BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3326

By: Allen

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), established in 2007, is a federal program that provides federal student loan debt forgiveness to those who have worked full-time in public service for 10 years or more. The bill author has informed the committee that recent changes at the federal level have made it easier for qualified public employees to take advantage of the program but that certain changes must be made at the state level to allow more Texans working in higher education to take advantage of the program, including changes relating to adjunct professors, employment verification status, and awareness of the program. H.B. 3326 seeks to implement these changes.

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

H.B. 3326 amends the Education Code to require a public institution of higher education, only for purposes of certifying the employment of an adjunct or other part-time faculty member for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education, to take the following actions:

· consider the faculty member to have worked at least 3.35 hours for each credit hour or contact hour of instruction the faculty member provides; and

· designate the faculty member as a full-time employee if the faculty member works on average at least 30 hours per week based on the number of hours the faculty member is considered to have worked.

The bill requires an institution of higher education, not later than the 60th day after the date the institution receives a certification and application form from an employee seeking employment certification for those purposes, to determine whether the employee is considered a full-time employee of the institution for purposes of the employment verification and verify the information provided by the employee on the certification and application form and, if the employee is considered a full-time employee of the institution for purposes of the employment verification, certify the employee's employment. The bill authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules as necessary to administer these bill provisions.

H.B. 3326 requires an institution of higher education, not later than October 1 of each year, to annually provide written notice to each institution employee of the ability of eligible employees to participate in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The bill authorizes an institution of higher education to deliver the written notice to an employee by hand delivery, mail, email, or other form of electronic communication commonly used by the institution to communicate with employees.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.