HBA-MPM H.B. 2867 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2867
By: Dunnam
Higher Education
7/19/1999
Enrolled


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Some of Texas' brightest high school students are choosing to attend
out-of-state colleges and universities. A reason for this exodus may be
Texas' inability to compete with the kinds of substantive scholarships,
grants, and fellowships offered by institutions of higher education in
other states.  H.B. 2867 authorizes public institutions of higher education
in this state to offer matching nonathletic scholarships to Texas students
who have received offers from out-of-state institutions. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board in SECTION 1 (Section 61.086, Education Code). 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding
Section 61.086, as follows: 

Sec. 61.086.  MATCHING SCHOLARSHIPS TO RETAIN STUDENTS IN TEXAS.  (a)
Requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) to adopt
rules allowing a public or private or independent institution of higher
education to use any funds appropriated to the institution or that it may
use for the award of scholarships or grants to match, in whole or part, any
nonathletic scholarship or grant offer, including an offer of the payment
of tuition, fees, room and board, or a stipend, received by a graduate of a
Texas public or private high school from an out-of-state institution of
higher education.  Requires the rules to provide for verifying that an
out-of-state institution has made a nonathletic scholarship or grant offer
to a student and the amount of the offer.  Authorizes the board to adopt
any other rule necessary to implement this section. 

(b)  Prohibits the board from requiring an institution to match a
scholarship or grant offer. 

(c)  Requires each public or private or independent institution of higher
education to report to the board all scholarships or grants offered by
out-of-state institutions for which the reporting institution offered a
matching scholarship or grant under this section and all scholarships or
grants offered or awarded by the reporting institution under this section
and the methods used to encourage Texas high school graduates to attend
that institution. Requires the report to include the race or ethnicity and
gender of each person offered or awarded a scholarship or grant, the high
school from which the person graduated, the outof-state institution that
offered the scholarship or grant, and the value and type of each
scholarship or grant. 

SECTION 2.  Requires the board to adopt rules relating to matching
scholarships as provided by Section 61.086, Education Code, as added by
this Act, no later than September 1, 1999.  Requires the board to report,
including certain information, on the initial implementation of this Act no
later than December 31, 2000.  Requires the board to deliver the report to
the presiding officer of the standing committee on higher education in each
house of the legislature. 

SECTION 3.Emergency clause.
   Effective date: upon passage.