HBA-JLV H.B. 1942 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1942 By: Delisi Higher Education 3/5/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the spouse or dependent child of a member of the armed forces of the United States who does not graduate high school in Texas is not entitled to consideration for automatic admission to an institution of higher education. Even if such a military spouse or dependent child meets all other requirements for top 10 percent automatic admission, they are nonetheless not eligible for automatic admission. House Bill 1942 provides that a spouse or dependent child of a member of the armed forces of the United States who graduates from high school outside Texas qualifies for automatic admission to institutions of higher education under the top 10 percent rule and entitles those automatically admitted to pay tuition and fees at the rate provided for Texas residents. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1942 amends the Education Code to provide that a spouse or dependent child of a member of the armed forces of the United States who is not assigned to duty in Texas but who has previously resided in Texas for a 12-month period is entitled to automatic admission to an institution of higher education if the spouse or child graduated with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the person's high school graduating class. The spouse or child must have graduated in one of the two school years preceding the academic year for which admission is being sought, and graduated from a public or private high school in this state or in any place that is accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization operated in the state or other jurisdiction where the high school is located. The bill also provides that those automatically admitted are entitled to pay tuition and fees at the rate provided for Texas residents for the academic year for which admission is being sought. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. The Act applies beginning with the fall semester 2002.