S.B. No. 16

	AN ACT
	relating to a student loan repayment assistance program for certain
	full-time peace officers in this state.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter NN to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER NN. PEACE OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
	Sec. 61.9951.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "peace
	officer" has the meaning assigned by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
	Procedure.
	Sec. 61.9952.  LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED;
	PURPOSE. The board shall establish and administer a program to
	provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board rules, loan
	repayment assistance in the repayment of eligible loans for
	eligible persons who agree to continued employment as full-time
	peace officers in this state for a specified period.
	Sec. 61.9953.  INITIAL ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to
	receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for the
	first year for which the person seeks loan repayment assistance, a
	person must:
	(1)  be initially employed as a peace officer on or
	after September 1, 2019;
	(2)  submit to the board an initial application for the
	loan repayment assistance, in the manner and on a form prescribed by
	board rule, that requires:
	(A)  employer verification of the person's
	employment as a full-time peace officer in this state for at least
	one year and the person's current employment as a peace officer in
	this state as of the date of the application;
	(B)  a transcript of the person's postsecondary
	course work; and
	(C)  a statement of the total amount of principal,
	accrued interest, fees, and other charges due on all outstanding
	eligible loans for which the person is applying for repayment
	assistance;
	(3)  have earned at least 60 semester credit hours or
	the equivalent at an institution of higher education or a private or
	independent institution of higher education before the person's
	initial employment as a peace officer;
	(4)  be currently employed, and have completed at least
	one year of employment, as a full-time peace officer in this state;
	and
	(5)  comply with any other requirement adopted by the
	board under this subchapter.
	Sec. 61.9954.  CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY. (a)  Except as
	provided by Subsection (b), after initially qualifying for loan
	repayment assistance under Section 61.9953, a person may continue
	to receive loan repayment assistance in a subsequent year only if
	the person annually submits an application, in the manner and on a
	form prescribed by board rule, that requires employer verification
	of the person's continuous employment as a full-time peace officer
	in this state for the year ending immediately before the date the
	application is submitted under this section.
	(b)  A person may not receive loan repayment assistance under
	this subchapter for more than five years.
	Sec. 61.9955.  AWARD. (a)  Except as provided by this
	section, an eligible person is entitled to receive an annual amount
	of loan repayment assistance payments under this subchapter payable
	to the holders of the eligible person's eligible loans for each year
	of eligibility approved by the board under Section 61.9953 or
	61.9954 in an amount equal to the lesser of $4,000 or 20 percent of
	the total amount stated in the person's application under Section
	61.9953, subject to the amount of available funding.
	(b)  If at the time an eligible person submits an initial
	application under Section 61.9953 the payoff period for the
	person's total outstanding balance of eligible loans is less than
	five years, the board shall make annual payments under this
	subchapter to the holders of the person's eligible loans in the
	amounts of the payments and accrued interest due for the applicable
	year.
	(c)  The total amount of repayment assistance provided under
	this subchapter to an eligible person may not exceed $20,000.
	(d)  If in any year the amount of money available for loan
	repayment assistance under this subchapter is insufficient to
	provide loan repayment assistance to cover all the payments for the
	year for all eligible loans of all eligible persons, the board shall
	establish criteria to determine the amount of available money to
	allocate to the holders of student loans of eligible persons as the
	board determines appropriate to further the purpose of this
	subchapter.
	(e)  An eligible person whose annual loan repayment
	assistance under this section is less than the amount necessary to
	cover the amount of principal and interest due on the person's
	eligible loans for that year is responsible for the payment of the
	remainder of the amount due and for otherwise preventing a default
	on the loan.
	Sec. 61.9956.  ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a)  The board may provide
	loan repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment
	of any student loan received by an eligible person through any
	lender for the cost of attendance at an institution of higher
	education or a private or independent institution of higher
	education for a semester or other term that ended in the five years
	immediately preceding the person's initial employment as a peace
	officer.
	(b)  If the loan is not a state or federal guaranteed student
	loan, the promissory note or other loan agreement document
	governing the terms of the loan must require all the loan proceeds
	to be used for expenses incurred by a person in attending an
	institution of higher education or a private or independent
	institution of higher education.
	(c)  The board may not provide loan repayment assistance
	under this subchapter for an eligible loan that is in default on the
	date the person's application for loan repayment assistance is
	submitted under Section 61.9953 or 61.9954.
	Sec. 61.9957.  PAYMENT OF LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.
	(a)  The board shall pay any loan repayment assistance under this
	subchapter in a lump sum delivered on the eligible person's behalf
	directly to the holder of the loan.
	(b)  Loan repayment assistance provided under this
	subchapter may be applied to any amount due on the loan.
	(c)  Each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
	allocate all money available to the board for the purpose of
	providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
	Sec. 61.9958.  GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The board may
	solicit and accept gifts, grants, and other donations from any
	public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
	Sec. 61.9959.  RULES; POSTING REQUIRED. (a)  The board
	shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of this
	subchapter.
	(b)  The board shall post on the board's Internet website a
	copy of the rules adopted under this subchapter and information
	regarding the program established under this subchapter.
	SECTION 2.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
	shall adopt rules for the peace officer loan repayment assistance
	program under Subchapter NN, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added
	by this Act, not later than December 1, 2019.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 16 passed the Senate on
	April 16, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
	the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 24, 2019, by the
	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 16 passed the House, with
	amendment, on May 17, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 132,
	Nays 9, two present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor