1-1     By:  Kamel (Senate Sponsor - Duncan)                    H.B. No. 63

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 1997;

 1-3     April 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Education; May 15, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 15, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to student debit card programs operated by public

 1-9     institutions of higher education.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 51.940, Education Code, as added by

1-12     Chapter 316, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995,

1-13     is amended to read as follows:

1-14           Sec. 51.940.  STUDENT DEBIT CARDS.  (a)  [This section

1-15     applies only to:]

1-16                 [(1)  an institution that is a component of The Texas A

1-17     & M University System; or]

1-18                 [(2)  an institution that is a component of the Texas

1-19     State University System.]

1-20           [(b)]  The governing board of an institution of higher

1-21     education [to which this section applies] may establish a program

1-22     to provide students enrolled at the institution with a debit card.

1-23           (b) [(c)]  A student issued a debit card under the program

1-24     may use the card to purchase merchandise or service available

1-25     through the institution or through a person authorized to sell

1-26     merchandise or service at the institution, as determined by the

1-27     governing board.

1-28           (c) [(d)]  The program must allow a person who is in business

1-29     to sell merchandise or service of the same kind as the merchandise

1-30     or service that a student may purchase under Subsection (b) [(c)]

1-31     to participate in the program under the same or equivalent terms

1-32     applicable to a person authorized to sell merchandise under

1-33     Subsection (b) [(c)] and accept a debit card payment from a student

1-34     to whom a debit card has been issued under the program for purchase

1-35     of that merchandise or service.

1-36           (d) [(e)]  An institution of higher education may not

1-37     administer or sponsor a debit card program for students of the

1-38     institution that does not conform to this section.

1-39           (e) [(f)]  In this section:

1-40                 (1)  "Governing board" and "institution of higher

1-41     education" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.

1-42                 (2)  "Person" has the meaning assigned by Section

1-43     1.201, Business & Commerce Code.

1-44           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-45           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-46     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-47     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-48     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-49     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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