HBA-MPM S.B. 332 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 332
By: Moncrief
Higher Education
4/27/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, public and private institutions of higher education in Texas
offer a wide range of internship opportunities in the Washington, D.C.
area, and are typically arranged at the academic department level in each
institution.  Internships often combine intense practical work experience
and certain types of course work, which can cause an internship to prove
costly to a student.  S.B. 332 authorizes institutions of higher education
to impose a fee to support Washington, D.C., internships and would abolish
the Texas-Washington, D.C., intern scholarship program.  

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 E, Chapter 54, Education Code, by adding
Section 54.5134, as follows:  

Sec. 54.5134.  WASHINGTON, D.C., INTERNSHIP EDUCATION FEE.  Authorizes the
governing board of an institution of higher education to collect from each
student registered at the institution a fee not to exceed $1 per semester
or summer session, if imposition of the fee is approved by a majority vote
of the students of the institution participating in a general student
election held for that purpose.  Authorizes the amount of the fee imposed
at an institution to be increased from one academic year to the next by
more than 10 percent only if approved by a majority of the vote of the
participating students.  Requires revenue from the fee to be deposited in a
fund established by the institution outside the state treasury and
identified as the institution's Washington, D.C., internship financial aid
fund (fund). Authorizes money in the fund to be used only to assist a
student participating in a Washington, D.C. internship program administered
by the institution.  Authorizes the fund to be used in accordance with
guidelines jointly developed by the student governing body and the
administration of the institution.  Provides that if a school has no
student governing body, the institutions president may appoint a committee
of students to assist with the development of the guidelines. Prohibits a
fee under this section from being considered in determining the maximum
amount of student services fees that may be charged.  

SECTION 2.  Repealer: Subchapter L, Chapter 56, Education Code
(Texas-Washington, D.C., Intern Scholarship Program).  Establishes that the
repeal does not affect a grant awarded under that subchapter before the
effective date of this section or the completion of the internship pursuant
to the grant, and the repealed law remains in effect for that purpose.  

SECTION 3.  Provides that SECTION 1 of this Act applies beginning with the
1999 fall semester. Effective date of SECTION 2: September 1, 1999.  

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.