79R709 KSD-D
By: Cook of Navarro, Quintanilla, Branch H.B. No. 2274
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Guaranteed
Student Loan Corporation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 57.12(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation is
subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless
continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the corporation
is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2017 [2005].
SECTION 2. Sections 57.13(a), (b), and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The corporation is governed by a board of 11 [nine]
directors [appointed] in accordance with this section.
(b) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
shall appoint 10 [nine] members to the board as follows:
(1) five [. Four] members who must have knowledge of
or experience in finance, including management of funds or business
operations;
(2) one [. One] member who must be a student [who is]
enrolled at a postsecondary educational institution for the number
of credit hours required by the institution to be classified as a
full-time student of the institution; and
(3) four [. Three] members who must be members of the
faculty or administration of an eligible postsecondary educational
institution, as defined by Section 57.46 [of this code].
(c) Appointments to the board shall be made without regard
to the race, color, disability [handicap], sex, religion, age, or
national origin of the appointees.
SECTION 3. Sections 57.131(a), (b), (c), and (d), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a
cooperative and voluntarily joined statewide association of
business or professional competitors in this state designed to
assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with
mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their
common interest. [An officer, employee, or paid consultant of a
Texas trade association of institutions that originate or hold
student loans or a Texas trade association in the field of higher
education may not be a member of the board or a corporation employee
who is exempt from the corporation's position classification
schedule.]
(b) A person may not be a member of the board and may not be a
corporation employee employed in a "bona fide executive,
administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used
for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime
provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association of institutions that
originate or hold student loans or a Texas trade association in the
field of higher education; or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association of institutions that
originate or hold student loans or a Texas trade association in the
field of higher education. [A person who is the spouse of an
officer, manager, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association
described by Subsection (a) of this section may not be a member of
the board and may not be a corporation employee who is exempt from
the corporation's position classification schedule.]
(c) A person may not be [serve as] a member of the board or
act as the general counsel to the board or the corporation if the
person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305,
Government Code, because of the person's activities for
compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of
the corporation.
(d) A person may not be one of the members of the board
required by Section 57.13(b) [of this code] to have knowledge of or
experience in finance if the person is a member of the board of
directors or an employee of an eligible lender that participates in
the guaranteed student loan program.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 57, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 57.1311 to read as follows:
Sec. 57.1311. TRAINING PROGRAM. (a) A person who is
appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the board may
not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a
meeting of the board until the person completes a training program
that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the provisions of this chapter and the
corporation's programs, functions, rules, and budget;
(2) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
corporation;
(3) the requirements of laws relating to open
meetings, public information, and conflicts of interest; and
(4) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
corporation or the Texas Ethics Commission.
SECTION 5. Section 57.14, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 57.14. DIRECTORS' TERMS OF OFFICE. Members of the
board appointed by the governor serve for terms of six years, with
the terms of three [two] or four [three] members, as applicable,
expiring on January 31 of each odd-numbered year.
SECTION 6. Section 57.141, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 57.141. REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
for removal of an appointed member from the board that the [if a]
member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office
[appointment] the qualifications required by Section 57.13(b) [of
this code];
(2) does not maintain during service on the board the
qualifications required by Section 57.13(b) [of this code];
(3) is ineligible for membership under [violates a
prohibition established by] Section 57.131 [of this code];
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term [for which the member is appointed because of illness or
disability]; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved [unless the
absence is excused] by a majority vote of the board.
(b) The validity of an action of the board is not affected by
the fact that it is [was] taken when a ground for removal of a board
member exists [existed].
(c) If the president has knowledge that a potential ground
for removal exists, the president shall notify the presiding
officer [chairman] of the board of the potential ground. The
presiding officer [chairman] shall then notify the governor and the
attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. If the
potential ground for removal involves the presiding officer, the
president shall notify the next highest ranking officer of the
board, who shall then notify the governor and the attorney general
that a potential ground for removal exists.
SECTION 7. Sections 57.19(f) and (i), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(f) The president or the president's designee shall prepare
and maintain a written policy statement to assure implementation of
a program of equal employment opportunity under which all personnel
transactions are made without regard to race, color, disability
[handicap], sex, religion, age, or national origin. The policy
statement must include:
(1) personnel policies, including policies relating
to recruitment, evaluation, selection, appointment, training, and
promotion of personnel;
(2) a comprehensive analysis of the corporation's work
force that meets federal and state guidelines;
(3) procedures by which a determination can be made of
significant underuse in the corporation's work force of all persons
for whom federal or state guidelines encourage a more equitable
balance; and
(4) reasonable methods to appropriately address those
areas of significant underuse.
