79th Regular Session –
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Bill No. |
Sponsor |
Caption – SENATE BILLS |
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SB 1 HB 1 |
Pitts, Waxahachie |
Relating
to the General Appropriations Bill. |
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SB 5 |
Staples, |
Relating
to the continuation and operation of the workers’ compensation system of this
state, including changing the name of the Texas Workers’ Compensation
Commission to the Texas Department of Workers’ Compensation, the powers and
duties of the governing authority of that department, the provision of
workers’ compensation benefits to injured employees, and the regulation of
workers’ compensation insurers. |
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Summary: |
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SB 9 |
Staples, |
Relating to homeland
security. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would establish the Governor’s interoperable radio communications
program for a statewide integrated public safety radio communications system
that promotes interoperability within and between all first responders. Effective date: |
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SB 24 HB 292 |
Zaffirini, McClendon |
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 HB 120,
Dawson. Effective date: |
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SB 30 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to tuition and fee exemptions for students contracting to graduate in a
timely manner from public institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.202.
This bill would require the governing board of each institution of
higher education to create a graduate on time contract. The institution would be required to notify
the undergraduate students about the contract not later than the sixth week
of the student’s first semester or term and the student would be required to
enter into the contract prior to the end of the student’s first semester or
term at the institution. No student
would be required to enter into a contract under this section. Each
contract under this section would require a student to: (1) earn at least 30 required or elective credit hours
each academic year, (2) enroll in any specified courses or types of courses
prescribed by the contract at the times required by the contract, (3) maintain good academic standing as prescribed in the
contract, (4) the student must declare a major not later than the
end of the student’s second academic year, (5) earn additional credit hours if the student’s degree program
requires more than 120 credit hours for a bachelor’s degree program as
prescribed in the contract. A student who has entered into and satisfies the
requirements of the contract is exempt from the payment of tuition for the
final fifteen credit hours required for the student’s bachelor’s degree
program or the final nine hours required for the student’s associate degree
program. In addition to the tuition
exemption, each contract would require the institution to exempt a student
from the payment of any tuition and fees for a course required in the
student’s degree program that was unavailable to the student at the
appropriate time as specified by the institution in the contract. If a student withdraws from the institution, the
contract is void. A student may not
receive an exemption from tuition or fees under this section for a semester
or session before the 2006 fall semester.
Effective date: |
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SB 31 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to requiring students receiving certain financial aid at institutions of
higher education to meet timely graduation and academic progress
requirements. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 56.304(e), 56.305(e) and (g), 56.462, and
61.225. This bill attempts to
standardize the eligibility requirements for a The
bill also amends the time of eligibility for The
bill makes corresponding changes to the limitations on tuition equalization
grant eligibility. The bill makes
similar provisions for students with hardship provisions. Effective date: September 1, 2005. |
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SB 32 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to certain special tuition rates at institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 54.072 and adds Section 54.0514. This bill amends the section authorizing UT
Austin’s flat rate tuition pilot project to now authorize the governing board
of any institution of higher education to charge the same amount of tuition
to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or degree program at the
institution. The tuition could not
exceed the average amount of tuition a student would pay for enrolling in the
institution for fourteen semester credit hours. The
bill would authorize the governing board of an institution of higher
education to charge a resident undergraduate student a lesser amount for
tuition in a summer term or session for state tuition. The amount of tuition could not be less
than ½ of that amount. Effective date: |
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SB 33 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to graduate stipends awarded as part of the Texas B-On-Time loan program. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 56.466.
This bill would authorize a student who previously qualified for
forgiveness of a Texas B-On-Time loan and who enrolls in a graduate or
professional degree program at an institution to be eligible to receive a
stipend of $2,500 in the student’s first academic year in the program to be
used toward expenses associated with the program. The
stipend will be paid for money appropriated for these purposes. The Coordinating Board is directed to
allocate the amount to eligible institutions and if the amount is
insufficient to provide a stipend to each eligible student, the Coordinating
Board shall proportion the number of full-time equivalent graduate students
enrolled at each institution. The
institution shall allocate the stipends based on financial need. The Coordinating Board would be required to
adopt rules to administer this program.
Effective date: |
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SB 34 HB 2332 |
Zaffirini, Morrison, |
Relating
to the tuition rebate program for certain undergraduates at certain public
institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 54.0065(a), (c), and (i). This bill amends the sections regarding the
$1,000 rebate of tuition program for undergraduates. For students beginning after the effective
date of this bill, they will be required to complete the baccalaureate degree
within the same time period prescribed to qualify for forgiveness of a Texas
B-On-Time loan which is either four or five years depending upon the degree
program. The bill also authorizes the
Coordinating Board to adopt rules providing for hardship or other good cause
provisions. Effective date: |
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SB 35 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to a study regarding credit hour requirements for undergraduate certificate
and degree programs at public institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require the Coordinating Board to conduct a study to examine the
need for and feasibility of developing uniform credit hour requirements for
undergraduate certificate and degree programs in any academic field common to
two or more public institutions of higher education. The study must include an evaluation of
reducing credit hour requirements for programs that exceed typical or
traditional credit hour requirements for similar programs. The report is due |
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SB 39 HB 298 |
Zaffirini, McClendon, |
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.
