79th Regular Session –
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Bill No. |
Sponsor |
Caption – HOUSE BILLS |
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HB 1 SB 1 |
Pitts, Waxahachie |
Relating to the General
Appropriations Bill. |
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HB 3 |
Keffer, Eastland |
Relating
to property tax relief and protection of taxpayers, taxes and fees, and other
matters relating to the financing of public schools. |
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Summary: |
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HB 7 SB 400 |
Solomons, Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to the continuation and operation of the workers’ compensation system of this
state and to the abolition of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, the
establishment of the office of employee assistance, and the transfer of the
powers and duties of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission to the Texas
Department of Insurance, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the office of
employee assistance; providing administrative violations. |
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Summary: |
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HB 10 SB 1607 |
Pitts, Waxahachie |
Relating
to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations. |
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Summary: |
This
bill contains the supplemental appropriations and reductions in
appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. The bill includes an additional
appropriation in the amount of $31.8 million to the Department of Criminal
Justice for correctional managed health care.
Effective date: |
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HB 19 |
Brown, F. |
Relating
to tuition and fee rebates for timely completion of degree programs offered
by general academic teaching institutions. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.0061.
This new section would entitle a student to a rebate of the amount of
undergraduate tuition and compulsory fees, as defined, if the student enrolls
as a first-time freshman in the first fall semester following the student’s
graduation from high school, remains continuously enrolled, is entitled to
pay resident tuition and fees, and is awarded a baccalaureate degree from the
institution and completes the degree within four years of the date the
student first enrolled for four-year degree programs or within the time
period established by the institution for the degree program. The amount of the rebate would be the
difference between the total amount of tuition and compulsory fees actually
paid by the student while enrolled and the total amount the student would
have paid during the period if the student paid tuition at the rate and
compulsory fees in the total amount in effect for the first full semester the
student was enrolled at the institution.
The institution is directed to pay the rebates from local funds. The legislature is directed to account for
the rebates in the General Appropriations Act by increasing the amount of
general revenue funds appropriated to the institution that pays the
rebate. A student would also be
eligible to receive the $1,000 rebate if the student qualifies. Transfer students would be eligible for
this new rebate if they provide sufficient evidence to the institution to
verify the student’s eligibility. The
institution is directed to apply the rebate to any outstanding loan that the
student owes at the time of graduation.
The Coordinating Board is required to adopt rules to administer this
section and to make provisions for hardship or other good cause regarding the
requirement for continuous enrollment. This
section would not apply to a student who enters a general academic teaching
institution for the first time before the 2005 summer session. Effective date: |
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HB 20 |
Brown, F. |
Relating
to a pilot program to provide for reduced undergraduate tuition during a
summer term or session at |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.0516.
This will would require Texas A&M University to reduce state
tuition to one-half of the amount required by statute and would limit the
amount of designated tuition to an amount equal to one-half of state tuition for the summer terms of 2006
and 2007. This section expires This
section would only apply if the legislature specifically appropriates money
to |
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HB 22 |
Brown, F. |
Relating to the disposition
of state agency surplus or salvage property. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2175.001(1), 2175.241, 2175.242(a), and
2175.304. This bill expands the
definition of assistance organization to include a nonprofit organization
that provides affordable housing. The
bill would authorize a state agency to dispose of surplus or salvage property
that cannot otherwise be sold or disposed by giving it to an assistance
organization. The
amendment also authorizes a university system or institution or agency of
higher education to donate to an assistance organization any surplus or
salvage property that is not donated to a public school or school district
and has no resale value. Effective
date: |
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HB 26 |
Delisi, |
Relating
to an electronic database of major state contracts and related documents. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2177.0001 and 2177.001 and adds Section
2177.052. This new section would
require each state agency, excluding university systems and institutions of
higher education, to furnish to the Building and Procurement Commission
specified information regarding major contracts, which is defined as those
exceeding $5 million in value. The
information required would include a copy of each major contract and each request
for proposal, invitation to bid, or comparable solicitation related to the
major contract. The Department of
Information Resources would be required to post the information on the
electronic commerce network. This
information would be available to |
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HB 37 |
Eiland, |
Relating
to the automatic admission of undergraduate students to a general academic
teaching institution that is a component institution of a university system. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 51.803. This
amendment would authorize the governing board of a university system to adopt
an admission policy regarding admission of students qualifying for the top
10% automatic admission. A student
would be able to apply to one or more of the system component general
academic teaching institutions and the eligible applicant could list in order
the preference of the general academic teaching institutions in the system to
which the applicant prefers to be admitted.
