TEXAS TECH BILL BRIEFS – 2003
78th Regular Session – 05-16-03
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Bill
No. |
Sponsor |
Caption
– SENATE BILLS |
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SB
1 HB
1 |
Bivins, Amarillo Heflin, Houston |
Relating
to the appropriations of money for the 2004-2005 biennium. |
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Summary: |
General
Appropriations Act. |
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SB
4 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the establishment and operation of the Texas school fund student loan
program. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Sections 56.451—56.464. This bill would establish the Texas school fund loan program to
provide no-interest loans to eligible students who attend all public and
private or independent institutions of higher education in this state. The Coordinating Board would administer
the program, determine the repayment and other terms of the program and, in
consultation with student financial aid officers, adopt any rules necessary
to implement the program. A student
would be eligible if the student is a Texas resident who graduated from a
public or accredited private high school not earlier than 2002-2003 school
year with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0, or who received
an associate degree not earlier than May 1, 2005, with a cumulative grade
point average of at least 3.0 or be an undergraduate student at an eligible
institution with a grade point average of 3.0. The student must be enrolled in at least three-fourths of a
full course load as an undergraduate and be eligible for federal financial
aid, except that a person is not required to meet any financial need
requirements applicable to a particular federal financial aid program. The bill establishes the criteria for
continuing eligibility, a waiver of course load requirement and loan
deferment or forgiveness. The loan
proceeds may be used to pay any usual and customary cost of attendance at an
eligible institution including tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
11 |
Shapiro, Addison |
Relating
to homeland security. |
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Summary: |
This
bill defines agency as any governmental entity. The bill also defines critical infrastructure to include all
public or private assets, systems, and functions vital to the security,
governance, public health and safety, economy, or moral of the state. The bill directs the Governor to develop a
statewide homeland security strategy that improves the state’s ability to
detect and deter threats to the homeland security, respond to homeland
security emergencies, and recover from homeland security emergencies. The bill establishes the Critical
Infrastructure Protection Council that consists of twenty appointed or
elected officers of state government.
None representing higher education are included. The council is required to advise the
Governor on the development and coordination of a statewide critical infrastructure
protection strategy, the implementation of the Governor’s homeland security
strategy and other measures relating to the planning, development,
coordination, and implementation of initiatives to promote the Governor’s
homeland security strategy. The bill
does direct that the Department of Public Safety to provide facilities and
administrative support for the Texas Infrastructure Protection Communications
Center. See SB 869, Shapiro and HB 9,
Flores. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
12 |
Nelson, Flower
Mound |
Relating
to health care liability claims. |
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Summary: |
This
bill amends the statutes relating to medical malpractice claims by placing a
$250,000 cap on noneconomic losses, allowing consideration of collateral
source benefits, structuring payments for future losses, and placing
limitations on contingency fees for attorneys. Effective date: |
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SB
19 |
Ratliff, Mt.
Pleasant |
Relating
to audit and other related functions of the State Auditor and of certain
other state entities. |
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Summary: |
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SB
26 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the establishment of a pilot program for retention of students in higher
education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Texas Education Code by adding Section 51.9356. This bill would require the Coordinating Board to develop a
pilot program called the “Freshman Success Program” that will focus on
retention of high-risk students who are first generation in college,
low-income and/or educationally under-prepared by providing proactive
intervention modalities to meet the demands of college. The pilot program study shall identify the
potential benefits and advantages of such a program, evaluate and make
recommendations concerning this type of program and indicate the impact on
the state higher education goals. The
report is due to the legislature before October 1, 2004. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
27 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the establishment of a no interest college loan program to provide
students who maintain a B average and graduate within four years. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Subchapter Q.
This bill would establish the Texas B On-Time Student Loan
Program. This would be a zero percent
loan program administered by the Coordinating Board for Texas residents
enrolled in undergraduate programs who are graduates of a Texas public or
accredited private high schools who graduated not earlier than 2002-2003
school year and who graduated with at least a B cumulative grade point
average. The student may enroll in
either a public or a private or independent institution of higher
education. The program would be
capped at four years or 150 semester credit hours. The student would be required to make steady academic progress
toward an undergraduate degree or certificate and maintain at least a B
cumulative grade point average. The
loan proceeds could be used to cover any usual and customary
education-related expense including tuition and fees, books, and room and
board. The amount of the loan for the
student would be an amount equal to the tuition and fees, excluding
incidental fees, at a public institution of higher education. For a private or independent institution
of higher education, the amount of the loan would be equal to the average
tuition and fees, excluding incidental fees, charged to a student. Beginning with the fall semester, 2003, an
eligible student would be required to have graduated from a Texas high school
with a diploma designated as college preparatory by the Texas Education
Agency. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
28 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the collection and maintenance of bacterial meningitis immunization
records by public institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.9192.
