BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 184

By: Guillen

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

The bill author has informed the committee of challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified prosecuting attorneys to work in the border prosecution unit, which plays a critical role in combating crime along the border. The bill author has also informed the committee that due to the high cost of a legal education, many attorneys are burdened with significant student loan debt that can deter them from pursuing or continuing high-demand, lower-pay careers in public service. C.S.H.B. 184 aims to alleviate that financial burden and ensure the border prosecution unit attracts and retains skilled prosecutors by establishing a student loan repayment assistance program for eligible border prosecution unit attorneys.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 1 of this bill.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 184 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), in accordance with the bill's provisions and THECB rules, to provide assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for eligible border prosecution unit attorneys who apply and qualify for the assistance. The bill makes an attorney eligible to receive loan repayment assistance if the attorney, as follows:

·       applies to the THECB in a manner prescribed by the THECB;

·       is an attorney licensed in Texas; and

·       has completed one, two, three, or four consecutive years of employment as a prosecuting attorney for the border prosecution unit.

The bill limits the period for which an attorney may receive this loan repayment assistance to not more than four years.

 

C.S.H.B. 184 authorizes the THECB to provide such assistance for the repayment of any student loan received by an eligible person through any lender for education at a public, private, or independent institution of higher education or a public or private out-of-state institution of higher education accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, including loans for undergraduate education. The bill prohibits the THECB from providing repayment assistance for a student loan that is in default at the time of the person's application. The bill requires the THECB, in each state fiscal biennium, to attempt to allocate all money appropriated to the THECB for the purpose of providing the loan repayment assistance. The THECB must deliver any repayment under the bill's provisions in a lump sum payable to both the lender or other loan holder and the attorney or directly to the lender or other loan holder on the attorney's behalf. The bill authorizes a repayment to be applied to any amount due in connection with the loan.

 

C.S.H.B. 184 authorizes an attorney, for each year the attorney establishes eligibility for the assistance, to receive the loan repayment assistance in an amount determined by applying the following applicable percentage to the attorney's total student loan balance:

·       for the first year, 25 percent;

·       for the second year, 25 percent;

·       for the third year, 25 percent; and

·       for the fourth year, 25 percent.

The bill authorizes the THECB to adjust in an equitable manner these specified distribution amounts that attorneys would otherwise receive for a year as necessary to comply with other bill provisions relating to the amount of repayment assistance.

 

C.S.H.B. 184 prohibits the total amount of loan repayment assistance awarded under the bill's provisions from exceeding the sum of the following:

·       the total amount of gifts and grants accepted by the THECB for the repayment assistance;

·       legislative appropriations for the repayment assistance; and

·       other money available to the THECB for the repayment assistance.

The bill caps the total amount of loan repayment assistance received by an attorney at $110,000 and the total amount of loan repayment assistance awarded under the bill's provisions in each state fiscal biennium at $2 million.

 

C.S.H.B. 184 requires the THECB to adopt rules necessary to administer the bill's provisions. The bill requires the THECB to distribute copies of the adopted rules and other pertinent information relating to the bill's provisions to the following entities:

·       each school of law authorized by the THECB to award a degree that satisfies the law study requirements for licensure as an attorney in Texas;

·       the office of each prosecutor who is a member of the border prosecution unit; and

·       the criminal justice division of the governor's office.

The bill requires the THECB to administer the loan repayment program in a manner that maximizes any matching funds available through other sources. The THECB may solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for the purposes of the bill's provisions.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2025.

 

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 184 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

Both the introduced and the substitute require the THECB to adopt rules necessary to administer the bill's provisions. However, whereas the introduced included a specification that this requirement included rules regarding reimbursement of any loan repayment assistance paid to an attorney who does not complete four consecutive years of employment as a prosecuting attorney for the border prosecution unit, the substitute does not include that specification.