By:  Guillen, Chavez, Castro, et al.                              H.B. No. 503
 
    (Senate Sponsor - Fraser)                                                
	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 11, 2005; 
April 12, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on 
Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; April 29, 2005, 
reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 3, Nays 0; 
April 29, 2005, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to tuition and fee exemptions for certain military personnel and certain children of those personnel. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 54.203(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The governing board of each institution of higher education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of all dues, fees, and charges, including fees for correspondence courses but excluding property deposit fees, student services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or clothing, provided the persons seeking the exemptions were citizens of Texas at the time they entered the services indicated and have resided in Texas for at least the period of 12 months before the date of registration: (1) all nurses and honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States who served during the Spanish-American War or during World War I; (2) all nurses, members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, members of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service, and all honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States who served during World War II except those who were discharged from service because they were over the age of 38 or because of a personal request on the part of the person that he be discharged from service; (3) all honorably discharged men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served during the national emergency which began on June 27, 1950, and which is referred to as the Korean War; and (4) all persons who were honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States after serving on active military duty, excluding training, for more than 180 days and who served a portion of their active duty during: (A) the Cold War which began on the date of the termination of the national emergency cited in Subdivision (3) of this subsection; (B) the Vietnam era which began on December 21, 1961, and ended on May 7, 1975; (C) the Grenada and Lebanon era which began on August 24, 1982, and ended on July 31, 1984; (D) the Panama era which began on December 20, 1989, and ended on January 21, 1990; (E) the Persian Gulf War which began on August 2, 1990, and ends on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or September 1, 1997, whichever occurs first; [or] (F) the national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or (G) any future national emergency declared in accordance with federal law. SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies beginning with tuition and other fees charged for the 2005 fall semester. Tuition and other fees charged for an academic period before the 2005 fall semester are covered by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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