This bill would require the Coordinating Board, in consultation with
the Texas Department of Health, to prescribe procedures by which each
institution of higher education shall request and make reasonable efforts to
obtain from each new student information as to whether the student has been
immunized against bacterial meningitis, when the student received the
immunization, and the name and address of the health care provider that
administered the immunization. If the
institution of higher education administers a bacterial meningitis
immunization to a student, the institution would be required to maintain a
record of the immunization. In both
cases, the institution is also required to request that the student provide
written consent to the release of this confidential information. Each institution shall retain a record of
information collected and a copy of the consent form obtained for not less
than ten years after the student first enrolled at the institution. This would apply to each first-time
student at an institution of higher education, including a student who
transfers to the institution from another institution. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
29 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to meetings of governing boards of public institutions of higher education
held outside this state and to the manner in which certain meetings of those
boards may be held. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize the governing board of an institution of higher
education to hold an open or closed meeting by videoconference. The board would be allowed to hold a
telephone conference call or videoconference if the governing board
determines that, for an academic or other policy reason, it is appropriate
for a quorum of the board to meet at a physical location outside the
geographical boundaries of the state, including a location in a foreign
country. If a meeting is held outside
the boundaries of the state, the meeting notice must specify the physical
location where a quorum of the governing board will meet and the reason for
which the governing board determined to meet at that location. For a videoconference meeting, each part
of the meeting that is required to be open to the public shall be visible and
audible to the public at the location specified in the notice, be recorded in
an audiovisual medium that records the meeting substantially as presented,
and have two-way audio and video communications with each participant. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
33 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the right of an employee to time off from work to participate in certain
activities of the employee’s child. |
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Summary: |
This
bill authorizes an employee to use up to ten hours of leave in each twelve
month period to meet with the employee’s child’s teacher, counselor, or
principal. Each employee is entitled
to one hour in each calendar month.
See HB 50, Turner. Effective
date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
55 HB
273 |
Zaffirini, Laredo Naishtat, Austin |
Relating
to forensic evidence training for students enrolled in certain medical or
nursing degree programs. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.310.
This bill requires each institution of higher education that offers a
program leading to a doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy degree or to
a degree that satisfies the educational requirement for licensure for a
registered nurse to establish a course in forensic evidence collection and
require completion of the course as a prerequisite to receiving the
degree. The bill requires the Coordinating
Board to establish standards for the course.
Effective date: September 1,
2003. |
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SB
56 |
Zaffirini, Laredo |
Relating
to the creation of rural health centers. |
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Summary: |
This
bill requires the Office of Rural Community Affairs, with cooperation from
the Texas Department of Health, the Health and Human Services Commission, the
statewide rural healthcare system designated under Chapter 845, Insurance
Code, and public health departments in rural counties to establish regional
health centers in rural counties to coordinate the delivery of health care to
residents of rural counties. The bill
requires each agency to provide services covered by programs of the agency
and to contract with health care professionals who are eligible to serve
residents that are enrolled in federal and agency programs to work from each
regional health center. The bill
requires that at least three or four sites be established before January 1,
2004. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
84 HB
1083 |
Wentworth, San
Antonio Baxter, Austin |
Relating
to the prompt production of public information under the public information
law. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would define “promptly” to mean as soon as possible under the
circumstances, that is, within a reasonable time, without delay. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
85 HB
18 |
Wentworth, San
Antonio Corte, San
Antonio |
Relating
to excepting military discharge records from required public disclosure and
limiting the persons to whom the information may be disclosed. |
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Summary: |
This
bill creates a new exception to the Public Information Act for a military
veteran’s Department of Defense Form DD-214 or other military discharge
record. Same bill as HB 165,
Uresti. Effective date: |
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SB
86 |
Wentworth, San
Antonio |
Relating
to the eligibility of a high school graduate for automatic admission to an
institution of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 51.803 and 51.807.