Each institution of higher education that offers a degree 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 would be required to establish a course in forensic evidence collection
and require completion of the course as a prerequisite to receiving the
degree. The institution could
determine to accept a substantially similar course successfully completed at
another public or accredited private institution. The Coordinating Board shall establish
standards for the course. Effective
date: |
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SB 41 HB 299 |
Zaffirini, McClendon, |
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 defines employee as a person other than an independent contractor who,
for compensation, performs services for an employer. Employer is defined as a person who employs
ten or more employees at the same workplace, including a public
employer. The bill entitles employees
to unpaid time off, up to one hour in each calendar month, to meet with a
teacher of the employee’s child or with a caregiver of the child or to
participate in a facility or school activity of the child. The employee is required to provide
documentation of the actual participation in the activity on the employer’s
request. Notice of an employee’s right
to this time off must be posted in a prominent location in the
workplace. Retaliation is prohibited. Currently,
state employees are authorized to use up to eight hours of sick leave each
calendar year to attend parent-teacher conference sessions for the employee’s
children (Government Code, Section 661.206).
(See HB 426 and HB
430). Effective date: |
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SB 44 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating to the Indigent
Health Care Advisory Committee |
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Summary: |
This
bill requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission to establish an advisory committee to advise the commission on
rules and policies concerning indigent health care services. The committee shall consist of eleven
members, including four consumer and seven other representatives, appointed
by the executive commissioner. Effective date: |
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SB 50 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to contracts between health care providers and certain health benefit plans. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would prohibit a health maintenance organization or an insurer from
including a provision in a contract with a participating physician or a
preferred provider that would allow HMO or the insurer to refuse to pay an
individual clean claim because of the provider submitted a previous claim
that was deemed not a clean claim.
Effective date: |
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SB 61 |
West, R. |
Relating to the teaching of
foreign languages in public schools. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize the commissioner of TEA to make grants from funds
appropriated for this purpose to educator preparation programs offered by
public senior colleges or universities to allow the programs to exempt from
the payment of tuition and fees a student seeking certification as a
bilingual education, dual language instruction, or English as a second
language teacher, and to reimburse a student for the cost of textbooks
required for the educator preparation program. The bill would also authorize a school
district to use state or local funds to supplement tuition and fees exemptions
for educational aid employees of the school district if the aide is enrolled
in courses leading to certification as a bilingual education, dual language
instruction, or English as a second language teacher. The board would be required to establish a
master language teacher certificate to teach bilingual education, dual
language instruction, or English as a second language at the elementary,
middle school, and high school grade levels.
The commissioner is directed to establish a master language teacher
grant program. Effective date: |
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SB 63 HB 2740 |
Staples, Guillen, |
Relating to a pay raise for
state employees. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would entitle each full-time employee of a state agency to an increase
in the employee’s gross salary for the state fiscal year beginning September
1, 2005, in an amount equal to $200 per month and each part-time employee to
an increase in the employee’s gross salary in an amount each month that is
equal to the ratio between the number of hours the employee works and the
number of hours required of a full-time employee times $200. This would not apply to a member of the
legislature or a member of the faculty of an institution of higher
education. Effective date: |
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SB 67 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to a program to promote the training and retention of health care
professionals in this state. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, by adding Sections 61.551—61.554 and repeals Government Code,
Chapter 487, Subchapter G. This bill requires the Coordinating Board to
establish a program to encourage the training, recruitment, and retention of
health care professionals and practitioners in health professional shortage
areas in the Texas-Mexico border region.
The practitioners eligible to participate in the program should be
trained in medicine, dentistry, or nursing and would be referred to as the
Border Health Corp. The program would
be a loan repayment assistance program for which an individual could receive
up to $10,000 in loan repayment assistance per year. The individual must agree to practice for
at least two years in the individual’s field or area of practice. The
Coordinating Board would be required to pay the loan repayment assistance
directly to the entity to which the loan obligation is due. The
bill abolishes the Texas Health Service Corp which is currently administered
by the Office of Rural Community Affairs.
