|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to the payment of higher education tuition and fees for |
|
certain military personnel and their dependents. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Section 54.058, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (i), and (j) and by |
|
adding Subsections (b-1) and (k) to read as follows: |
|
(b) A person who is an officer, enlisted person, selectee, |
|
or draftee of the Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Air |
|
National Guard, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Navy, Navy Reserve, |
|
Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard, or Coast Guard |
|
Reserve of the United States, who is assigned to duty in Texas, and |
|
the spouse and children of such an officer, enlisted person, |
|
selectee, or draftee, [are entitled to register in a state
|
|
institution of higher education by paying the tuition fee and other
|
|
fees or charges required of Texas residents,] without regard to the |
|
length of time the officer, enlisted person, selectee, or draftee |
|
has been assigned to duty or resided in the state: |
|
(1) are entitled to register in a state institution of |
|
higher education by paying the tuition required of Texas residents; |
|
and |
|
(2) are exempt from the payment of all fees of the |
|
institution, including fees for correspondence courses but |
|
excluding property deposit fees and any fees or charges for |
|
lodging, board, or clothing. |
|
(b-1) Out-of-state [However, out-of-state] Army National |
|
Guard or Air National Guard members attending training with Texas |
|
Army or Air National Guard units under National Guard Bureau |
|
regulations may not receive benefits under Subsection (b) [be
|
|
exempted from nonresident tuition] by virtue of that training |
|
status nor may out-of-state Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or |
|
Coast Guard Reserves training with units in Texas under similar |
|
regulations receive benefits under Subsection (b) [be exempted from
|
|
nonresident tuition] by virtue of that training status. It is the |
|
intent of the legislature that [only] those members of the Army or |
|
Air National Guard or other reserve forces described by this |
|
subsection receive benefits under Subsection (b) [mentioned above
|
|
be exempted from the nonresident tuition fee and other fees and
|
|
charges] only when they become members of Texas units of the |
|
military organizations described by Subsection (b) [mentioned
|
|
above]. |
|
(c) The spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces of |
|
the United States who has been assigned to duty elsewhere |
|
immediately following assignment to duty in Texas is entitled to |
|
receive the benefits described by Subsection (b) [pay the tuition
|
|
fees and other fees or charges provided for Texas residents] as long |
|
as the spouse or child resides continuously in Texas. |
|
(d) A spouse or dependent child of a member of the Armed |
|
Forces of the United States, who is not assigned to duty in Texas |
|
but who has previously resided in Texas for a six-month period, is |
|
entitled to receive the benefits described by Subsection (b) [pay
|
|
the tuition fees and other fees or charges provided for Texas
|
|
residents] for a term or semester at an institution of higher |
|
education if the member: |
|
(1) at least one year preceding the first day of the |
|
term or semester executed a document with the applicable military |
|
service that is in effect on the first day of the term or semester |
|
and that: |
|
(A) indicates that the member's permanent |
|
residence address is in Texas; and |
|
(B) designates Texas as the member's place of |
|
legal residence for income tax purposes; |
|
(2) has been registered to vote in Texas for the entire |
|
year preceding the first day of the term or semester; and |
|
(3) satisfies at least one of the following |
|
requirements: |
|
(A) for the entire year preceding the first day |
|
of the term or semester has owned real property in Texas and in that |
|
time has not been delinquent in the payment of any taxes on the |
|
property; |
|
(B) has had an automobile registered in Texas for |
|
the entire year preceding the first day of the term or semester; or |
|
(C) at least one year preceding the first day of |
|
the term or semester executed a will that has not been revoked or |
|
superseded indicating that the member is a resident of this state |
|
and deposited the will with the county clerk of the county of the |
|
member's residence under Section 71, Texas Probate Code. |
|
(f) The spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces of |
|
the United States who dies or is killed is entitled to receive the |
|
benefits described by Subsection (b) [pay the resident tuition fee] |
|
if the spouse or child becomes a resident of Texas within 60 days of |
|
the date of death. |
|
(g) If a member of the Armed Forces of the United States is |
|
stationed outside Texas and the member's spouse or child |
|
establishes residence in Texas by residing in Texas and by filing |
|
with the Texas institution of higher education at which the spouse |
|
or child plans to register a letter of intent to establish residence |
|
in Texas, the institution of higher education shall permit the |
|
spouse or child to receive the benefits described by Subsection (b) |
|
[pay the tuition, fees, and other charges provided for Texas
|
|
residents] without regard to length of time that the spouse or child |
|
has resided in Texas. |
|
(i) A former member of the Armed Forces of the United States |
