79R856 JRJ-D

By:  Zaffirini                                                    S.B. No. 32 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain special tuition rates at institutions of higher 
education.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 54.0514 to read as follows:
	Sec. 54.0514.  SPECIAL SUMMER TUITION RATES.  The governing 
board of an institution of higher education may charge a resident 
undergraduate student enrolled for a summer term or session at the 
institution tuition, other than tuition charged under Section 
54.0513, in an amount that is less than the amount of tuition 
otherwise provided by this subchapter, but not less than one-half 
of that amount.
	SECTION 2.  Section 54.072, Education Code, is amended to 
read as follows:   
	Sec. 54.072.  FLAT RATE TUITION [PILOT PROJECT].  (a) In this 
section, "tuition" means all academic program costs related to 
enrollment in an academic course or degree program that are charged 
to a student, including all charges designated as tuition, 
mandatory fees, and incidental fees.  The term does not include 
voluntary fees.
	(b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 
the governing board of an institution of higher education [regents 
of The University of Texas System] may charge[establish a pilot 
project at The University of Texas at Austin involving not more than 
two colleges or degree programs designated by the board of regents 
under which the university charges] the same amount of tuition to 
all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or degree program 
at the institution [included in the pilot project].
	(c)  The board [of regents] may not require a full-time 
student who pays tuition under this section [the pilot project] to 
pay more tuition than the average amount of tuition that a student 
[not included in the pilot project] would pay for enrolling in the 
institution [university] for 14 semester credit hours for the same 
semester or term.
	[(d)  The board of regents shall evaluate the effect of flat 
rate tuition charged under the pilot project on the number of 
semester credit hours taken by students included in the project 
each semester.  The board shall report the results of the evaluation 
to the legislature not later than December 31, 2002, and December 
31, 2004.
	[(e)  This section expires September 1, 2005.]                
	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 on the 91st day after the last day of the 
legislative session.