This bill would limit the top ten percent automatic admission statute
by requiring that the student complete the recommended or advanced high
school program or an equivalent curriculum before being entitled to automatic
admission for being in the top ten percent of the student’s high school
graduating class. This requirement would
not apply to an applicant who graduated from a public high school that does
not offer the recommended or advanced high school curriculum if the school
has received a waiver of those curriculum requirements from the Texas
Education Agency. See HB 933, Dutton
and HB 2507, Morrison. Effective
date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
87 HB
391 |
Wentworth, San
Antonio Pitts, Waxahachie |
Relating
to the participation of institutions of higher education in electronic
government. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2055.001 and 2177.0001; repeals Sections 2055.002
and 2177.005. This bill would
eliminate the permissive authority for institutions of higher education to
participate in the statewide electronic programs. The bill would require institutions to participate in the
electronic government program and the electronic procurement program. Effective date: September 1, 2004. |
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SB
89 |
Wentworth, San
Antonio |
Relating
to compensatory time for persons governing state agencies. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would prohibit accrual of compensatory time for the administrative head
of a state agency, including an executive director. State agency is defined to include an institution of higher
education. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
95 HB
425 |
West,
R. Dallas Christian, Center |
Relating
to requiring a state agency to consider legislative intent during the process
of adopting an agency rule. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require each state agency before giving notice of intention to
adopt a rule to determine whether the proposed rule is consistent with the
legislature’s intent in enacting or otherwise affecting the law and informing
each author and sponsor of the legislation that the rule is being
considered. Each state agency would
be required to deliver a copy of the proposed rules to each member of the
legislature. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
104 HB
6 |
Nelson, Flower
Mound Allen, Grand
Prairie |
Relating
to the regulation and enforcement of the practice of medicine by the State
Board of Medical Examiners. |
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Summary: |
This
bill amends the sections regarding physician education and assistance
programs and the section regarding required suspension or revocation of
license. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
111 |
Barrientos, Austin |
Relating
to a voting student member on the board of regents of the University of Texas
System. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Texas Education Code, Sections 65.11 and 65.12; adds Section 65.111. This bill would require the Governor to
appoint a student regent to the University of Texas System Board of
Regents. Each general academic
teaching institution in the UT System will be required to solicit applicants
for the position of student regent and each application will have the name of
the applicant and of the general academic teaching institution removed prior
to consideration by the University of Texas System Student Advisory
Council. The council shall select
five applicants that will be forwarded to the chancellor of the system for
consideration for recommendation to the Governor. The Governor may request to review all applicants for the
position of student regent. The
Governor is not required to appoint the applicant recommended by the
chancellor. The chancellor shall
select two or more applicants as the system’s recommendations for the position. The
student regent must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a
general academic teaching institution in the system at the time of the
appointment. The student regent shall
have the same powers and duties, including voting privileges, as other board
members. The student regent shall
serve a term of three years. See HB
719, Naishtat and HB 2123, Wilson.
Effective date: October 1,
2003. |
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SB
124 HB
46 |
Shapleigh, El
Paso Turner,
S. Houston |
Relating
to the continuance of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board and
the limitation on deposits to the telecommunications infrastructure fund. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize the extension of the collection of funding for the TIF
until the amount collected is $2 billion.
The bill also authorizes the continuation of the TIF Board until
September 1, 2009. Effective
date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
129 |
Fraser, Horseshoe
Bay Jackson, Pasadena |
Relating
to the regulation of mold remediation and other mold-related activities. |
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Summary: |
This
bill adds a chapter to the Occupations Code to be cited as the Texas Mold
Remediation Licensing Act. This
chapter would apply to any mold-related activity performed by a third party
for compensation and any mold-related activity performed in a facility owned
or leased by the state or by a county or a city. |
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SB
137 HB
152 |
Ellis,
R. Houston Wilson, Houston |
Relating
to certain life insurance policies insuring the life of an employee or other
third parties. |
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Summary: |
This
bill prohibits an individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other
legal entity who is the employer of an individual who is insured under a life
insurance policy from being designated as a beneficiary to receive the
proceeds of the policy. This prohibition
does not apply when the employer is a corporation, joint stock association,
trust estate, or a partnership. See
HB 978, Dukes. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
141 HB
2040 |
Ellis,
R. Houston Marchant, Carrollton |
Relating
to authorizing certain state agencies to share information for investigative
purposes. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 555.051.
