79R7052 JRJ-D

By:  Guillen                                                      H.B. No. 2734



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to tuition and fee exemptions for certain military 
personnel and their dependents.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by 
adding Subsections (b-1) and (e-1) and amending Subsections (c), 
(e), and (g) to read as follows:
	(b-1)  The governing board of each institution of higher 
education shall exempt from the payment of all tuition and required 
fees:
		(1)  the child of a member or former member of the armed 
forces of the United States if the member:
			(A)  while in military service became permanently 
and totally disabled according to the disability ratings of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs or has completed not less than 20 
years of active military service;
			(B)  while in military service, executed a 
document with the applicable military service that:
				(i)  indicated the member's permanent 
residence address to be in Texas; and
				(ii)  designated Texas as the member's place 
of legal residence for income tax purposes; and
			(C)  when the member became permanently and 
totally disabled while in military service or when the member 
completed the member's 20th year of active military service, as 
applicable, was a noncommissioned officer or enlisted member; or
		(2)  the spouse of a member or former member of the 
armed forces of the United States who was married to the member 
during all or part of the member's military service if the member:
			(A)  while in military service became permanently 
and totally disabled according to the disability ratings of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs and has completed not less than 20 
years of active military service;
			(B)  while in military service, executed a 
document with the applicable military service that:
				(i)  indicated the member's permanent 
residence address to be in Texas; and
				(ii)  designated Texas as the member's place 
of legal residence for income tax purposes; and
			(C)  when the member became permanently and 
totally disabled while in military service and when the member 
completed the member's 20th year of active military service, was a 
noncommissioned officer or enlisted member.
	(c)  A person may not receive [The] exemptions provided for 
in Subsections [Subsection] (a) and (b-1) for more than [of this 
section shall not exceed] a cumulative total of 150 credit hours.
	(e)  The exemptions [exemption from fees] provided for in 
Subsections [Subsection] (a) and (b-1) do [of this section does] 
not apply to a person who, [if] at the time of [his] registration,
[he] is eligible for educational benefits under federal legislation 
[in effect at the time of his registration] if the value of those 
benefits is equal to or exceeds the value of the exemption.  If the 
value of the federal benefits does not equal or exceed the value of 
the exemption, the [, except that the] person must first utilize the 
federal benefit, [for which he is eligible] and the combined amount 
of the federal benefit plus the amount of the exemption may [this 
waiver shall] not exceed the maximum value of the exemption
[waiver].  A person is covered by the exemptions if the person's
[his] right to benefits under federal legislation is extinguished 
at the time of [his] registration, except that a person is not 
eligible for an exemption from fees under this section if the 
person's right to benefits under federal legislation is 
extinguished because the person is in default of repayment of a loan 
made to the person under a federal program to provide or guarantee 
loans for educational purposes.
	(e-1)  A person is not eligible for an [the] exemption under 
this section if the person is in default on a loan made or 
guaranteed for educational purposes by the State of Texas.
	(g)  The governing board of a junior college district may 
provide that the exemptions provided by Subsections (a), [and] (b), 
and (b-1) do not apply to a course fee or training fee charged a 
student by the junior college district to cover the flight time 
costs associated with a course in aircraft flight training, to the 
extent those costs are incurred by a student:
		(1)  who does not have a private pilot rating; or                             
		(2)  who has a private pilot rating but is not actively 
seeking to fulfill the requirements of the Federal Aviation 
Administration for an additional certification or rating.
	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.