The system would be required to make reasonable effort to offer an
applicant admission to the applicant’s highest preference possible consistent
with the enrollment needs of the system.
Effective date: |
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HB 40 |
Eiland, |
Relating
to tuition assistance granted to certain members of state military forces
attending public or private institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 431.090(d) and (f); Education Code, Section
54.2155(a). These amendments would
authorize the adjutant general to give priority for tuition assistance to
members of the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard, or the
Texas State Guard, who have been called to federal active duty during a
national emergency, as defined by rule of the adjutant general. The amendments require that eligible
persons receive priority for the full amount of the award available for that
semester. The amendment limits the
amount of tuition assistance for a period equal to one academic year for each
calendar year or part of a calendar year of the person’s service in the state
military forces, except that a person may not receive tuition assistance for
more than fifteen semester credit hours in any semester or more than
five academic years or ten semesters.
Currently, there is a limit for twelve semester credit hours per
semester. Effective date: |
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HB 45 SB 219 |
Grusendorf, Carona, |
Relating
to notaries public. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require that an individual complete an educational course and pass
a test prior to qualifying for appointment or reappointment as a notary. The bill increases the fees that a notary
is authorized to charge for certain acts and prohibits a notary from charging
fees for certain individuals.
Effective date: |
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HB 64 |
McClendon, |
Relating
to the automatic admission to public institutions of higher education of
certain undergraduate transfer students. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 51.801 and adds Section 51.8065. This new section would require a general
academic teaching institution to admit an applicant to the institution as an
undergraduate transfer student if in the year preceding the academic year for
which the student in applying the applicant received a degree or certificate
from a public junior college or public technical institute in a program
requiring at least forty-two semester credit hours in the core curriculum and
completed with a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a
four-point scale or the equivalent.
The amendment authorizes the institution to determine whether an applicant
requires additional preparation for college-level work. Admission to a specific general academic
teaching institution is contingent on the availability of space within the
institution and admission to a particular program or school is based solely on
the requirements of the institution. This
section would not apply to a public upper-level institution or an institution
who has admitted at least fifty percent of the spaces available under the top
10% rule. This would apply to
admissions for the 2006 fall semester.
Effective date: |
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HB 97 SB 1302 |
West, B. Seliger, |
Relating to the Ector
County Hospital District. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize a director of the hospital district to purchase an
appropriate insurance policy that names the district as its sole beneficiary
instead of purchasing a fiduciary bond.
The bill also amends the section requiring competitive bidding for
construction projects. The bill also
adds a new section clearly stating that nothing in the act may be construed
to waive sovereign or governmental immunity.
Effective date: |
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HB 120 |
Pearland |
Relating
to the creation of a donor education, awareness, and registry program and the
establishment of an organ donor and tissue council. |
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Summary: |
These
amendments would authorize an individual to designate on the individual’s
driver’s license or personal identification certificate the intention of the
individual to be a donor with respect to an organ, tissue, or eye
donation. The bill requires the
Department of Public Safety to establish the Donor Education, Awareness, and
Registry Program of Texas. The
department is directed to enter into an agreement with the Living Bank
International or other organization selected by the public service director
under a competitive proposal process for the establishment and maintenance of
a statewide Internet-based registry of organ, tissue, and eye donors. The department is also directed to
establish the Texas Organ, Tissue, and Eye Donor Council. The council would be comprised of the
executive commissioner of the Health and Services Commission, a
representative of DPS, a representative of the Texas Department of
Transportation, and eight members appointed by the Governor. The duties of the council are to advise the
public safety director of the need for and efforts to increase the number of
resident donors, increase the number of transplants performed, and decrease
the difference between the number of donors and the number of candidates on
the waiting list. The council shall
also establish and prioritize the initiatives to implement the donor
education, awareness, and registry program.