This new section would apply only to information held by or for the
office of attorney general, the Department of Insurance, State Board of
Public Accountancy, the Public Utility Commission, or the State Securities
Board that relates to a person who is licensed or otherwise regulated by any
of those agencies. This amendment
would allow these agencies to share confidential information that is
otherwise restricted by law with one or more of the other agencies listed for
investigative purposes. Effective
date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
147 |
Barrientos, Austin |
Relating
to the adoption by state agencies of risk management and control strategies. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Chapter 2057.
This bill defines state agency to include a university system or an
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code. This bill defines risk management to mean
the identification of significant impediments that may prevent a state agency
from achieving its objectives, or the identification of a significant
likelihood that an opportunity may be lost for enabling a state agency to
achieve its objectives. Each
governing board of a state agency shall be required to adopt risk management
and control strategies for the succeeding biennium not later than August 31
of each odd-numbered year. The risk
management and control strategies must specify the operational, strategic,
and financial objectives of the state agency; assess the nature and extent of
the risk to achieve those objectives; identify any significant risk that may
impede the achievement of those objectives; identify measures that may lessen
or eliminate significant risks; and analyze the likelihood that the risk may
occur and the cost of controlling the risk compared to the benefits of
managing the risk. The governing
board will be required to forward a copy of the strategies to the Governor,
Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Comptroller, and the Legislative Budget
Board. The
agency will be required to report progress to the governing board at least
twice each year. The governing body
of each state agency will be required to report not later than October 31 of
each even-numbered year on its level of achievement in implementing risk
management and control strategies for the current biennium to each of the
state offices. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
148 |
Barrientos, Austin |
Relating
to requiring state agencies to create subcommittees on strategic planning. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require the governing body of each state agency to appoint from
among the members of the body one subcommittee to review audits of the agency,
one subcommittee to review the agency’s strategic plan, and one subcommittee
to review the agency’s operations.
The subcommittees would be required to meet regularly. The presiding officer of the governing
body may not serve on the audit committee.
Effective date: September 1,
2003. |
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SB
149 |
Barrientos, Austin |
Relating
to a leave of absence for certain state employees who are donating an organ,
tissue, bone marrow, or blood. |
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Summary: |
This
bill provides a paid leave of absence to serve as a bone-marrow or organ
donor. Five working days per fiscal
year are granted to serve as a bone-marrow donor and thirty working days to
serve as an organ donor. A state agency
would also be required to allow an employee sufficient time off without a reduction
in salary or accrued leave to donate blood.
This leave cannot exceed four times in a fiscal year. See HB 89, McClendon. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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SB
152 |
Lindsay, Houston |
Relating
to the application of the open meetings law and the public information law to
meetings and information regarding certain response plans of a municipal
hospital or hospital district. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 551.090 and Section 552.145. This bill would authorize the governing
board of a municipal hospital or a hospital district to deliberate the
details, or specific occasions for implementation, of a plan for responding
to a natural, technological, or man-made hazard or to an act of terrorism in
a closed meeting. This
bill would also authorize the hospital district to except information
relating to responding to a natural, technological, or man-made hazard or act
of terrorism from public information.
Effective date: September 1,
2003. |
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SB
158 HB
579 |
Nelson, Flower
Mound Eiland, Galveston |
Relating
to limiting liability of physicians and health care providers for charitable
care. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would eliminate the liability for damages in civil actions based on
medical care or health care provided by a physician or health care provider
if the physician or health care provider provided the care in good faith and
without willful or wanton negligence, provided the care without expectation
of compensation, and the patient or the patient’s parent signs a written statement
acknowledging that the care is provided without expectation of compensation
and a realization of the limitation on the recovery of damages. The bill limits the liability of a
hospital for care provided under these circumstances to $500,000. See HB 3, Nixon; HB 709, Nixon; SB 1598,
Janek. Effective date: September 1, 2003. |
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