1-1     By:  Bivins                                           S.B. No. 1485

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 13, 1997; March 20, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 9, 1997,

 1-4     reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 9, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1485                  By:  Bivins

 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-8                                   AN ACT

 1-9     relating to the tuition charged to certain students at public

1-10     institutions of higher education and to state funding related to

1-11     those students.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is

1-14     amended by adding Section 54.068 to read as follows:

1-15           Sec. 54.068.  INCREASED TUITION FOR CERTAIN RESIDENT

1-16     UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.  (a)  For a student enrolled in a

1-17     baccalaureate program at an institution of higher education who is

1-18     otherwise entitled to pay tuition at the rate provided by this

1-19     chapter for a resident student, the governing board of the

1-20     institution may charge tuition up to the rate charged to

1-21     nonresident students for any course for which the student registers

1-22     if the student has previously earned 170 or more semester credit

1-23     hours for courses taken as an undergraduate student at any

1-24     institution of higher education.  In its appropriations to

1-25     institutions of higher education, the legislature shall compute the

1-26     local funds available to each institution as if the tuition

1-27     collected under this subsection were not collected.

1-28           (b)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a student enrolled in:

1-29                 (1)  two or more baccalaureate degree programs at the

1-30     same time;

1-31                 (2)  a double major degree program that requires 130 or

1-32     more semester credits for completion; or

1-33                 (3)  a health professional baccalaureate degree program

1-34     at a medical or dental unit as defined in Section 61.003.

1-35           (c)  For a student admitted to a baccalaureate degree program

1-36     who begins that program at least one year after being awarded a

1-37     previous baccalaureate degree by an institution of higher education

1-38     in a different major, semester credit hours earned by the student

1-39     while enrolled in the previous baccalaureate degree program are not

1-40     counted for purposes of determining whether the student has

1-41     previously earned the number of semester credit hours specified by

1-42     Subsection (a).

1-43           (d)  For a student enrolled in a baccalaureate program under

1-44     Section 51.931, semester credit hours earned by the student 10 or

1-45     more years before the date the student begins the new degree

1-46     program under Section 51.931 are not counted for purposes of

1-47     determining whether the student has previously earned the number of

1-48     semester credit hours specified by Subsection (a).

1-49           (e)  The following semester credit hours are not counted for

1-50     purposes of determining whether the student has previously earned

1-51     the number of semester credit hours specified by Subsection (a):

1-52                 (1)  semester credit hours for which the institution

1-53     may not receive funding under the formulas established under

1-54     Section 61.059; or

1-55                 (2)  credit for remedial education courses or any other

1-56     courses that do not count toward a degree program at the

1-57     institution.

1-58           (f)  In consultation with institutions of higher education,

1-59     the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules to

1-60     provide for the administration and uniform application of this

1-61     section.

1-62           SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 54, Education Code, is

1-63     amended by adding Section 54.0065 to read as follows:

1-64           Sec. 54.0065.  TUITION REBATE FOR CERTAIN UNDERGRADUATES.

 2-1     (a)  A qualified student is eligible for a rebate of a portion of

 2-2     the undergraduate tuition the student has paid if the student:

 2-3                 (1)  is awarded a baccalaureate degree from a general

 2-4     academic teaching institution; and

 2-5                 (2)  has attempted no more than three hours in excess

 2-6     of the minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete

 2-7     the degree, including transfer credits and course credit earned

 2-8     exclusively by examination.

 2-9           (b)  The amount of tuition to be rebated to a student under

2-10     this section is $1,000, unless the total amount of tuition paid by

2-11     the student to the institution of higher education awarding the

2-12     degree was less than $1,000, in which event the amount of tuition

2-13     to be rebated is an amount equal to the amount of tuition paid by

2-14     the student.  If the student has paid the institution awarding the

2-15     degree less than $1,000, the student may qualify for a $1,000

2-16     rebate by providing the institution with proof of the total amount

2-17     of tuition paid to an institution of higher education.

2-18           (c)  A student who has transferred from another institution

2-19     of higher education shall provide the institution awarding the

2-20     degree an official transcript from each institution attended by the

2-21     student in order that the total number of hours attempted by the

2-22     student can be verified.

2-23           (d)  To qualify for a rebate under this section, the student

2-24     must have been a resident of this state and entitled to pay tuition

2-25     at the rate provided by this chapter for a resident student at all

2-26     times while pursuing the degree.

2-27           (e)  All institutions of higher education shall notify each

2-28     first-time freshman student of the tuition rebate program.

2-29           (f)  The institution awarding the degree shall pay the rebate

2-30     under this section from local funds.

2-31           (g)  The legislature shall account in the General

2-32     Appropriations Act for the rebates authorized by this section in a

2-33     way that provides a corresponding increase in the general revenue

2-34     funds appropriated to the institution.  It is the intent of the

2-35     legislature that rebates authorized by this section shall be

2-36     financed by savings to the state resulting from reductions in the

2-37     number of courses taken by undergraduate students.

2-38           (h)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in

2-39     consultation with the institutions of higher education, shall adopt

2-40     rules for the administration of this section.

2-41           SECTION 3.  Section 61.059, Education Code, is amended by

2-42     adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:

2-43           (n)  The board may not include in any formula under this

2-44     section funding based on undergraduate resident students who have

2-45     earned a total of 170 or more semester credit hours for courses

2-46     taken as an undergraduate student at any institution of higher

2-47     education if the institution is entitled to charge tuition to such

2-48     students at the rate charged to nonresident students under Section

2-49     54.068.

2-50           SECTION 4.  (a)  Section 54.068, Education Code, and

2-51     Subsection (n), Section 61.059, Education Code, as added by this

2-52     Act, apply only to tuition and funding for students who enter an

2-53     institution of higher education as first-time freshmen in or after

2-54     the 1997 fall semester.

2-55           (b)  Section 54.0065, Education Code, as added by this Act,

2-56     applies only to students who enter an institution of higher

2-57     education as first-time freshmen in or after the 1997 fall

2-58     semester.

2-59           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-60     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-61     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-62     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-63     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-64     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-65     passage, and it is so enacted.

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