Honorable Kel Seliger, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB950 by Seliger (Relating to tuition and fee exemptions or waivers at public institutions of higher education.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Education Code relating to tuition and fee exemptions or waivers at public institutions of higher education. The bill would require that to be eligible for a waiver or exemption a person must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and either submit the FAFSA student aid report to the institution or designate the institution as a preferred institution to receive the report from the United States Department of Education. If the individual is found not eligible for federal student aid, under provisions of the bill, they would then be required to submit the Texas Application for Student Financial Aid (TAFSA). The requirements to submit the FAFSA and TAFSA would not apply to waivers granted to dual-credit students.
Additionally, the bill moves responsibility for data collection related to Hazlewood veterans and their dependents from the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The bill would require TVC to provide THECB access to TVC's electronic system no later than January 1, 2018.
The various university system offices responded that the bill would have no significant to no fiscal impact on their component institutions. TVC indicated the legislation would have no fiscal impact and this analysis assumes the agency would be able to perform the provisions of the bill within existing resources. This analysis assumes THECB would be able to perform the provisions of the bill within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
403 Veterans Commission, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration