89R8352 CMO-F

By: Phelan H.B. No. 5211

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to student loan repayment assistance for certain attorneys providing legal services in rural counties.

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

SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter Y, Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER Y. REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN STUDENT [LAW SCHOOL EDUCATION]

LOANS: RURAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM [ASSISTANT DISTRICT OR

COUNTY] ATTORNEY

SECTION 2. Subchapter Y, Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by amending Sections 61.9601, 61.9602, 61.9603, 61.9604, 61.9606, and 61.9607 and adding Sections 61.96061 and 61.96062 to read as follows:

Sec. 61.9601. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "rural county" means a county with a population of 100,000 [50,000] or less.

Sec. 61.9602. REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. (a) The board shall provide, using funds appropriated for that purpose and in accordance with this subchapter and board rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student [law school education] loans for eligible attorneys who apply and qualify for the assistance.

(b) The provision of financial assistance in the repayment of student [education] loans under this subchapter promotes a public purpose.

Sec. 61.9603. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive repayment assistance, an attorney must:

(1) apply to the board;

(2) have earned a law degree from an accredited law school;

(3) be an attorney licensed in this state;

(4) have an outstanding student loan balance; and

(5) be currently:

(A) employed full time, or part time working an annualized average of at least 15 hours per week, as:

(i) a prosecuting [an] attorney by a district or county attorney's office that serves one or more [a] rural counties [county]; or

(ii) a public defender by a county public defender's office that serves one or more rural counties; or

(B) appointed as an attorney to represent indigent individuals in criminal or juvenile cases who, in the most recent calendar year, provided services to those individuals in one or more rural counties for an average of at least 15 hours per week [and

[(3) enter into an agreement to remain employed by the district or county attorney's office as provided by Section 61.9605].

Sec. 61.9604. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment of any student [education] loan [received by the attorney through any lender] for the costs of attendance [education] at an institution of higher education, including loans for undergraduate education, received by an eligible person through any lender [a school of law authorized by the board to award a degree that satisfies the law study requirements for licensure as an attorney in this state].

(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a student [an education] loan that is in default at the time of the attorney's application.

Sec. 61.9606. REPAYMENT. (a) [Except as provided by Section 61.9609(a), the board shall provide repayment assistance under this subchapter in the following amounts:

[(1) 60 percent of each payment due on an attorney's eligible loans during the first 12-month period after the attorney enters into the agreement under Section 61.9605;

[(2) 80 percent of each payment due on an attorney's eligible loans during the second 12-month period after the attorney enters into the agreement; and

[(3) 100 percent of each payment due on an attorney's eligible loans during the third 12-month period after the attorney enters into the agreement.

[(b)] The board shall deliver any repayment assistance made under this subchapter in a lump sum payable:

(1) to both the lender or other holder of the loan and the attorney; or

(2) directly to the lender or other holder of the loan on the attorney's behalf [and in accordance with any applicable federal law].

(b) [(c)] Loan repayment assistance received under this subchapter may be applied to the principal amount of the loan and to interest that accrues.

Sec. 61.96061. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), an attorney may receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for each year the attorney establishes eligibility for the assistance in an amount determined by the board not to exceed:

(1) for the first year, $30,000;

(2) for the second year, $40,000;

(3) for the third year, $50,000; and

(4) for the fourth year, $60,000.

(b) The total amount of repayment assistance received by an attorney under this subchapter may not exceed $180,000.

Sec. 61.96062. LIMITATIONS. An attorney may receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for not more than four years.

Sec. 61.9607. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The board shall [may] appoint an advisory committee from outside the board's membership to assist the board in performing the board's duties under this subchapter.

(b) The advisory committee shall be composed of an equal number of members appointed by:

(1) the Texas District and County Attorneys Association;

(2) the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; and

(3) the Texas Judicial Council.

(c) The advisory committee shall make recommendations to the board regarding rules that:

(1) establish a method for documenting and verifying the number of hours worked for purposes of Section 61.9603(5); and

(2) allocate repayment funding under this subchapter in a manner that incentivizes service in the most rural counties.

(d) In developing recommendations under Subsection (c)(2), the advisory committee shall consider:

(1) the population of the counties in which applicants for repayment assistance under this subchapter provide services;

(2) the degree of scarcity of prosecutors, public defenders, and indigent criminal or juvenile defense services providers in those counties; and

(3) for applicants who are attorneys appointed to represent indigent criminal or juvenile defendants:

(A) the distances between counties in which an applicant provides indigent criminal or juvenile defense services;

(B) the volume of cases handled by an applicant; and

(C) the number of hours that an applicant provided indigent criminal or juvenile defense services in the applicable calendar year.

SECTION 3. Section 61.9608(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The loan repayment assistance program established by this subchapter is funded from the rural criminal justice system [district and county] attorney student loan assistance trust fund. The trust fund is established outside the treasury and is administered by the comptroller. Money in the trust fund may be spent without appropriation and only to fund the program. Interest and income from the assets of the trust fund shall be credited to and deposited in the trust fund.

SECTION 4. Section 61.9609, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 61.9609. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of this subchapter[, including a rule that sets the maximum amount of loan repayment assistance that an attorney may receive in one year].

(b) The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter to:

(1) each school of law authorized by the board to award a degree that satisfies the law study requirements for licensure as an attorney in this state [described by Section 61.9604(a)]; [and]

(2) any appropriate district or county attorney's office;

(3) the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; and

(4) any appropriate public defender's office [attorneys].

(c) The board shall administer the program under this subchapter in a manner that maximizes any matching funds available through other sources.

SECTION 5. Section 61.9605, Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 6. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules necessary to administer Subchapter Y, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act.

(b) Subchapter Y, Chapter 61, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to loan repayment assistance initially provided under that subchapter on or after the effective date of this Act. A loan repayment assistance agreement entered into under that subchapter before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.