By: Corte (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh) H.B. No. 2335
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2005;
May 3, 2005, read first time and referred to Subcommittee on Base
Realignment and Closure; May 13, 2005, reported favorably to
Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations;
May 20, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute from Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military
Installations by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 20, 2005,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2335 By: Shapleigh
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain duties of state agencies with regard to members
of the United States armed forces and their dependents and the
communities in which they reside.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 7.029 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.029. TRANSITION ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN OF CERTAIN
MILITARY PERSONNEL. (a) The agency shall identify states and
schools operated by the United States Department of Defense from
which a significant number of students are transferring to school
districts in this state following the closure or realignment of a
military base in the state containing the school operated by the
United States Department of Defense under the Defense Base Closure
and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section 2687).
(b) The agency shall:
(1) provide appropriate transition assistance for
students transferring to school districts in this state from a
state or a school operated by the United States Department of
Defense identified under Subsection (a); and
(2) pursue appropriate education reciprocity
agreements with the United States Department of Defense and each
state identified under Subsection (a), giving priority to
agreements with states generating the largest number of transfer
students.
(c) Not later than January 1 of each year, the agency shall
report the results of its efforts to enter into reciprocity
agreements in compliance with this section to the presiding
officers of the standing committees of the senate and house of
representatives with primary authority over military and education
issues.
SECTION 2. Section 21.052(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board may issue a certificate to an educator who:
(1) holds:
(A) a degree issued by an institution accredited
by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a
nationally recognized accreditation board; or
(B) a degree issued by an institution located in
a foreign country, if the degree is equivalent to a degree described
by Paragraph (A);
(2) holds an appropriate certificate or other
credential issued by another state or country or the United States
Department of Defense; and
(3) performs satisfactorily on:
(A) the examination prescribed under Section
21.048; or
(B) if the educator holds a certificate or other
credential issued by another state or country or the United States
Department of Defense, an examination similar to and at least as
rigorous as that described by Paragraph (A) administered to the
educator under the authority of that state or country or the United
States Department of Defense.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0521 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0521. CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN DEPENDENTS OF
MILITARY PERSONNEL. (a) The board shall issue a one-year educator
certificate to a person who is a dependent of military personnel,
applies for a certificate under this section, and meets the
requirements for educator certification under Section 21.052. A
one-year certificate issued under this section expires on the first
anniversary of the date the certificate is issued. The board shall
charge the dependent a fee of not more than:
(1) $25 for the one-year certificate; and
(2) $50 for a review of the dependent's educator
certificate from another jurisdiction.
(b) The board shall identify states from which a significant
number of teachers are applying for a one-year educator
certificate. The board shall pursue reciprocity agreements
relating to teacher certification with the United States Department
of Defense and each state identified under this subsection, giving
priority to agreements with states generating the largest number of
teachers applying for a one-year educator certificate.
(c) Not later than January 1 of each year, the board shall
report the results of its efforts to enter into reciprocity
agreements in compliance with this section to the presiding
officers of the standing committees of the senate and house of
representatives with primary authority over military and education
issues.
SECTION 4. (a) Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) 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 residents [citizens] of
Texas at the time they entered the services indicated and, except as
provided by Subsection (a-1), 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) any future national emergency declared in
accordance with federal law.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person who returns
from active duty in the armed forces of the United States and
registers in an institution of higher education before the
expiration of 12 months following the date the person is released
from active duty is not subject to the requirement that the person
reside in this state for at least 12 months immediately preceding
the date of the person's registration and is immediately eligible
for the exemption provided under that subsection if the person
meets the other residency requirements of that subsection.
(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) [of this
section] also apply [and inure] to [the benefit of] the children of
members of the armed forces of the United States who are or were
killed in action, who [die or] died while in service, who are
missing in action, or whose death is documented to be directly
caused by illness or injury connected with service in the armed
forces of the United States, and to the children [benefit of
orphans] of members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air
National Guard who were killed since January 1, 1946, while on
active duty either in the service of their state or the United
States. However, to qualify for this exemption a person must be a
resident [citizen] of Texas and must have resided in the state for
at least 12 months immediately preceding the date of the person's
registration.
(b) 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 5. Subchapter F, Chapter 401, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.105 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.105. ASSISTANCE TO DEFENSE COMMUNITIES. The
office of the governor shall provide information to defense base
communities about economic development incentives and
opportunities offered by the state and how the communities may take
advantage of those opportunities.
SECTION 6. Chapter 486, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. STATE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES
Sec. 486.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Defense community" has the meaning assigned by
Section 397.001, Local Government Code.
