By: Kolkhorst, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte) H.B. No. 518
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2009;
  May 21, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
  May 25, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 14,
  Nays 0; May 25, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to programs to provide student loan repayment assistance
  for certain correctional officers and for certain speech-language
  pathologists and audiologists.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter FF to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER FF. CORRECTIONAL OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT
  ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM
         Sec. 61.9781.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Correctional officer" means a correctional
  officer employed in a confinement facility operated by the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice.
               (2)  "Trust fund" means the correctional officer loan
  repayment assistance trust fund.
         Sec. 61.9782.  REPAYMENT AUTHORIZED.  The board shall
  establish a pilot program to provide, using money in the trust fund
  and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the board,
  assistance in the repayment of student loans for correctional
  officers who apply and qualify for the assistance.
         Sec. 61.9783.  ELIGIBILITY.  To be eligible to receive
  repayment assistance, a correctional officer must:
               (1)  have received a baccalaureate degree from Sam
  Houston State University or from another general academic teaching
  institution that is selected to participate in the program by the
  board under Section 61.9789(b) if the board expands the program to
  include an additional general academic teaching institution;
               (2)  establish to the board that:
                     (A)  the repayment assistance will be used to
  repay any part of a student loan received by the correctional
  officer to cover the officer's cost of attendance in connection
  with enrollment in junior-level or senior-level course work in the
  baccalaureate degree program at the institution;
                     (B)  during the period of the correctional
  officer's enrollment at the institution as described by Paragraph
  (A), the officer:
                           (i)  was employed full-time as a
  correctional officer in this state;
                           (ii)  was classified as a resident of this
  state under Subchapter B, Chapter 54;
                           (iii)  established financial need as
  determined by board rule; and
                           (iv)  maintained good academic standing at
  the institution as determined by board rule; and
                     (C)  the correctional officer has not committed an
  offense:
                           (i)  under Chapter 39, Penal Code;
                           (ii)  under Section 38.11 or 38.114, Penal
  Code;
                           (iii)  under any other provision of the
  Penal Code in which the victim was a person in the custody of the
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the time the offense
  occurred; or
                           (iv)  the elements of which are equivalent
  to a criminal offense under the law of another state, federal law,
  or the law of a foreign government;
               (3)  complete at least two full years of employment as a
  full-time correctional officer in this state not later than the
  second anniversary of the date of the person's graduation from the
  institution; and
               (4)  comply with any other requirements adopted by
  board rule under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9784.  ELIGIBLE LOANS.  (a)  The board may provide
  repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan received
  by an eligible correctional officer through any lender for the cost
  of attendance for enrollment at Sam Houston State University or at
  another general academic teaching institution that is selected by
  the board to participate in the program under Section 61.9789(b).
         (b)  The board may withhold repayment assistance for a
  student loan that is in default at the time of the correctional
  officer's application.
         (c)  Subject to Sections 61.9785 and 61.9788, in each state
  fiscal biennium the board shall attempt to allocate all funds
  available in the trust fund for the purpose of providing repayment
  assistance under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9785.  REPAYMENT.  (a)  The board shall deliver any
  repayment under this subchapter in a lump sum:
               (1)  payable to both the lender or other holder of the
  loan and the correctional officer; or
               (2)  on the correctional officer's behalf directly to
  the lender or other holder of the loan.
         (b)  A repayment under this subchapter may be applied to any
  amount due in connection with the loan.
         (c)  The board may grant prior conditional approval to a
  correctional officer who completes each eligibility requirement
  under Section 61.9783 other than the requirement under Section
  61.9783(3) and may reserve money in the trust fund for disbursement
  under this subchapter on the officer's completion of that
  requirement.
         Sec. 61.9786. RULES.  (a)  The board shall adopt rules
  necessary to administer this subchapter.  The board may consult
  with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to assist the board in
  establishing priorities among eligible correctional officers for
  repayment assistance.
         (b)  The board shall distribute to Sam Houston State
  University, any other general academic teaching institution that is
  selected by the board to participate in the program under Section
  61.9789(b), each public junior college, and appropriate state
  agencies and professional associations copies of the rules adopted
  under this section and other pertinent information relating to this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9787.  AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.  (a)  The loan
  repayment amount for one year of full-time employment as a
  correctional officer beginning two years after graduation from Sam
  Houston State University or from another general academic teaching
  institution that is selected by the board to participate in the
  program under Section 61.9789(b) may not exceed the cost of
  attendance for the officer to enroll in 30 semester credit hours of
  junior-level or senior-level course work at the institution, as
  applicable.
         (b)  The total amount of repayment assistance distributed by
  the board under this subchapter may not exceed the total amount of
  gifts and grants accepted by the board for repayment assistance,
  legislative appropriations for repayment assistance, and other
  funds available to the board for purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9788.  TRUST FUND.  (a)  The board shall award
  repayment assistance under this subchapter from the amount
  available in the trust fund. The trust fund is established outside
  the treasury but is held in trust by the comptroller. Money in the
  trust fund may be spent without appropriation and only to fund the
  pilot program. Interest and income from the assets of the trust
  fund shall be credited to and deposited in the trust fund. In each
  state fiscal year the board may spend from the trust fund to cover
  the costs of administering this subchapter an amount not to exceed
  2.5 percent of the total amount of money deposited into the trust
  fund in that fiscal year.
