By:  Turner                                            S.B. No. 505
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to full tuition exemption and partial lodging and board
    1-2  fees exemption for Texas National Guard/ROTC students.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
    1-5  amended by adding Section 54.212 to read as follows:
    1-6        Sec. 54.212.  TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD/ROTC STUDENTS.  (a)  In
    1-7  this section:
    1-8              (1)  "Exempt student" means an undergraduate student
    1-9  who meets all the requirements of Subsections (d) and (f).
   1-10              (2)  "Exemption" means exemption from tuition fees and
   1-11  lodging and board as described in Subsections (b) and (c).
   1-12              (3)  "ROTC institution" means an institution of higher
   1-13  education, as defined by Section 61.003, that maintains a Reserve
   1-14  Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
   1-15              (4)  "Tuition fees" includes all dues, fees, and
   1-16  enrollment charges whatsoever for which exemptions may be lawfully
   1-17  made, including correspondence courses, general property deposit
   1-18  fees, and student services fees, but does not include fees or
   1-19  charges for lodging, board, or clothing.
   1-20        (b)(1)  The governing boards of ROTC institutions shall, for
   1-21  a period not to exceed four years, exempt from the payment of
   1-22  tuition fees a student selected by the ROTC institution's selection
   1-23  committee to receive such exemption.
    2-1              (2)  Participating ROTC institutions shall receive
    2-2  reimbursement for exempted tuition fees, lodging, and board charges
    2-3  and fees from appropriations made by the legislature.
    2-4        (c)  A student selected to receive an exemption from tuition
    2-5  fees shall be exempt from the ROTC institution's fees and charges
    2-6  for lodging and board for the first two years of enrollment.
    2-7        (d)  A student who is selected to receive an exemption under
    2-8  Subsections (b) and (c) shall be required to:
    2-9              (1)  be admitted to the institution's Reserve Officers'
   2-10  Training Corps program or be a participant in such a program;
   2-11              (2)  become a member of the Texas Army National Guard
   2-12  or the Texas Air National Guard and maintain satisfactory
   2-13  performance as prescribed by the adjutant general's department as a
   2-14  member in good standing during the term of their contractual
   2-15  obligation;
   2-16              (3)  possess and maintain from the date of enrollment
   2-17  through completion of the degree program the academic and personal
   2-18  conduct standards established by each ROTC institution;
   2-19              (4)  maintain a minimum full-time enrollment of 12
   2-20  credit hours each semester, including military science courses; and
   2-21              (5)  accept a commission in the Texas National Guard as
   2-22  a second lieutenant on graduation from the ROTC institution and
   2-23  serve no less than four years as a commissioned officer.
   2-24        (e)(1)  A maximum of 150 students shall be selected each
   2-25  academic year to receive an exemption.  The Texas Higher Education
    3-1  Coordinating Board, after consultation with representatives of the
    3-2  governing boards of ROTC institutions and the adjutant general,
    3-3  shall formulate and prescribe a plan governing the selection of
    3-4  students desiring to qualify for exemption under this section and
    3-5  the allocation of the exemptions available to each ROTC
    3-6  institution.
    3-7              (2)  The adjutant general and each participating ROTC
    3-8  institution shall make special efforts to recruit students for the
    3-9  program that reflect the state's ethnic, gender, and racial
   3-10  diversity.
   3-11              (3)  Each ROTC institution shall be allocated at least
   3-12  two exempt students each academic year.  The maximum number of
   3-13  exempt students for each ROTC institution will be determined by the
   3-14  percentage of the institution's Army and Air Force Reserve
   3-15  Officers' Training Corps enrollment in relation to statewide Army
   3-16  and Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps enrollment.
   3-17  Percentages shall be calculated during the fall semester of every
   3-18  odd-numbered year beginning September 1, 1995.  In the event an
   3-19  ROTC institution does not recruit its maximum percentage of exempt
   3-20  students, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall be
   3-21  informed by the ROTC institution of the number of excess exemptions
   3-22  and shall allocate excess exemptions to ROTC institutions which
   3-23  have attained maximum recruiting percentages but have additional
   3-24  students who are qualified under Subsection (f) to receive the
   3-25  exemption.
    4-1        (f)  Selection committees, consisting of three ROTC
    4-2  institution representatives designated by the commissioner of
    4-3  higher education, one of whom shall be a military science faculty
    4-4  member and a commissioned officer of the Texas National Guard
    4-5  appointed by the adjutant general, shall be established at ROTC
    4-6  institutions to review applications of students who have applied
    4-7  for the exemption and to determine which students qualify to
    4-8  receive the exemption set forth in this section.  Selection of
    4-9  qualified students shall be based on the following factors:
   4-10              (1)  individual qualifications, with emphasis on the
   4-11  leadership, communication, and organizational abilities and skills
   4-12  required of commissioned officers;
   4-13              (2)  the financial need of the applicant;
   4-14              (3)  the state's ethnic, racial, and gender diversity;
   4-15  and
   4-16              (4)  projected staffing requirements for the Texas
   4-17  National Guard.
   4-18        (g)  Except in the case of an exempt student who is called
   4-19  into active military service under Section 431.111, Government
   4-20  Code, during the student's enrollment at an ROTC institution
   4-21  exemption from tuition fees shall be limited to four years, and
   4-22  exemption from lodging and board fees and charges shall be limited
   4-23  to the first two years of enrollment at the institution.
   4-24  Extensions of the exemption shall be granted for periods of active
   4-25  military duty required of the student which occur during the
    5-1  student's four-year exemption period.
    5-2        (h)(1)  In the event a student fails to maintain exempt
    5-3  status as set forth in Subsection (d), the student shall be
    5-4  required to:
    5-5                    (A)  serve the remainder of the student's
    5-6  contractual obligation as an enlisted member of the Texas National
    5-7  Guard; or
    5-8                    (B)  if unable or unwilling to fulfill the terms
    5-9  of the contractual obligation, repay to the State of Texas the
   5-10  amount of the exemption received for tuition fees, lodging, and
   5-11  board charges and fees received by the student.  Repayment must be
   5-12  completed within five years after the date of the act or
   5-13  circumstance that resulted in the student's ineligibility.
   5-14              (2)  The student's option shall be subject to approval
   5-15  by the selection committee of the student's ROTC institution.
   5-16        SECTION 2.  The exemptions authorized under this Act shall be
   5-17  available beginning with the 1996-1997 academic year.
   5-18        SECTION 3.  Implementation of the exemption program
   5-19  authorized by this Act is contingent upon appropriations being made
   5-20  by the legislature for the specified purposes of the program.
   5-21        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   5-22  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   5-23  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   5-24  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   5-25  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.