|
or the former member's spouse or dependent child is entitled to |
|
receive the benefits described by Subsection (b) [pay the tuition
|
|
fees and other fees or charges provided for Texas residents] for any |
|
term or semester at a state institution of higher education that |
|
begins before the first anniversary of the member's separation from |
|
the Armed Forces if the former member: |
|
(1) has retired or been honorably discharged from the |
|
Armed Forces; and |
|
(2) has complied with the requirements of Subsection |
|
(d). |
|
(j) A member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the |
|
child or spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States |
|
who is entitled to receive the benefits described by Subsection (b) |
|
[pay tuition and fees at the rate provided for Texas residents] |
|
under another provision of this section while enrolled in a degree |
|
or certificate program is entitled to receive those benefits [pay
|
|
tuition and fees at the rate provided for Texas residents] in any |
|
subsequent term or semester while the person is continuously |
|
enrolled in the same degree or certificate program. For purposes of |
|
this subsection, a person is not required to enroll in a summer term |
|
to remain continuously enrolled in a degree or certificate program. |
|
The person's eligibility to receive those benefits [pay tuition and
|
|
fees at the rate provided for Texas residents] under this |
|
subsection does not terminate because the person is no longer a |
|
member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the child or |
|
spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. |
|
(k) For each semester or session in which a person receives |
|
the benefits described by Subsection (b) under any provision of |
|
this section, the governing board of the institution of higher |
|
education in which the person is enrolled shall award to the person |
|
a scholarship to cover the costs of books and similar educational |
|
materials required for the person's course work at the institution. |
|
SECTION 2. Section 54.203, Education Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsections |
|
(a-1), (b-1), and (b-2) 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 person [persons] seeking the exemption declared this |
|
state as the person's home of record in the manner provided by the |
|
applicable military or other service [exemptions were citizens of
|
|
Texas] at the time the person [they] entered the service [services
|
|
indicated] and has [have] resided in this state [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; |
|
(F) the national emergency by reason of certain |
|
terrorist attacks that began on September 11, 2001; or |
|
(G) any future national emergency declared in |
|
accordance with federal law. |
|
(a-1) A person who received an exemption provided by |
|
Subsection (a) in the 2006-2007 academic year continues to be |
|
eligible for the exemption provided by that subsection as long as |
|
the person is continuously enrolled in an institution of higher |
|
education, subject to the other provisions of this section other |
|
than the requirement of Subsection (a) that the person must have |
|
declared this state as the person's home of record at the time of |
|
entering the service. |
|
(b) The exemptions provided for in Subsection (a) [of this
|
|
section] also apply [and inure] to the spouse and [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 spouse and children [benefit
|
|
of orphans] of members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air |
|
National Guard killed since January 1, 1946, while on active duty |
|
either in the service of their state or the United States. To |
|
[However, to] qualify for this exemption a person must [be a citizen
|
|
of Texas and must] have resided in this [the] state for at least 12 |
|
months immediately preceding the date of the person's registration. |
|
(b-1) For each semester or session in which a person |
|
receives an exemption from tuition and required fees under this |
|
section, the governing body of the institution of higher education |
|
in which the person is enrolled shall exempt the person from the |
|
payment of fees and charges for lodging and board if the person |
|
resides on the campus of the institution. If the person does not |
|
reside on the campus of the institution, the institution shall |
|
provide to the person a reasonable stipend to cover the costs of the |
|
person's lodging and board. |
|
(b-2) For each semester or session in which a person |
|
receives an exemption from tuition and required fees under this |
|
section, the governing body of the institution of higher education |
|
in which the person is enrolled shall award to the person a |
|
scholarship to cover the costs of books and similar educational |
|
materials required for course work at the institution. |
|
(d) The governing board of each institution of higher |
|
education granting an exemption under this section [exemptions] |
|
shall require every applicant claiming the [benefit of an] |
|
exemption to submit satisfactory evidence that the applicant |
|
qualifies for [he fulfills] the exemption [necessary citizenship
|
|
and residency requirements]. |
|
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies |
|
beginning with tuition and fees for the 2007 fall semester. Tuition |
|
and fees for a term or semester before the 2007 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 4. 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, 2007. |