See SB 24, Zaffirini and HB 292, McClendon. Effective date: |
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HB 123 |
Naishtat, |
Relating
to a feasibility study regarding required forensic medical examination
instruction for students enrolled in certain medical or nursing degree
programs. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 61.0814.
This bill requires the Coordinating Board to conduct a study to
evaluate the feasibility of requiring an 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 as a registered nurse to require a student to complete basic
instruction regarding medical examination practices and issues regarding
sexual assault. The study must be
completed and delivered to the legislature on or before |
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HB 130 SB 111 |
Smith, T. Shapleigh, |
Relating
to undergraduate course credit granted by certain public institutions of
higher education for completion of the international baccalaureate diploma
program. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.968.
This bill would require the governing board of each institution of
higher education to adopt a policy to grant undergraduate course credit to
entering freshman students who have successfully completed the international
baccalaureate diploma program. Each
institution would be required to grant at least 24 semester credit hours or
the equivalent in appropriate subject areas to an entering freshman student. The institution would be allowed to grant
fewer than 24 semester credit hours if the student received a score of less
than four on an examination administered as part of the diploma program. The governing board would be required to
report to the Coordinating Board the policy adopted and to make the policy
available on the institution’s Internet site.
Effective date: |
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HB 133 |
Brown, F. |
Relating
to the award of academic credit to a student at an institution of higher
education for the completion of certain military training. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.3041.
This bill requires an institution of higher education to review a
student’s completion of certain military training to determine whether to
award a student course credit toward a degree if the course satisfies the
substance of the course for which the student seeks credit as described in
the institution’s course catalog.
Effective date: |
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HB 138 |
Hopson, |
Relating
to the amount of hazardous duty pay for certain state employees. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 659.305(a)-(c).
This bill increases the amount of hazardous duty pay for particular
state employees. Effective date: |
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HB 143 |
Farrar, |
Relating
to the prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Labor Code by adding Chapter 23. This
bill would prohibit an employer from subjecting an individual to different
standards or treatment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
or the sexual orientation or gender identity of persons with whom the
individual is believed to associate or to have associated. The bill prohibits retaliation or coercion. The bill prohibits quotas and preferential
treatment to an individual on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity. For the state or a political
subdivision of the state that is liable for a violation under this new
chapter, sovereign immunity is waived and abolished to the extent of
liability under this chapter.
Effective date: |
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HB 153 |
Brown, F. |
Relating
to certain requirements for construction contracts with governmental
entities. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Labor Code, Section 406.096. This bill
would authorize a contractor with a governmental entity to provide either
workers’ compensation insurance coverage or other coverage with benefits for
personal injuries or death in the amount specified in this section. Effective date: |
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HB 154 |
Brown, F. |
Relating
to requiring institutions of higher education to report potential savings
through contracting with local governments. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.953.
This bill would require the governing board of an institution of
higher education to submit a report to the Legislative Budget Board that
identifies support services and functions, including physical plant operation
and maintenance, that the institution performs using its own staff and
resources and that could be performed by the municipality, county, or other
local government in which the institution is located; comparing the cost to
the institution and the cost the institution would incur by contracting with
the local government; and identifies those local governments willing to
consider contracting to provide those services or functions for the
institution. This bill requires the
Coordinating Board to adopt rules for the administration of this new
section. Effective date: |
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HB 180 |
Escobar, Juan |
Relating
to appropriations to the Texas A&M University System and to Texas A&M
University-Kingsville in connection with the Irma Rangel School of Pharmacy. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize an appropriation to the Texas A&M University System
in the amount of $3 million out of the general revenue fund for the fiscal
biennium ending |
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HB 210 |
Solomons, |
Relating to the regulation
of certain telemarketing calls. |
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Summary: |
These
amendments impact who the Public Utility Commission
may contract with for the maintenance of the |
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HB 212 |
Guillen, |
Relating
to health care practitioner information provided to a health care facility. |
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Summary: |
These
amendments would require a health care practitioner, as defined, to provide
to a health care facility that employs the practitioner authorization of the
state health care regulatory agency that issued the practitioner’s license,
certificate, or registration to release information and the practitioner’s
previous employer to release information to the new employing health care
facility. Effective date: |
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HB 223 SB 121 |
Gattis, |
Relating to a requestor’s
right of access to investment information. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 552.030.
