The bill would modify fee exemptions for the spouses of certain military personnel. The number of Texas veterans eligible for the Hazlewood exemption who were killed in the line of duty or have died from injuries or illness associated with their service since the end of the Korean War is not known.
The Veterans Administration estimates the current number of 100%-disabled veterans in Texas is 17,564. The Higher Education Coordinating Board assumed the number of deceased veterans equals the number of disabled veterans and also assumed 50 percent of the deceased or disabled veterans would have met the program requirements for the Hazlewood exemption. The US Census Bureau indicates 52.8 percent of the population is married. The Coordinating Board multiplied the estimated number of deceased or 100%-disabled veterans by 50 percent and the result by 52.8 percent to estimate the number of eligible spouses. The Higher Education Coordinating Board assumed that had the exemption existed in fiscal year 2006, 5 percent (464) of them would have been enrolled in college and would have used the Hazlewood exemption and they also assumed this would be the number that would enroll in fiscal year 2008 and that the number of enrollees would increase by 3 percent per year. Using the fiscal year 2006 award of $1,913, the Higher Education Coordinating Board estimated the spouses would represent a loss of tuition and fee revenues to the institutions of higher education of $887,002 in fiscal year 2008, $913,612 in fiscal year 2009, $941,020 in fiscal year 2010, $969,251 in fiscal year 2011, and $998,328 in fiscal year 2012. It is assumed the cost will be absorbed by the institutions of higher education since the bill does not require the State to reimburse the institutions.
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.