(i) The board shall develop and implement [adopt] policies
that clearly separate [define] the policymaking [respective]
responsibilities of the board [governing body of the corporation]
and the management responsibilities of the president and the staff
of the corporation.
SECTION 8. Sections 57.20(a), (b), and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The corporation shall maintain a system to promptly and
efficiently act on complaints filed with the corporation. The
corporation shall maintain information about parties to the
complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
disposition [board shall prepare information of public interest
describing the functions of the board and corporation and the
procedures by which complaints are filed with and resolved by the
board. The corporation shall make the information available to the
public and appropriate state agencies].
(b) The corporation shall make information available
describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
resolution [board shall establish methods by which consumers and
service recipients are notified of the name, mailing address, and
telephone number of the corporation for the purpose of directing
complaints to the board or corporation].
(c) The corporation shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition
[keep an information file about each complaint filed with the
corporation that the corporation has authority to resolve].
SECTION 9. Section 57.21, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) Each state agency that conducts higher education and
financial aid outreach activities shall enter into a memorandum of
understanding with the corporation. The memorandum of
understanding must outline how the corporation and the state agency
will coordinate outreach activities to maximize resources and avoid
duplication.
(d) The corporation shall report to the legislature not
later than December 1 of each even-numbered year regarding the
level of demand for student financial aid for postsecondary
education in this state.
SECTION 10. Subchapter B, Chapter 57, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 57.2105 to read as follows:
Sec. 57.2105. TECHNOLOGY POLICY. The board shall implement
a policy requiring the corporation to use appropriate technological
solutions to improve the corporation's ability to perform its
functions. The policy must ensure that the public is able to
interact with the corporation on the Internet.
SECTION 11. Sections 57.491(c), (e), and (h), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) Annually, each licensing agency shall prepare a list of
the agency's licensees and submit the list to the corporation in
hard copy or electronic form. Using the submitted lists, the [The]
corporation periodically shall:
(1) identify the persons who are in default on loans
guaranteed by the corporation; and
(2) provide a [written] list of the names of those
persons to the appropriate licensing agencies in hard copy or
electronic form.
(e) A licensing agency shall not renew the license of a
licensee whose name is on the list provided by the corporation under
Subsection (c) [of this section] unless[:
[(1) the renewal is the first renewal following the
agency's receipt of the list including the licensee's name among
those in default; or
[(2)] the licensee presents to the agency a
certificate issued by the corporation certifying that:
(1) [(A)] the licensee has entered a repayment
agreement on the defaulted loan; or
(2) [(B)] the licensee is not in default on a loan
guaranteed by the corporation.
(h) A licensing agency shall provide written notice of the
nonrenewal policies established under Subsections (e)[, (f),] and
(g) [of this section] to each applicant for a license or for renewal
of a license. The corporation shall provide written notice of those
same policies on each loan application form provided by the
corporation and on each promissory note signed by a borrower.
Failure to provide the notice required by this subsection does not
affect the default status of a borrower or the prohibitions on
renewal of a license held by a person in default.
SECTION 12. Sections 57.761(a), (b), and (c), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The board [president] shall appoint an internal auditor
for the corporation. The internal auditor serves at the will of the
board, and the internal auditor's budget, audit plans, and staffing
levels [appointment of an internal auditor] must be approved by the
board.
(b) The internal auditor shall report to the board or a
board committee designated by the board [president]. The board may
require the internal auditor to submit [directly] to the board
certain reports specified by the board.
(c) The internal auditor shall consult with the board or [a]
board committee[, as designated by the board, shall meet with the
internal auditor] on a regular basis at board or committee
meetings. At the meetings, the internal auditor shall provide to
the board or committee information regarding the progress and
results of the internal auditor's audits under this section.
SECTION 13. The following laws are repealed:
(1) Section 57.131(e), Education Code;
(2) Section 57.20(d), Education Code; and
(3) Section 57.491(f), Education Code.
SECTION 14. As soon as possible on or after the effective
date of this Act, the governor shall appoint one additional member
to the board of directors of the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan
Corporation for a term expiring January 31, 2011, to ensure that the
composition of the board complies with Section 57.13(b), Education
Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 15. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
57.131, Education Code, apply only to a member of the board of
directors of the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation or an
employee of the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation appointed
or employed after the effective date of this Act. A member of the
board who is serving on the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law as it existed immediately before the effective date for
the remainder of the member's term of office, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. An employee of the Texas
Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation who is employed on the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date as long as the person remains
continuously employed by the corporation, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.