HBA-KDB H.B. 2766 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2766
By: Delisi
Higher Education
3/26/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) oversees
several different student loan repayment assistance programs.  However, the
board, with very few exceptions, does not provide repayment assistance to
newly-licensed lawyers who choose to work for the state.  A law student may
incur high student loan debt, and as a result may feel compelled to not
consider working for the state and to accept higher paying private-sector
employment to pay off his or her debt.  In addition, there is concern that
the  turnover rate is high for lawyers who initially work for the state.
House Bill 2766 authorizes the board to provide assistance in the repayment
of student loans for licensed lawyers who work for the State of Texas. 

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 61.1009, Education Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2766 amends the Education Code to authorize the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (board) to provide assistance in the repayment
of student loans for licensed lawyers who apply and qualify for the
assistance.  To be eligible to receive repayment assistance, a licensed
lawyer must apply to the board, be currently employed by the State of Texas
as a lawyer, and have completed at least one year of employment with the
state as a lawyer.  The bill authorizes a lawyer to receive payment
assistance grants for not more than five years.  The bill authorizes the
board to provide repayment assistance for any student loan received by a
lawyer for  education at an accredited undergraduate institution and
accredited law school.  The bill authorizes the board to withhold repayment
assistance for a student loan that is in default at the time of the
lawyer's application.  The bill requires the board, each fiscal biennium,
to attempt to allocate all funds appropriated to it for the purposes of
providing repayment assistance.   The bill sets forth provisions regarding
repayment of loans by the board.  

 The bill authorizes the board to appoint advisory committees to assist the
board in performing the board's duties and to request the assistance of the
State Bar of Texas and the Office of the Attorney General in performing
those duties.  The bill requires the board to adopt rules necessary for the
administration of the repayment assistance and to distribute a copy of the
adopted rules and other pertinent information to each accredited law school
in the state, any appropriate state agencies, any appropriate professional
associations, and any out of state law schools.  The bill prohibits the
total amount of repayment assistance from exceeding the total amount of
funds available to the board for repayment assistance.  The bill requires
the total amount of funds available to the board for repayment assistance
to be maintained by the comptroller of public accounts in a separate
account in the state treasury for the sole purpose of repayment assistance
under the bill.  Provisions relating to the use of dedicated revenue do not
apply to the amount set aside for the repayment assistance. 

H.B. 2766 amends the Tax Code to require the Texas Supreme Court to deposit
65 percent, rather than  75 percent, of the occupation tax on attorneys to
the general revenue fund and to require 10 percent of the taxes to the
credit of the separate account for repayment assistance for student loans
for lawyers. 

The bill requires the legislature to appropriate money to the board to
establish a pilot program for student loan assistance repayment in the
Office of the Attorney General. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

August 27, 2001.