(2) "State agency" means a department, commission,
board, office, authority, council, or other agency in the executive
branch of state government, including a university system or
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
Education Code.
Sec. 486.152. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAM. Each state agency
shall assess its programs and determine the effect of these
programs on defense communities that have been adversely or
positively affected by defense base closure or realignment
decisions made in 2005.
Sec. 486.153. STATE AGENCY LIAISON. (a) A state agency
that determines that one or more of its programs has an effect on a
defense community as described by Section 486.152 shall appoint one
or more agency employees to serve as a liaison between the agency
and the defense community and base-transition representatives.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2006, an agency liaison under
Subsection (a) shall contact each defense community affected by a
base closure or realignment in 2005 and provide information
regarding agency services available to defense communities,
displaced workers, and incoming military service members and their
families, as applicable.
Sec. 486.154. REPORTS. A state agency described by Section
486.153 shall include in its annual report under Section 2101.0115
a description of:
(1) the steps the agency has taken to assist defense
communities and military service members and their dependents after
a base closure or realignment and the tangible results of these
efforts in each community; and
(2) the agency's ongoing efforts to assist defense
communities in the future.
Sec. 486.155. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
expires September 1, 2007.
SECTION 7. (a) Subchapter G, Chapter 505, Occupations
Code, is amended by adding Sections 505.3531 and 505.3532 to read as
follows:
Sec. 505.3531. HOURS OF REQUIRED SUPERVISION. (a) A person
who is a member of the United States armed forces or who is the
dependent of a person who is a member of the United States armed
forces is entitled to receive credit for any hours of required
supervision that are earned in another state or country in order to
fulfill the eligibility requirements provided under Section
505.353 or rules adopted under this chapter.
(b) The board shall accept the hours of required supervision
of a person who qualifies for credit under Subsection (a) without
requiring preapproval of the hours.
Sec. 505.3532. RECIPROCAL LICENSE. (a) The board may waive
any license requirement for an applicant after reviewing the
applicant's credentials and determining that the applicant holds a
license from another state that has license requirements
substantially equivalent to those of this state.
(b) The board shall complete the processing of an
application for a license under this section not later than the 30th
day after the date the application is submitted to the board.
(c) Not later than January 1 of each year, the board shall
file a report with the presiding officers of the standing
committees of the senate and house of representatives with primary
authority over military issues and occupational licensing issues
relating to reciprocal licenses. The report must include the
number of applications filed, the number of licenses issued, and
the state in which the applicant was licensed before applying under
this section.
(b) The change in law made by this Act governing eligibility
of a person for a license under Chapter 505, Occupations Code,
applies only to a license application filed with the Texas State
Board of Social Worker Examiners under Chapter 505, Occupations
Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective date of this
Act. A license application filed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. Subchapter H, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 1101.3605 and 1101.3606 to read as
follows:
Sec. 1101.3605. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR NONRESIDENT
APPLICANTS FOR BROKER LICENSE; ARMED FORCES OR DEPENDENTS. An
applicant for a broker license who does not satisfy the education or
residency requirements of this chapter is eligible for the license
if the applicant provides to the commission satisfactory evidence
that the applicant:
(1) is a licensed real estate broker in another state;
(2) is a member or dependent of a member of the United
States armed forces serving in Texas;
(3) satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
(4) demonstrates competence based on an examination
under Subchapter I.
Sec. 1101.3606. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR NONRESIDENT
APPLICANTS FOR SALESPERSON LICENSE; ARMED FORCES OR DEPENDENTS. An
applicant for a salesperson license who does not satisfy the
education or residency requirements of this chapter is eligible for
the license if the applicant provides to the commission
satisfactory evidence that the applicant:
(1) is a licensed real estate broker or salesperson in
another state;
(2) is a member or dependent of a member of the United
States armed forces serving in Texas;
(3) satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
(4) demonstrates competence based on an examination
under Subchapter I.
SECTION 9. Section 1101.454(d), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The commission may [not] waive the requirements for
renewal under this section for an applicant who is issued a license
under Section 1101.3605 or 1101.3606.
SECTION 10. Subchapter D, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 201.210 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.210. COOPERATION WITH MILITARY COMMUNITIES. The
department shall initiate efforts to cooperate with a community in
which a military base is located to develop a long-range and a
short-range transportation plan in order to make the traffic flow
within the community more efficient and make the military
transportation needs of the base a priority. In determining the
transportation needs of the community, the department shall
consider:
(1) the input of members of the community; and
(2) the character and extent of the military
operations conducted at the base.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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