         (b)  The board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from
  any public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter and
  shall deposit a gift or grant to the credit of the trust fund.
         (c)  The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund.
         Sec. 61.9789.  EVALUATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.  (a)  The board
  shall evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program established
  under this subchapter and report the results of the evaluation to
  the legislature not later than December 31 of each even-numbered
  year.
         (b)  If the board determines that expansion of the program
  would enhance the effectiveness of the program or improve the
  board's ability to evaluate the program, the board by rule may
  expand the program to include as eligible to receive repayment
  assistance under Section 61.9783 a correctional officer who:
               (1)  received a baccalaureate degree from a general
  academic teaching institution other than Sam Houston State
  University that is located near a confinement facility operated by
  the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and that is selected by the
  board to participate in the program; and
               (2)  meets all other eligibility requirements
  prescribed by or adopted under Section 61.9783.
         (c)  If the board by rule expands the program under
  Subsection (b) to include graduates of one or more other general
  academic teaching institutions, the board shall include in the
  report under Subsection (a) information regarding the
  effectiveness of the expansion and the name of each additional
  general academic teaching institution selected to participate in
  the program.
         Sec. 61.9790.  TERMINATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.  The board may
  not award repayment assistance under this subchapter to pay the
  costs of enrollment in an academic year after the 2015-2016
  academic year.  On January 1, 2019, the trust fund is abolished and
  any amount remaining in the trust fund shall be transferred to the
  general revenue fund.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter GG to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER GG.  REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
  AND AUDIOLOGIST EDUCATION LOANS
         Sec. 61.9801.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Audiologist" means a person licensed as an
  audiologist under Chapter 401, Occupations Code.
               (2)  "Communicative disorders program" means a
  graduate degree program in audiology or speech-language pathology
  accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology
  and Speech-Language Pathology.
               (3)  "Public school" means a public preschool or
  primary or secondary school in this state.
               (4)  "Speech-language pathologist" means a person
  licensed as a speech-language pathologist under Chapter 401,
  Occupations Code.
         Sec. 61.9802.  REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The board
  shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board rules,
  assistance in the repayment of student loans for speech-language
  pathologists and audiologists who apply and qualify for assistance.
         Sec. 61.9803.  ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive
  repayment assistance, a speech-language pathologist or an
  audiologist must:
               (1)  apply to the board; and
               (2)  at the time the speech-language pathologist or
  audiologist applies for the assistance:
                     (A)  have been employed as a speech-language
  pathologist or as an audiologist, as applicable, for at least one
  year by, and be currently employed full-time in that capacity by, a
  public school; or
                     (B)  have been employed as a faculty member of a
  communicative disorders program at an institution of higher
  education for at least one year, and be currently employed
  full-time in that capacity at such an institution.
         (b)  The board by rule may provide for repayment assistance
  on a pro rata basis for speech-language pathologists and
  audiologists employed part-time by a public school or institution
  of higher education.
         Sec. 61.9804.  LIMITATION. (a)  On qualifying for the
  assistance, a speech-language pathologist or an audiologist may
  receive repayment assistance grants for each year of employment,
  not to exceed five years, by:
               (1)  a public school; or
               (2)  a communicative disorders program at an
  institution of higher education.
         (b)  The amount of repayment assistance grants that a
  speech-language pathologist or an audiologist may receive for each
  year of employment by a public school or a communicative disorders
  program at an institution of higher education may not exceed 20
  percent of the speech-language pathologist's or audiologist's total
  principal amount of student loans.
         (c)  The total amount of repayment assistance grants
  received by a speech-language pathologist or an audiologist under
  this subchapter may not exceed $30,000 for an eligible recipient
  who holds a master's degree but not a doctoral degree, or $45,000
  for an eligible recipient who holds a doctoral degree.
         Sec. 61.9805.  ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
  repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
  education at an institution of higher education, including loans
  for undergraduate education, received by a speech-language
  pathologist or an audiologist through any lender.
         (b)  The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
  student loan that is in default at the time of the speech-language
  pathologist's or audiologist's application.
         (c)  Each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
  provide repayment assistance in amounts sufficient to use all the
  money appropriated to the board for that biennium for the purpose of
  providing repayment assistance under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9806.  REPAYMENT. (a) The board shall deliver any
  repayment made under this subchapter in a lump sum payable to the
  lender and the speech-language pathologist or audiologist, in
  accordance with any applicable federal law.
         (b)  A repayment made under this subchapter may be applied
  only to the principal amount of the loan.
         Sec. 61.9807.  ADVISORY COMMITTEES. The board may appoint
  advisory committees to assist the board in administering this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9808.  ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS. The board may accept
  gifts, grants, and donations for the purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9809.  RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
  necessary for the administration of this subchapter.
         (b)  The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted
  under this section and pertinent information regarding this
  subchapter to:
               (1)  each institution of higher education;
               (2)  any appropriate state agency; and
               (3)  any appropriate professional association.
         SECTION 3.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall adopt the rules for repayment assistance under Subchapter FF,
  Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
  December 1, 2009.
         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, 2009.
 
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