By: Ogden S.B. No. 1581

(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2011; March 23, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 26, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 6; April 26, 2011, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1581 By: Ogden

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to state fiscal matters related to public and higher education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES

GENERALLY

SECTION 1.01. This article applies to any state agency, school, institution of higher education, or other entity that receives an appropriation under Article III of the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this state, each entity to which this article applies is authorized to reduce or recover expenditures by:

(1) consolidating any reports or publications the entity is required to make and filing or delivering any of those reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;

(2) extending the effective period of any license, permit, or registration the entity grants or administers;

(3) entering into a contract with another governmental entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the entity's duties;

(4) adopting additional eligibility requirements for persons who receive benefits under any law the entity administers to ensure that those benefits are received by the most deserving persons consistent with the purposes for which the benefits are provided;

(5) providing that any communication between the entity and another person and any document required to be delivered to or by the entity, including any application, notice, billing statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by e-mail or through the Internet; and

(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover any costs the entity incurs in performing its lawful functions.

ARTICLE 2. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING ADVANCED PLACEMENT

SECTION 2.01. Subsection (h), Section 28.053, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(h) The commissioner may enter into agreements with the college board and the International Baccalaureate Organization to pay for all examinations taken by eligible public school students. An eligible student is a student [one] who:

(1) takes a college advanced placement or international baccalaureate course at a public school or who is recommended by the student's principal or teacher to take the test; and

(2) demonstrates financial need as determined in accordance with guidelines adopted by the board that are consistent with the definition of financial need adopted by the college board or the International Baccalaureate Organization.

ARTICLE 3. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

SECTION 3.01. Subchapter K, Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 56.2012 to read as follows:

Sec. 56.2012. EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER; ELIGIBILITY CLOSED. (a) This subchapter expires September 1, 2017.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 56.203, a person may not receive an award under this subchapter if the person graduates from high school on or after September 1, 2011.

SECTION 3.02. Subsection (b), Section 54.213, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) [Savings to the foundation school fund that occur as a result of the Early High School Graduation Scholarship program created in Subchapter K, Chapter 56, and that are not required for the funding of state credits for tuition and mandatory fees under Section 56.204 or school district credits under Section 56.2075 shall be used first to provide tuition exemptions under Section 54.212. Any of those savings remaining after providing tuition exemptions under Section 54.212 shall be used to provide tuition exemptions under Section 54.214.] The Texas Education Agency shall [also] accept and make available to provide tuition exemptions under Section 54.214 gifts, grants, and donations made to the agency for that purpose. The commissioner of education shall transfer those funds to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to distribute to institutions of higher education that provide exemptions under that section [Payment of funds under this subsection shall be made in the manner provided by Section 56.207 for state credits under Subchapter K, Chapter 56].

SECTION 3.03. Section 56.210, Education Code, is repealed.

ARTICLE 4. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING TUITION EXEMPTIONS

SECTION 4.01. Subsection (c), Section 54.214, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) To be eligible for an exemption under this section, a person must:

(1) be a resident of this state;

(2) be a school employee serving in any capacity;

(3) for the initial term or semester for which the person receives an exemption under this section, have worked as an educational aide for at least one school year during the five years preceding that term or semester;

(4) establish financial need as determined by coordinating board rule;

(5) be enrolled at the institution of higher education granting the exemption in courses required for teacher certification in one or more subject areas determined by the Texas Education Agency to be experiencing a critical shortage of teachers at the public schools in this state [at the institution of higher education granting the exemption];

(6) maintain an acceptable grade point average as determined by coordinating board rule; and

(7) comply with any other requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this section.

SECTION 4.02. The change in law made by this article applies beginning with tuition and fees charged for the 2011 fall semester. Tuition and fees charged for a term or semester before the 2011 fall semester are covered by the law in effect during the term or semester for which the tuition and fees are charged, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

ARTICLE 5. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING CERTAIN DISTRIBUTIONS TO

INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

SECTION 5.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 63, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 63.0035 to read as follows:

Sec. 63.0035. LIQUIDATION OF INSTITUTION'S SHARE OF FUND. (a) The comptroller in consultation with the board of regents of The University of Texas System shall establish procedures by which any institution entitled in a state fiscal year to receive a distribution from the permanent fund established under this subchapter may, in lieu of receiving the distribution owed to the institution for that year, request and receive a liquidation distribution of the institution's proportional share of the total value of the fund. The board of regents shall make the liquidation distribution in accordance with the procedures established under this section.

(b) For purposes of making a liquidation distribution under this section:

(1) the institution's proportional share of the total value of the fund is the same as the institution's proportional share of the total amount of distributions from the fund made during the preceding state fiscal year; and

(2) the total value of the fund is determined at the close of business on the date on which the institution makes its request for a liquidation distribution.

(c) Any expenses associated with the liquidation distribution shall be deducted from the amount of the liquidation distribution before payment is made to the institution.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 63.002(c), an institution that receives a liquidation distribution of the institution's proportional share of the fund is not entitled to any subsequent distributions from the fund.

(e) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subchapter, an institution that receives a liquidation distribution under this section may use those funds for any lawful purpose of the institution. The comptroller shall establish procedures to ensure that a liquidation distribution to Baylor College of Medicine is used for public purposes consistent with a contract in effect under Section 61.092.

ARTICLE 6. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING DUAL HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR

COLLEGE CREDIT

SECTION 6.01. Subsection (c), Section 130.008, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The contact hours attributable to the enrollment of a high school student in a course offered for joint high school and junior college credit under this section, excluding a course for which the student attending high school may receive course credit toward the physical education curriculum requirement under Section 28.002(a)(2)(C), shall be included in the contact hours used to determine the junior college's proportionate share of the state money appropriated and distributed to public junior colleges under Sections 130.003 and 130.0031, even if the junior college waives all or part of the tuition or fees for the student under Subsection (b).

SECTION 6.02. This article applies beginning with funding for the 2011 fall semester.

ARTICLE 7. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 7.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

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