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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to requiring a public institution of higher education to |
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establish and provide notice regarding an emergency loan program. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 56.051, Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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Sec. 56.051. EMERGENCY LOANS. Each institution of higher |
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education shall [may] establish an emergency loan program under |
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which students are loaned money to pay tuition, fees, costs of |
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on-campus housing, and the costs of textbooks. |
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SECTION 2. Section 56.053(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) The governing board of each institution shall adopt |
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rules providing for the terms of the loan, subject to the following: |
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(1) the loan must be repaid over a period not to exceed |
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180 [90] days for a loan made for a regular semester or long summer |
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session or over a proportionately shorter period for loans made for |
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a six-week summer session; |
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(2) the loan must be evidenced by a written or |
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electronic agreement providing for one of the following: |
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(A) interest on the loan at a rate of not more |
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than five percent per year; or |
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(B) an origination fee of not more than 1.25 |
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percent of the amount of the loan; and |
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(3) the loan amount per student may not exceed an |
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amount equal to the tuition and mandatory fees for the courses in |
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which the student is actually enrolling. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 56, Education Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 56.056 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 56.056. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF EMERGENCY LOAN. (a) |
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Each institution of higher education shall provide notice of the |
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emergency loan program to each student in a prominently printed |
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statement that appears on or is included with the student's tuition |
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bill or billing statement for the payment of the student's tuition. |
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(b) If for any semester or other academic term the |
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institution does not provide the student with a printed tuition |
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bill or tuition billing statement, the institution shall include |
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the notice required by Subsection (a) for that semester or other |
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term in a statement prominently displayed in an e-mail sent to the |
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student. The notice may be included in any other e-mail sent to the |
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student in connection with the student's tuition charges for that |
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semester or other term. |
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(c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by rule |
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shall prescribe minimum standards for the manner, form, and content |
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of the notice required by this section. |
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SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply |
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beginning with the emergency loan program for the 2012 spring |
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semester. |
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(b) Not later than September 1, 2011, the Texas Higher |
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Education Coordinating Board shall adopt the rules required by |
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Section 56.056, Education Code, as added by this Act. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |