By Counts H.B. No. 1434
76R2039 JSA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to providing tuition payment assistance to certain members
1-3 of the state military forces attending public institutions of
1-4 higher education.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 431, Government Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Section 431.090 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 431.090. TUITION ASSISTANCE. (a) Because the state
1-9 military forces are the state's only organized, trained, and
1-10 equipped military force under the direction of the governor
1-11 available to respond to natural and man-made disasters, tuition
1-12 assistance is provided under this section to eligible members of
1-13 the state military forces to encourage voluntary membership, to
1-14 improve the education level of its members, to diversify the
1-15 composition of the forces, and to enhance the state's workforce.
1-16 (b) In this section, "institution of higher education" has
1-17 the meaning assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
1-18 (c) To be eligible for tuition assistance under this
1-19 section, a person must:
1-20 (1) be a member in good standing, as certified by the
1-21 adjutant general, of the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air
1-22 National Guard, or Texas State Guard who is:
1-23 (A) an enlisted member;
1-24 (B) a warrant officer of a grade from Warrant
2-1 Officer One through Chief Warrant Officer Three; or
2-2 (C) a commissioned officer of a grade from
2-3 Second Lieutenant through Captain; and
2-4 (2) meet any additional qualifications established by
2-5 the adjutant general to carry out the purposes of this section or
2-6 to further the institutional needs of the state military forces.
2-7 (d) The adjutant general shall grant tuition assistance
2-8 under this section to a number of eligible persons established by
2-9 the adjutant general, considering funds available for that
2-10 assistance and the needs of the state military forces. The
2-11 adjutant general may apportion the number of tuition assistance
2-12 awards among the components of the state military forces as the
2-13 adjutant general considers necessary to meet the recruitment and
2-14 retention needs of those components. The number of tuition
2-15 assistance awards made to members of the Texas State Guard may not
2-16 exceed 30 for any semester, unless the adjutant general finds a
2-17 compelling need for additional awards to members of the Texas
2-18 State Guard.
2-19 (e) Tuition assistance may be awarded under this section for
2-20 tuition charged for any undergraduate or graduate course at an
2-21 institution of higher education, including a vocational or
2-22 technical course.
2-23 (f) A person may not receive tuition assistance under this
2-24 section for:
2-25 (1) more than 12 semester credit hours in any
2-26 semester; or
2-27 (2) more than five academic years or 10 semesters,
3-1 whichever occurs first for the person.
3-2 (g) Before each semester at a time determined by the Texas
3-3 Higher Education Coordinating Board, the adjutant general shall
3-4 certify to the coordinating board a list of the persons to whom the
3-5 adjutant general has awarded tuition assistance under this section
3-6 for that semester. After receipt of the list, the coordinating
3-7 board shall determine whether sufficient money is available to fund
3-8 the tuition assistance awards under Section 54.2155, Education
3-9 Code. If the coordinating board determines that sufficient money
3-10 is not available, the board shall notify the adjutant general, who
3-11 shall reduce the number of awards according to the amount of money
3-12 available and certify to the coordinating board a revised list of
3-13 the persons to whom the adjutant general has awarded tuition
3-14 assistance.
3-15 SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
3-16 amended by adding Section 54.2155 to read as follows:
3-17 Sec. 54.2155. PAYMENT OF TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF
3-18 STATE MILITARY FORCES. (a) In the manner established by the Texas
3-19 Higher Education Coordinating Board, for each semester the
3-20 coordinating board shall certify to institutions of higher
3-21 education information identifying the persons to whom the adjutant
3-22 general of the state military forces has awarded tuition assistance
3-23 under Section 431.090, Government Code, if the coordinating board
3-24 has determined that sufficient money is available to reimburse
3-25 institutions for tuition exemptions granted under this section. An
3-26 institution of higher education shall exempt a person certified by
3-27 the coordinating board under this section from the payment of
4-1 tuition for the semester credit hours for which the person enrolls,
4-2 not to exceed 12 semester credit hours. If the person is not
4-3 charged tuition at the rate provided for other Texas residents, the
4-4 amount of the exemption may not exceed the amount of tuition the
4-5 person would be charged as a Texas resident for the number of
4-6 semester credit hours for which the person enrolls, not to exceed
4-7 12 semester credit hours.
4-8 (b) From money appropriated for purposes of this section,
4-9 the coordinating board shall reimburse an institution of higher
4-10 education in an amount equal to the amount of the tuition exemption
4-11 the institution grants to a person under Subsection (a).
4-12 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2000.
4-13 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.