HBA-MPM H.B. 1434 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1434 By: Counts Higher Education 2/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current state law does not provide for tuition assistance for members of the state's military forces who meet certain criteria. H.B. 1434 authorizes the adjutant general's department to reimburse state colleges and universities for waiving tuition for members of state military forces for up to 12 semester hours per semester and a maximum of 10 semesters or five academic years for an undergraduate, graduate, or vocational or technical degree program. The bill further specifies the protocol in which the individual tuition assistance awards are to be disseminated and provides for a remedy in the event available funds are insufficient to meet the number of awards determined by the adjutant general. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 431, Government Code, by adding Section 431.090, as follows: Sec. 431.090. TUITION ASSISTANCE. (a) Provides tuition assistance to eligible members of the state military forces and sets forth the intent of this section. (b) Defines "institution of higher education" with the meaning assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code, which defines "institution of higher education" as any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher education, as defined in the same section. (c) Sets forth criteria a person must meet in order to be eligible for tuition assistance. (d) Requires the adjutant general to grant tuition assistance to a number of eligible persons established by the adjutant general, considering funds available for that assistance and the needs of the state military forces. Authorizes the adjutant general to divide the number of tuition assistance awards among the state military forces as necessary to meet recruitment and retention needs. Provides that the number of awards made to members of the Texas State Guard may not exceed 30 for any semester, unless the adjutant general finds a compelling need for additional awards to be made. (e) Provides that tuition assistance may be awarded for tuition charged for any undergraduate or graduate course at an institution of higher education, including a vocational or technical class. (f) Prohibits a person from receiving assistance for more than 12 semester credit hours in any semester, or more than five academic years or 10 semesters, whichever occurs first. (g) Requires the adjutant general to give the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) a list of persons awarded tuition assistance before each semester at a time determined by the board. Requires the board, after receiving the list, to determine whether sufficient money is available to fund the awards under Section 54.2155, Education Code. Requires the board to notify the adjutant general if sufficient money is unavailable, and the adjutant general to reduce the number of awards according to the amount of money available. Requires the adjutant general to provide the board with a revised list of the persons to whom awards have been granted. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, by adding Section 54.2155, as follows: Sec. 54.2155. PAYMENT OF TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF STATE MILITARY FORCES. (a) Requires the board to certify to institutions of higher education on a semester basis information identifying persons who have been awarded tuition assistance awards in a manner established by the board, if it is determined that sufficient money is available to reimburse institutions for tuition exemptions granted. Requires an institution of higher education to exempt a person certified by the board from payment of tuition for no more than 12 semester credit hours. Provides that if the person is charged outof-state tuition, the exemption amount may not exceed that which would be charged a state resident for the number of hours the person is enrolled, not to exceed 12 hours. (b) Requires the board to reimburse an institution of higher education in an amount equal to the amount of the tuition exemption the institution grants to a person under Subsection (a) from money appropriated for purposes of this section. SECTION 3. Effective date: January 1, 2000. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.