and the probable safety of their capital.
3-4 Sec. 61.794. USE OF FUND. (a) The board shall use the
3-5 money in the fund to provide a scholarship to a student:
3-6 (1) who is a member of a group that is significantly
3-7 underrepresented among Texas students studying abroad;
3-8 (2) who is enrolled in an internship for credit at an
3-9 institution of higher education under which the student is required
3-10 to study abroad; and
3-11 (3) for whom an account in the fund has been
3-12 established under Section 61.791(c).
3-13 (b) The amount of the scholarship is the sum of:
3-14 (1) the amount in the account; and
3-15 (2) an additional amount from the portion of the fund
3-16 not credited to student accounts, equal to the lesser of:
3-17 (A) the amount in the account; or
3-18 (B) $5,000.
3-19 (c) If the portion of the fund not credited to student
3-20 accounts is insufficient to cover the portion of scholarships
3-21 computed under Subsection (b)(2) for an academic year, the board
3-22 shall allocate the available amount proportionally to the
3-23 scholarships awarded for that academic year.
3-24 (d) If the student does not qualify for a scholarship, the
3-25 board shall refund the money in the account to the source who
3-26 contributed it.
3-27 Sec. 61.795. RULES. The board shall adopt rules to
4-1 implement this subchapter.
4-2 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
4-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-8 passage, and it is so enacted.