(a) Administration of the Program. Under Texas Education Code, Subchapter G, §56.102, the Texas Animal Health Commission (commission) shall administer the Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program in accordance with rules adopted by the Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program Committee (committee) under this chapter.
  (1) Administration of the program for participants without a rural community sponsor. For each year that funding for the program is available for distribution to participants without a rural community sponsor, the commission shall:
    (A) create an application that requires an applicant to provide information on eligibility and the evaluation criteria established by the rules in this chapter and applicable law;
    (B) disseminate information about the program in accordance with §42.7 of this chapter (relating to Dissemination of Information);
    (C) set a deadline to submit the application;
    (D) create instructions on how to complete and submit the application;
    (E) select the method of submission for the application;
    (F) create a scoring rubric for the application that includes standardized scoring for each evaluation criteria;
    (G) notify applicants who are selected to be participants under the program;
    (H) facilitate all required steps for a participant to receive loan repayment assistance or payment of tuition and fees under the program; and
    (I) complete any reporting as required by law.
  (2) Administration of the program for participants with a rural community sponsor. For each instance when a rural community sponsor requests to participate in the program, the commission shall:
    (A) collect information from the rural community sponsor to determine the sponsor's eligibility by the rules in this chapter or applicable law;
    (B) determine if the rural community sponsor is eligible to participate under the program;
    (C) collect information from the rural community sponsor's selected participant to determine the participant's eligibility by the rules in this chapter and applicable law; and
    (D) determine if the rural community sponsor's selected participant is eligible to participate under the program.
(b) Administration of the Account. Under Texas Education Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter OO, §61.9965, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) administers the rural veterinarian incentive program account (account).

Source Note: The provisions of this §42.3 adopted to be effective May 24, 2023, 48 TexReg 2567