HBA-TYH H.B. 3295 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3295
By: Goolsby
Economic Development
4/6/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Section 132.201 (Certificate and Registration Fees), Education
Code, authorizes the Texas Workforce Commission (commission) to collect
fees for the regulation of proprietary schools and states that all fees,
interests, or other charges collected must be used for the administration
of the proprietary school program.  However, in past fiscal years, the fees
collected by the commission have exceeded the amount necessary to
administer the school program. 

Section 132.241 (Tuition Protection Fund), Education Code, provides that
proprietary schools pay a fee to the credit of the "tuition protection
fund" when the school pays its annual renewal fee.  These schools are then
subject to an additional assessed fee during any given year if the balance
of the tuition fund is below $200,000. 

H.B. 3295 allows the commission to transfer any excess fees collected for
the administration of the school program to the tuition protection fund. 

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 Section 132.241, Education Code, by adding Subsection
(e), as follows: 

(e)  Authorizes the Texas Workforce Commission (commission), if at the end
of a fiscal year the commission determines that it has collected fees in
excess of the amount necessary to defray the cost and expense of
administering this chapter, to transfer any portion of the excess amount to
the tuition protection fund. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.