Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By: Moncrief S.B. No. 1311
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to providing scholarships to students at institutions of
1-2 higher education for certain out-of-state internship programs.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended to add a
1-5 new Subchapter L to read as follows:
1-6 SUBCHAPTER L. TEXAS-WASHINGTON, D.C. INTERN
1-7 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
1-8 Sec. 56.221. PROGRAM NAME. The student financial assistance
1-9 program authorized by this subchapter is known as the
1-10 Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern Scholarship Program and a grant
1-11 awarded under this subchapter is known as a Texas-Washington, D.C.
1-12 Intern grant.
1-13 Sec. 56.222. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
1-14 provide a grant of money to enable a qualified person enrolled in
1-15 an institution of higher education to participate in a Washington,
1-16 D.C. internship program.
1-17 Sec. 56.223. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) To be eligible for a
1-18 Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern grant, a person must:
1-19 (1) be a Texas resident as defined by coordinating
1-20 board rules;
1-21 (2) enroll for a full course load in an institution of
1-22 higher education as defined by Section 61.003 or 61.222;
1-23 (3) be from a low-income or middle-income family and
2-1 establish financial need as defined by coordinating board rules;
2-2 (4) have applied for any available financial
2-3 assistance; and
2-4 (5) have complied with any other administrative
2-5 requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this
2-6 subchapter.
2-7 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a Texas-Washington,
2-8 D.C. Intern grant if the person has been convicted of a felony, a
2-9 crime involving moral turpitude, or an offense under Chapter 481,
2-10 Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under
2-11 the law of any other jurisdiction involving a controlled substance
2-12 as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the
2-13 person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements under
2-14 this subchapter and has:
2-15 (1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
2-16 Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
2-17 completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least
2-18 two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion;
2-19 or
2-20 (2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
2-21 expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
2-22 the resulting ineligibility to participate in the Texas tuition
2-23 assistance grant program.
2-24 Sec. 56.224. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. The coordinating
2-25 board shall provide a Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern grant to an
3-1 eligible person enrolled in an institution of higher education
3-2 based on the financial need of that person. The total amount of
3-3 Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern grants distributed by the
3-4 coordinating board may not exceed the amount appropriated for the
3-5 Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern Scholarship Program.
3-6 Sec. 56.225. PAYMENT OF GRANT; AMOUNT. (a) On receipt of a
3-7 person's Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern grant application, an
3-8 enrollment report from the institution of higher education
3-9 enrolling the person providing the coordinating board with the
3-10 information the board requires to determine the person's
3-11 eligibility, and a certification of the amount of financial need
3-12 from the institution of higher education, the coordinating board
3-13 shall determine whether the person is eligible for a grant and
3-14 shall distribute the amount of the grant for an eligible person to
3-15 the institution of higher education.
3-16 Sec. 56.226. ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RULES. (a) The
3-17 coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter.
3-18 (b) The coordinating board shall distribute to each
3-19 institution of higher education copies of all rules adopted under
3-20 this subchapter.
3-21 Sec. 56.227. FUNDING. (a) The coordinating board may
3-22 accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for the
3-23 purposes of this subchapter.
3-24 (b) Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern grants are payable from
3-25 gifts, grants, and funds appropriated by the legislature.
4-1 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
4-2 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall make
4-3 grants under the Texas-Washington, D.C. Intern Scholarship Program
4-4 beginning with the 1998 fall semester.
4-5 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.