May 31, 2005

• State Legislative Update — 79th Regular Session Adjourns

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State Legislative Update — 79th Regular Session Adjourns

The 79th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature adjourned its 140 day session on May 30th.

The FY 2006-2007 appropriations bill totals $139 billion — $22 billion more than the FY 2004-2005 appropriations bill the 78th Legislature passed in 2003, (which became $126 billion as federal funding was added in during the two year biennium). The bill includes one time infusion of federal funds, tobacco settlement funds, and $2 billion from the state's "rainy day fund".

The bill must be certified by the comptroller and then sent to the governor who can choose to sign or veto the bill, or use his line item veto to cancel selected items.

For student financial aid, the bill:

• appropriates $212 million for the TEG program, an increase over the $141.4 million for the current biennium;
• appropriates not less than $333 million for the TEXAS Grant program, an increase over the $324 million for the current biennium;
• appropriates not less than $9 million for the TEXAS Grant II program, a decrease from the $9.8 million for the current biennium;
• provides new appropriations for the Texas B On Time Loan Program of $20.64 million;
• appropriates not less than $10 million for the College Work Study program, an increase over the current $8.8 million;
• appropriates $9 million for the Teach for Texas program, a decrease from $10 million for the current biennium;
• appropriates $8.6 million for the Early High School Graduation program, up from $4.6 million for the current biennium.

Total appropriations for student financial aid for the 2006-2007 biennium equals $613 million — which includes $20 million in new spending for the B-On Time Loan program. The current biennium's total is $512 million.

The bill can be accessed at www.lbb.state.tx.us/The_LBB/Access/AppBills_LBEs.htm.

SB 1227 and HB 1172 were the two major student financial aid bills passed by the legislature. Both included the recommendations for improving student financial aid in Texas submitted to the legislature by the Texas student financial aid community and the Coordinating Board in the report Preparing For The Emerging Texas.

Full background and details of each bill can be accessed at Texas Legislature Online (www.capitol.state.tx.us).

HB 1172 — relating to the tuition charged to resident undergraduate students of institutions of higher education for excess credit hours and to related formula funding

SB 1227 — relating to payment of the costs of attending public and private postsecondary educational institutions and to financial aid and other measures to assist students to pay those costs.

Among the primary provisions in these bills the following are included. The bills:

• enact several, primarily administrative, changes to the state's student financial aid programs proposed by the Texas Financial Aid Steering Committee;
• apply the eligibility requirements for the TEXAS Grant programs to the Tuition Equalization Grant program;
• limit eligibility for a TEXAS Grant and TEG to only one grant per semester;
• limit eligibility for a TEXAS Grant to five years;
• limit eligibility for a TEXAS Grant to students enrolled in at 24 credit hours per year;
• allow flexibility to the institution in setting the amount of a TEXAS Grant;
• change the name of the TEXAS Grant II program to the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program;
• add a requirement to the Texas B On Time Loan program that in order for a borrower to receive loan forgiveness the borrower must graduate with no more than six credit hours in excess of the amount required for the degree;
• allow institutions to charge a student a higher tuition for enrolling in repeated, or similar, courses;
• mandate a biennial study on higher education costs and student financial aid;
• mandate the establishment of a financial aid training program for counselors, student financial aid staff, employees of community based organizations, and others;
• mandate the establishment of the Higher Education Enrollment Assistance program to provide information to student and parents in selected areas of the state concerning enrollment in higher education.
• require each public university and university system to have a non voting student regent on its governing board.

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For more information, contact:

TG Congressional and Legislative Relations
(512) 219-4503
P.O. Box 83100
Round Rock, TX 78683-3100