Monitoring the Session

HB 3574

bill raising the cap on out-of-state students paying in-state tuition

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. John T. SmitheeRHouse 86

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the maximum number of nonresident scholarship students permitted to pay resident tuition and fees at certain public institutions of higher education.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Five percent to 20 percent, for some schools.

The bill raises the cap on how many out-of-state scholarship students a Texas public college can let pay in-state tuition, from five percent to 20 percent of enrollment for some schools. The higher cap applies only to schools in regions growing slower than the state average that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's space report says have room, and the board must write rules to carry this out. Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, those schools can give the in-state rate to four times as many nonresident scholarship students, while all other schools stay at five percent.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Higher Education committee 10-0 on Apr 24, 2025. Never placed on a calendar. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB3574 · 2025-03-03

SOLD BY

Rep. John T. SmitheeRHouse 86

ITEM

relating to the maximum number of nonresident scholarship students permitted to pay resident tuition and fees at certain public institutions of higher education.

WHAT IT DOES

Five percent to 20 percent, for some schools.

The bill raises the cap on how many out-of-state scholarship students a Texas public college can let pay in-state tuition, from five percent to 20 percent of enrollment for some schools. The higher cap applies only to schools in regions growing slower than the state average that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's space report says have room, and the board must write rules to carry this out. Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, those schools can give the in-state rate to four times as many nonresident scholarship students, while all other schools stay at five percent.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 26, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Higher Education
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Committee substitute considered in committee
  7. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in formal meeting
  10. Committee substitute considered in committee
  11. Reported favorably as substituted
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

John T. Smithee

Donors

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of TX$5KRichard Weekley$5,000Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$5K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Aug 19, 2024 to Jun 24, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of TX$5,000.00

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of TX

$5,000.00

Cash
$5,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$5,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Aug 28, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Aug 28, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968332.

Richard Weekley$5,000.00
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$5,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$5,000.00

Cash
$5,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$5,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jun 24, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101011601.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of TX

$5,000.00

Cash
$5,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$5,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Aug 28, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Aug 28, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968332.

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$5,000.00

Cash
$5,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$5,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jun 24, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101011601.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses4
For
0
Against
1
On
3
Names

Against

  • Self1 registration

On

  • Texas higher education coordinating board1 registration
  • West Texas A&M University1 registration
  • WTAMU1 registration
Sources

4 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 26, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Mar 3, 2025

04/29/2025 H Committee report sent to Calendars

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Higher Education · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 1835 by Sparks (identical)

Subjects

Education--Higher--Institutions & Programs

Education--Higher--Student Financial Aid

Education--Rural

HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 296 words

89R12181 AND-D

By: Smithee
H.B. No. 3574

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the maximum number of nonresident scholarship students

permitted to pay resident tuition and fees at certain public

institutions of higher education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 54.213, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as

follows:

(b) The total number of students at an institution paying

resident tuition under this section for a particular semester may

not exceed :

(1) five percent of the total number of students

registered at the institution for the same semester of the

preceding academic year if the institution is not an institution to

which Subdivision (2) applies; or

(2) 20 percent of the total number of students

registered at the institution for the same semester of the

preceding academic year if as determined by Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board rule:

(A) the institution is located in a region that

is experiencing a population growth rate less than the statewide

average based on the most recent available data; and

(B) the most recent space usage efficiency report

prepared by the coordinating board indicates the institution has

sufficient capacity to support the nonresident students .

(c) The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary to

implement this section.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section

54.213, Education Code, applies beginning with the 2025-2026

academic year.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.