By Cuellar H.B. No. 713
76R4157 CAG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the consolidation, modification, or repeal of student
1-3 financial aid, grant, and scholarship programs or tuition and fee
1-4 waivers and the creation of the Texas Gateway to the Future
1-5 Scholarship Program.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-8 Subchapter M to read as follows:
1-9 SUBCHAPTER M. TEXAS GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
1-10 Sec. 56.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-11 (1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
1-12 Education Coordinating Board.
1-13 (2) "Eligible institution" means:
1-14 (A) an institution of higher education; or
1-15 (B) a private or independent institution of
1-16 higher education.
1-17 (3) "Private or independent institution of higher
1-18 education," "public junior college," and "public technical
1-19 institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
1-20 Sec. 56.302. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student
1-21 financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
1-22 as the Texas Gateway to the Future Scholarship Program, and an
1-23 individual scholarship awarded under this subchapter is known as a
1-24 Texas Gateway scholarship.
2-1 (b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
2-2 money to enable eligible students to attend public and private
2-3 institutions of higher education in this state.
2-4 Sec. 56.303. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
2-5 coordinating board shall administer the Texas Gateway to the Future
2-6 Scholarship Program and shall adopt any rules necessary to
2-7 implement the program or this subchapter. The coordinating board
2-8 shall consult with the student financial aid officers of eligible
2-9 institutions in developing the rules.
2-10 (b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
2-11 Texas Gateway scholarship to an eligible student enrolled in an
2-12 eligible institution of higher education in the most efficient
2-13 manner possible.
2-14 (c) The total amount of Texas Gateway scholarships awarded
2-15 may not exceed the amount available for the program from
2-16 appropriations, gifts, grants, or other funds.
2-17 (d) In determining who should receive a Texas Gateway
2-18 scholarship, the coordinating board and the eligible institutions
2-19 shall give highest priority to awarding scholarships to students
2-20 who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
2-21 Sec. 56.304. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) To be eligible initially
2-22 for a Texas Gateway scholarship, a person must:
2-23 (1) be a resident of this state as determined by
2-24 coordinating board rules;
2-25 (2) be a graduate of a public high school in this
2-26 state or a private high school in this state accredited by an
2-27 organization recognized by the State Board of Education;
3-1 (3) for a scholarship awarded for the 2003 fall
3-2 semester or a subsequent semester or term, have graduated from a
3-3 public high school in this state not earlier than the 1998-1999
3-4 school year and have completed the recommended or advanced high
3-5 school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or an equivalent
3-6 curriculum recognized by the State Board of Education;
3-7 (4) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
3-8 coordinating board;
3-9 (5) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
3-10 certificate program at an eligible institution;
3-11 (6) enroll for at least one-half of a full course load
3-12 as an entering freshman in an undergraduate degree or certificate
3-13 program; and
3-14 (7) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
3-15 coordinating board under this subchapter.
3-16 (b) A person is not eligible to receive a Texas Gateway
3-17 scholarship if the person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
3-18 (c) A person may not receive a Texas Gateway scholarship for
3-19 more than 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
3-20 Sec. 56.305. ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After
3-21 initially qualifying for a Texas Gateway scholarship, a person may
3-22 continue to receive a Texas Gateway scholarship during each
3-23 semester or term in which the person is enrolled at an eligible
3-24 institution only if the person makes satisfactory academic progress
3-25 toward an undergraduate degree or certificate as determined by the
3-26 coordinating board.
3-27 (b) A person who qualifies for and subsequently receives a
4-1 Texas Gateway scholarship, who receives an undergraduate
4-2 certificate or associate degree, and who enrolls, not later than
4-3 the 12th month after the month the person receives the certificate
4-4 or degree, in a program leading to a higher-level undergraduate
4-5 degree continues to be eligible for a scholarship.
4-6 Sec. 56.306. SCHOLARSHIP USE. (a) A person receiving a
4-7 Texas Gateway scholarship may use the money to pay any usual and
4-8 customary cost of attendance at an institution of higher education
4-9 incurred by the student.
4-10 (b) The person shall designate initially on the person's
4-11 application whether the money will be used for tuition and fees or
4-12 whether the scholarship proceeds should be disbursed to the
4-13 student. A person may, in a subsequent semester or term, change
4-14 the disbursement instructions.
4-15 (c) Before the scholarship proceeds may be disbursed to the
4-16 person receiving a scholarship, the person receiving the proceeds
4-17 must present proof of payment of all of the person's tuition and
4-18 fees or of an arrangement for the payment of tuition or fees. If
4-19 the person receiving a scholarship has not paid tuition and fees by
4-20 the date the amounts are due, the institution disbursing the
4-21 proceeds may retain the amount of the person's tuition and fees
4-22 from the proceeds until proof of payment or an arrangement for
4-23 payment is presented.
4-24 (d) An eligible institution may not require a person to use
4-25 the money to pay tuition and fees.
4-26 Sec. 56.307. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a Texas
4-27 Gateway scholarship for a semester or term for a person enrolled in
5-1 an eligible institution other than an institution covered by
5-2 Subsection (b) is the amount of tuition and required fees charged
5-3 to the student.
5-4 (b) The amount of a Texas Gateway scholarship for a student
5-5 enrolled at a private or independent institution of higher
5-6 education is the amount determined by the coordinating board as the
5-7 average statewide amount of tuition and required fees that a
5-8 resident student enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate degree
5-9 program would be charged for that semester or term at general
5-10 academic institutions.
5-11 (c) The amount of a Texas Gateway scholarship may not be
5-12 reduced by any gift aid for which the person is eligible, unless
5-13 the total amount of a person's scholarship plus any other gift aid
5-14 received exceeds the total cost of attendance at an eligible
5-15 institution.
