| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote Yes; Amend | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
State Impact
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
for HB3027, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact
of ($12,013,329) through the biennium ending August 31, 2017.
HB
3027 takes effect in the second year of the biennium; accordingly,
there is an estimated negative impact to General Revenue Related funds
of ($30,001,476) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
Local Government
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
HB 3027 would amend the Education Code to establish the Texas Competency-Based Education Grant Program to provide financial assistance to enable eligible students to enroll in competency-based baccalaureate degree programs.
A "competency-based baccalaureate degree program" as a baccalaureate degree program under which academic credit is awarded based solely on a student's attainment of competencies.
The bill sets out the provisions for the creation and administration of the program, including eligibility requirements. The maximum annual amount of a grant under the program for a full-time undergraduate student equivalent enrolled at an eligible institution is an amount equal to 75 percent of the average state appropriation for the state fiscal biennium preceding the biennium in which the grant is awarded for a full-time undergraduate student equivalent enrolled at a general academic teaching institution,
Competency based programs are highly beneficial to students and the state, as they graduate students in less time at a lower cost, which saves the state money by spending less on subsidizing wasted credits.
This program, however, creates a grant that may or may not be fiscally beneficial to the state. There is no requirement that the grant program would get its funding by appropriating money from other grant programs so this may result in an additional expenditure by the state.
While we support this legislation, we recommend amending it to require the grant program to be funded using money already allocated to grant programs rather than using new appropriations.