This amendment establishes thirteen categories of information relating
to a governmental body’s investments held by that would become public
information. The information includes
the name of any fund or investment entity, the dates for investments, the
amount of dollars the governmental body committed to any fund or investment
entity, the internal rate of return realized, the names of principals of any
fund or investment entity, the fees, expenses, charges, and other
compensation assessed or paid by the governmental body to any fund or
investment entity, recusals filed by members of the governing board of the
governmental body regarding any investments, a description of the types of business
engaged in by the companies that the governmental body is or has invested in,
and minutes or tape recordings of open meetings pertaining investments. Effective date: |
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HB 235 |
Van Arsdale, |
Relating
to the computation of certain benefits under the Teacher Retirement System. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 824.203 and 824.806. This bill would change the method of
computation of the standard service retirement annuity calculation for a
member of the Teacher Retirement System who, during any month of the member’s
service, received compensation of $5,000 or more. Currently, all members’ standard service
retirement annuity is calculated on the basis of the member’s average annual
compensation in the best three years times 2.3% for each year of service
credit. With these amendments, the
calculation would be computed as the member’s median monthly compensation for
the 60 months of service in which the member received the highest monthly
compensation times 2.3% for each year of service credit. Effective date: |
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HB 241 |
Goolsby, |
Relating
to professional liability insurance for certain retired physicians acting as
volunteer health care providers. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize a professional liability insurance provider to make
available professional liability insurance covering a retired physician to
cover acts or omissions in the course and scope of the physician’s duties as
a volunteer health care provider. The
provision of coverage for the retired physician would not affect the
liability of the retired physician as provided by current law. Effective date: |
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HB 242 |
Goolsby, |
Relating
to medical liability insurance for certain retired physicians acting as
volunteer health care providers. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize a joint underwriting association to make available
professional liability insurance covering a retired physician to cover acts
or omissions in the course and scope of the physician’s duties as a volunteer
health care provider. The provision of
coverage for the retired physician would not affect the liability of the
retired physician as provided by current law.
Effective date: |
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HB 256 |
Hopson, |
Relating
to investments in certificate of deposit by certain governmental entities. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 2256.010. For
those state entities subject to the Public Funds Investment Act, this bill
would expand the types of certificates of deposit that are considered
authorized investments under the act.
Effective date: |
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HB 257 SB 1483 |
Pena, Williams, The Woodlands |
Relating
to exempting textbooks for university and college courses from the sales tax. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Tax Code by adding Section 151.3211.
This new section would exempt textbooks sold to full-time or part-time
students enrolled at public or private institutions of higher education if
the textbook is used for educational or instructional purposes and is
required for a course at the institution.
Effective date: |
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HB 258 SB 527 |
Pena, Hinojosa, |
Relating
to authorizing a sports recreation and wellness facility fee at the
University of Texas-Pan American. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.5421.
This new section would authorize the UT System board of regents to
charge students enrolled at UT-Pan American a sports recreation and wellness
facility fee in an amount not to exceed $75 for each semester of the regular
term or for each summer session. In
order to implement the fee or to increase the fee, a majority of the students
voting in a general student election called for that purpose would have to
approve the implementation or the increase.
Effective date: |
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HB 279 |
Pickett, |
Relating
to compensatory time off for certain state employees. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 662.005(b).
Institutions of higher education are not considered a state agency in
Chapter 662. For those state agencies
who are subject to this chapter, these amendments would impact the amount of
compensatory time earned by peace officers employed by those state agencies
or the Department of Public Safety.
Effective date: |
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HB 292 |