5-16 Sec. 56.308. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM TO STUDENTS AND HIGH
5-17 SCHOOLS. (a) The coordinating board shall distribute to each
5-18 eligible institution of higher education and to each school
5-19 district a copy of the rules adopted under this subchapter.
5-20 (b) Each school district shall:
5-21 (1) notify its students of the scholarship program and
5-22 the eligibility requirements of the program; and
5-23 (2) ensure that each student's official transcript or
5-24 diploma indicates whether the student has completed the recommended
5-25 high school curriculum established under Section 28.002.
5-26 Sec. 56.309. FUNDING. The coordinating board may solicit
5-27 and accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for
6-1 the purposes of this subchapter.
6-2 SECTION 2. Section 54.5021(c), Education Code, is amended to
6-3 read as follows:
6-4 (c) Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, each
6-5 institution of higher education that has an unobligated and
6-6 unexpended balance in its student deposit fund that exceeds 150
6-7 percent of the total deposits to that fund during that year shall
6-8 remit to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board the amount
6-9 of that excess. The coordinating board shall allocate on an
6-10 equitable basis amounts received under this subsection to
6-11 institutions of higher education that do not have an excess
6-12 described by this subsection for deposit in their student deposit
6-13 fund. The amount allocated under this subsection may be used only
6-14 for making scholarship awards under Subchapter M, Chapter 56 [to
6-15 needy and deserving students under this section].
6-16 SECTION 3. Section 56.039, Education Code, is amended to
6-17 read as follows:
6-18 Sec. 56.039. FULL USE OF FUNDS. At the end of a fiscal
6-19 year, if the total amount of unencumbered funds that have been set
6-20 aside under this subchapter by an institution of higher education,
6-21 together with the total amount of unencumbered funds transferred by
6-22 that institution to the Coordinating Board, Texas College and
6-23 University System, exceeds 150 percent of the amount of funds set
6-24 aside by that institution in that fiscal year, the institution
6-25 shall transfer the excess amount to the coordinating board. The
6-26 coordinating board shall use funds transferred under this section
6-27 to award scholarships under Subchapter M [as provided by law to
7-1 students at institutions other than the institution that
7-2 transferred the funds].
7-3 SECTION 4. Section 151.423, Tax Code, is amended to read as
7-4 follows:
7-5 Sec. 151.423. REIMBURSEMENT TO TAXPAYER FOR TAX COLLECTIONS.
7-6 A taxpayer may deduct and withhold one-half of one percent of the
7-7 amount of taxes due from the taxpayer on a timely return as
7-8 reimbursement for the cost of collecting the taxes imposed by this
7-9 chapter. The comptroller shall provide a card with each form
7-10 distributed for the collection of taxes under this chapter. The
7-11 card may be inserted by the taxpayer with the tax payment to
7-12 provide for contribution of all or part of the reimbursement
7-13 provided by this section for use as scholarships [student financial
7-14 assistance grants offered] under Subchapter M, Chapter 56,
7-15 Education Code. If the taxpayer chooses to contribute the
7-16 reimbursement for the scholarships [student grants], the taxpayer
7-17 shall include the amount of the reimbursement contribution with the
7-18 tax payment. The comptroller shall transfer money contributed
7-19 under this section for scholarships under Subchapter M, Chapter 56,
7-20 Education Code, [student grants] to the appropriate fund.
7-21 SECTION 5. Sections 54.215 and 54.216, Education Code, are
7-22 repealed.
7-23 SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
7-24 repealed effective June 1, 1999.
7-25 SECTION 7. Subchapter L, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
7-26 repealed effective June 1, 1999.
7-27 SECTION 8. Any money appropriated to or collected for a
8-1 program abolished under Section 5, 6, or 7 of this Act or that
8-2 exists in any account to support a program abolished under Section
8-3 5, 6, or 7 of this Act, including the Texas New Horizons
8-4 Scholarship Trust Fund, is transferred to the Texas Higher
8-5 Education Coordinating Board for use in the Texas Gateway to the
8-6 Future Scholarship Program.
8-7 SECTION 9. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
8-8 shall review and study the laws relating to student financial aid,
8-9 grant, and scholarship programs or tuition and fee waivers or
8-10 exemptions. The study shall describe improvements that may be made
8-11 to existing programs to maximize the benefit of the programs to the
8-12 state and its students and shall include recommendations for
8-13 legislative or administrative action that may be taken to
8-14 consolidate, expand, or otherwise modify existing programs or
8-15 create new programs.
8-16 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
8-17 report its activities and findings to the governor, the lieutenant
8-18 governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives not later
8-19 than December 1, 2000.
8-20 SECTION 10. A person receiving an exemption from tuition,
8-21 fees, or charges under Section 54.215, Education Code, on the
8-22 effective date of this Act may continue to receive the exemption
8-23 under Section 54.215 until the person is no longer eligible for the
8-24 exemption under Section 54.215 as that section exists on January 1,
8-25 1999. The costs of the exemptions authorized under this section
8-26 shall be covered by the Texas Gateway to the Future Scholarship
8-27 Program.
9-1 SECTION 11. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
9-2 Board and the eligible institutions of higher education shall award
9-3 scholarships under the Texas Gateway to the Future Scholarship
9-4 Program beginning with the 1999 fall semester.
9-5 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
9-6 adopt the rules for awarding scholarships under the Texas Gateway
9-7 to the Future Scholarship Program not later than July 25, 1999.
9-8 SECTION 12. The importance of this legislation and the
9-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
9-13 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
9-14 passage, and it is so enacted.