LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                          Austin, Texas

                           FISCAL NOTE
                       74th Regular Session

                          April 23, 1995



 TO:     Honorable Irma Rangel, Chair           IN RE:  House Bill No. 29,
         Committee on Higher Education                        as amended
         House of Representatives                       By: Goolsby
         Austin, Texas







FROM: John Keel, Director

In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on House Bill No.
29 (Relating to tuition-free higher education of senior citizens)
this office has determined the following:

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal
basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions
of the bill.

The bill would authorize public institutions of higher education
to allow senior citizens to enroll for credit in up to six hours
of courses per semester without payment of tuition if space is
available.  Currently, senior citizens are able to audit courses
without paying tuition but they do not receive college credit for
audited courses.

If all public institutions provided the proposed tuition waiver,
the additional cost to the State for formula funding is estimated
to range from  $250,000 to $295,000 per year.  However, the bill
would grant permission to offer tuition waivers but not require
institutions to do so.  Because the number of institutions that
might grant tuition waivers is unknown, and therefore the number
of senior citizens who might take advantage of waived tuition,
the fiscal implications of the bill to the State or units of
local government cannot be determined.    




Source:   Higher Education Coordinating Board
          LBB Staff: JK, MK, WRR