84R25053 JSL-D
 
  By: Zerwas, Miller of Fort Bend, Otto H.B. No. 3572
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3572:
 
  By:  Raney C.S.H.B. No. 3572
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of
  higher education for certain military personnel and their
  dependents.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 54.341, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b-1), (e), (k), and (l) and adding
  Subsections (a-0), (a-5), (c-1), (k-2), and (p) to read as follows:
         (a)  The governing board of each institution of higher
  education shall exempt the following persons from the payment of
  tuition, dues, fees, and other required charges, including fees for
  correspondence courses but excluding general deposit fees, student
  services fees, and any fees or charges for lodging, board, or
  clothing, provided the person seeking the exemption established and
  maintained a domicile in this state as described by Section
  54.052(a)(1) and satisfies the residency requirement under
  Subsection (a-0) [currently resides in this state and entered the
  service at a location in this state, declared this state as the
  person's home of record in the manner provided by the applicable
  military or other service, or would have been determined to be a
  resident of this state for purposes of Subchapter B at the time the
  person entered the service]:
               (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 the
  person 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);
                     (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-0)  To be eligible for an exemption provided by this
  section, a person must have resided in this state continuously for
  the eight years immediately preceding the first class date of the
  semester or other academic term to which the exemption would apply.
  This subsection does not apply to a person who was born in this
  state.
         (a-5)  A person who received an exemption under this section
  for a semester or other academic term before the 2016 spring
  semester continues to be eligible for the exemption provided by
  this section as this section existed on January 1, 2015.
         (b-1)  To qualify for an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or
  (b), the spouse or child must have established and maintained a
  domicile in this state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2),
  as applicable, and satisfy the residency requirement under
  Subsection (a-0) [be classified as a resident under Subchapter B on
  the date of the spouse's or child's registration].
         (c-1)  In addition to the limitation prescribed by
  Subsection (c), a person who qualifies for an exemption under
  Subsection (a) based on the person's military service, or a person
  to whom an exemption is assigned under Subsection (k) based on the
  military service of the person's parent, may not receive the
  exemption for a semester or other academic term the first class date
  of which is later than the 15th anniversary of the date of the
  person's or parent's honorable discharge from active military duty,
  as applicable. This subsection does not apply to a person who is
  eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection (a-2) or (b) or to
  continue to receive an exemption under Subsection (a-1), (a-3),
  (a-4), or (a-5).
         (e)  The exemption from tuition, fees, and other charges
  provided for by this section does not apply to a person who at the
  time of registration is entitled to receive state or federal grant
  aid or educational benefits under federal legislation that may be
  used only for the payment of tuition and fees if the value of the
  grant aid and [those] benefits received in a semester or other term
  is equal to or exceeds the value of the exemption for the same
  semester or other term.  If the value of state or federal grant aid
  or federal benefits that may be used only for the payment of tuition
  and fees and are received in a semester or other term does not equal
  or exceed the value of the exemption for the same semester or other
  term, the person is entitled to receive both the grant aid or
  [those] federal benefits and the exemption in the same semester or
  other term. The combined amount of the state or federal grant aid or
  federal benefit that may be used only for the payment of tuition and
  fees plus the amount of the exemption received in a semester or
  other term may not exceed the cost of tuition and fees for that
  semester or other term. An institution of higher education may not
  require a person eligible for an exemption under Subsection (a) to
  apply for or obtain a student loan.
         (k)  Subject to the limitation prescribed by Subsection
  (k-2), the [The] Texas Veterans Commission by rule shall prescribe
  procedures to allow:
               (1)  a person who becomes eligible for an exemption
  provided by Subsection (a) to waive the person's right to any unused
  portion of the number of cumulative credit hours for which the
  person could receive the exemption and assign the exemption for up
  to 60 credit hours of the unused portion of those credit hours to a
  child of the person; and
               (2)  following the death of a person who becomes
  eligible for an exemption provided by Subsection (a), the
  assignment of the exemption for up to 60 credit hours of the unused
  portion of the credit hours to a child of the person, to be made by
  the person's spouse or by the conservator, guardian, custodian, or
  other legally designated caretaker of the child, if the child does
  not otherwise qualify for an exemption under Subsection (b).
         (k-2)  A person who becomes eligible for an exemption
  provided by Subsection (a) must have served on active military
  duty, excluding training, for at least six years before any portion
  of the exemption may be assigned to a child of the person under
  Subsection (k).
         (l)  To be eligible to receive an exemption under Subsection
  (k), the child must:
               (1)  have established and maintained a domicile in this
  state as described by Section 54.052(a)(1) or (2), as applicable,
  and satisfy the residency requirement under Subsection (a-0) [be a
  student who is classified as a resident under Subchapter B when the
  child enrolls in an institution of higher education];
               (2)  be an [as a graduate or] undergraduate student[,
  maintain a grade point average that satisfies the grade point
  average requirement for making satisfactory academic progress in a
  degree, certificate, or continuing education program as determined
  by the institution at which the child is enrolled in accordance with
  the institution's policy regarding eligibility for financial aid];
  [and]
               (3)  maintain:
                     (A)  a course load of at least 24 semester credit
  hours per academic year; and
                     (B)  a cumulative grade point average of at least
  2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent; and
               (4)  be 25 years of age or younger on the first class
  date [day] of the semester or other academic term for which the
  exemption is claimed.
         (p)  An institution of higher education shall require a
  person receiving an exemption under this section to complete a Free
  Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The institution may
  not use the information obtained from a person's FAFSA to encourage
  or require the person to obtain a student loan, but may use the
  information to make a person aware of grant opportunities.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, the changes in law made by this Act to Section 54.341,
  Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and fees charged for
  the 2016 spring semester. Tuition and fees charged for a term or
  semester before the 2016 spring 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.
         (b)  The changes in law made by this Act in adding Section
  54.341(a-0), Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and fees
  charged for the first academic semester beginning on or after the
  effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2015.