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By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 32
(In the Senate - Filed November 8, 2004; January 31, 2005,
read first time and referred to Subcommittee on Higher Education;
March 7, 2005, reported favorably to Committee on Education;
March 29, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute from Committee on Education by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 29, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 32 By: Zaffirini
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 an
undergraduate student enrolled for a summer term or session at the
institution an amount of tuition that is less than the amount of
tuition otherwise charged under Section 54.0513, 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 AND FEES [PILOT PROJECT].
(a) In this section:
(1) "Flat rate tuition and fees" means tuition and
fees that are charged in the same total amount to each student
included in the group of students subject to the flat rate tuition
and fees.
(2) "Tuition and fees"[, "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 flat rate [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 and fees, in a different amount for each group, to each of
the following groups of [all undergraduate] students enrolled in a
college or degree program at the institution:
(1) all undergraduate resident students;
(2) all undergraduate nonresident students;
(3) all graduate resident students; and
(4) all graduate nonresident students [included in the
pilot project].
(c) The board [of regents] may not require a full-time
student who pays flat rate tuition and fees under this section [the
pilot project] to pay more tuition and fees than the average amount
of tuition and fees 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 for:
(1) 14 semester credit hours if the student is an
undergraduate student; or
(2) nine semester credit hours if the student is a
graduate student.
[(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.
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