79R6280 JRJ-D

By:  Van de Putte                                                 S.B. No. 774



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to permitting certain military personnel entitled to 
receive tuition and fee exemptions to transfer the exemption to a 
child.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by 
amending Subsections (c) and (g) and adding Subsections (h) and (i) 
to read as follows:
	(c)  The exemptions provided for in Subsections [Subsection] 
(a) and (h) of this section shall not exceed a cumulative total of 
150 credit hours.
	(g)  The governing board of a junior college district may 
provide that the exemptions provided by Subsections (a), [and] (b), 
and (h) 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.
	(h)  The Texas Veterans Commission by rule shall prescribe 
procedures to allow a person eligible for an exemption provided by 
Subsection (a) who has never received an exemption under that 
subsection to waive the person's right to the exemption and assign 
the exemption to one of the person's children.  The procedures shall 
provide:
		(1)  the manner in which a person may waive the 
exemption and designate a child to receive the exemption;
		(2)  a procedure permitting the person to designate a 
different child to receive the exemption if the child previously 
designated to receive the exemption has never received an exemption 
under this section; and
		(3)  a method of documentation to enable institutions 
of higher education to determine the eligibility of the designated 
person to receive the exemption.
	(i)  To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection 
(h), a person must be classified as a resident under Subchapter B 
when the person enrolls in an institution of higher education.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  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.
	(b)  The Texas Veterans Commission shall prescribe the 
procedures required by Section 54.203(h), Education Code, as added 
by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this 
Act.  For that purpose, the commission may adopt the initial rules 
prescribing those procedures in the manner provided by law for 
emergency rules.
	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.