Individuals receiving awards or stipends under this program would be
allowed to continue but no additional awards could be made. The appropriations for this program would
be transferred to the Border Health Corp program at the Coordinating
Board. Effective date: |
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SB 68 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to increasing the number of students in medical education in |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Sections 61.0903, 61.0904, and 61.0905. This bill requires the Coordinating Board
to examine the use of undergraduate programs that require more than four
years of undergraduate coursework to prepare students for graduate medical
education to determine whether such a program would be feasible or effective
in institutions of higher education in this state. The report is due The
board is also required to develop in coordination with institutions of higher
education a strategy to coordinate recruitment and retention of students from
backgrounds or geographic areas that are underrepresented in institutions in
this state. The
board is also directed to collaborate with the Texas Education Agency to
establish a pilot program to provide opportunities for secondary school
students in the Texas-Mexico border region who are enrolled in health science
technology and related courses to be mentored by health care professionals or
students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate health science technology
programs in at least three high schools in the first year and three
additional secondary schools in the second year. TEA
is authorized to establish a statewide network of summer study science instruction
programs for students from groups or geographic areas that are
underrepresented in the fields of science and medicine. Effective date: |
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SB 70 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to the provision of a preference in governmental purchasing decisions for
vendors that provide health benefits to employees. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 44.031(b) and adds Section 44.0421; amends Government
Code, Section 2155.074(b) and adds Section 2155.452. This bill would require public schools and
state agencies, other than institutions of higher education, to give
preference to the goods or services of a vendor that demonstrates that the
vendor provides health benefits coverage to the vendor’s employees. This would not apply to a vendor with 50 or
fewer employees that does not provide health benefits coverage. Effective date: |
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SB 74 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to a prohibition on employment discrimination in compensation. |
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Summary: |
This
bill defines employer as a person who employs four or more employees,
including the state and a political subdivision of the state. This bill would make it an unlawful
employment practice if an employer discriminated among employees on the basis
of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than the rate at which
the employer pays wages to another employee of the opposite sex for the same
or substantially similar work requiring equal skills, effort and
responsibility and which are performed under similar working conditions. An exception to this would be a seniority
system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or
quality of production, or a differential based on a factor other than sex. The Texas Workforce Commission is directed
to adopt guidelines specifying the criteria for determining whether a job is
dominated by employees of a particular sex.
Each employer is required to provide to each employee a written
statement sufficient to inform the employee of the employee’s job title and
wage rate at least once annually.
Effective date: |
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SB 79 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to tuition exemptions granted by public institutions of higher education to
children of certain classroom teachers. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.220.
This bill would require the governing board of an institution of
higher education to exempt from the payment of tuition a resident of this
state enrolled as an undergraduate student at the institution who is the
child of a person who at the beginning of the semester or academic session
for which the exemption is sought holds a National Board Certification, as
defined by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and has
ten or more years of experience as a classroom teacher in a critical teaching
shortage field in one or more school districts in this state and is currently
employed by a school district in a similar role. An individual is not eligible for this
exemption if the person has received an exemption for ten semesters or summer
sessions at any institution or has received a baccalaureate degree. An individual who becomes eligible to
receive the exemption from tuition could also be eligible for a refund of any
amount of tuition paid as a resident student in the three-year period
preceding the beginning of the first semester for which the person receives
the exemption. The bill does require
the Coordinating Board to take into account any tuition exempted or any
refund of tuition made in the preceding biennium when the board is
establishing the funding formulas for institutions for the upcoming biennium. See SB 1145, Shapiro. Effective date: |
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SB 80 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to the percentage of certain tuition set aside to fund financial assistance
for resident undergraduate and graduate students at public institutions of
higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 56.011(a) and 56.012(a). These amendments would increase the
required set aside from the amount of designated tuition in excess of $46 per
semester credit hour for resident undergraduate students from 20% to 40% and
from 15% to 20% for resident students enrolled in graduate or professional
degree programs. This increase would
apply to tuition set aside for fall 2005.
Effective date: |
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SB 81 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to a joint partnership between the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Sections 69.23 and 110.17. This bill would authorize the board of
regents of the |
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SB 95 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to the establishment of an asthma research center at the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 110.151.
This bill requires the board of regents of Texas Tech University
System to establish an asthma research center at the |
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SB 101 HB 303 |
Van de Putte, McClendon, |
Relating
to electronically monitoring certain veterans’ and dependents’ tuition
exemption. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.203(h) and Government Code by adding
Section 434.107. This bill would
require the governing board of each institution of higher education to
electronically report to the Texas Veterans Commission information on
veterans and their dependents who receive an exemption from tuition and fees
each semester and summer session. The
institution would be required to report the name of the institution, the name
of the individual, the number of semester credit hours for which the
individual received an exemption, the total cumulative number of credit hours
for which the individual has received an exemption at the institution, and
any other information required by the commission. Effective date: |
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SB 105 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating to a report on the
use of money from the Enterprise Fund. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 481.079.
This amendment would require the Governor to submit to the Lt.
Governor, the Speaker, and each member of the Legislature a report on grants
from The Enterprise Fund prior to the beginning of each regular session. The report would include the number of
jobs, the wages for the jobs, the total number of grants, the total amount of
tax credits, the geographical distribution of the grants by county, and the
effect of the grants on employment, personal income, and capital investment
in the state and in each regional planning commission area. Effective date: |
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SB 111 HB 130 |
Shapleigh, Smith, T. |
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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SB 121 HB 223 |
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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SB 127 |
Lindsay, |
Relating
to disease control programs to reduce the risk of certain communicable
diseases. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize a local health authority or an organization that
contracts with a local governmental entity to establish a disease control
program that provides for the anonymous exchange of used hypodermic needles
and syringes, offers education on the transmission and prevention of
communicable diseases, including HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C; and
assists program participants in obtaining health-related services, including
substance abuse treatment services.
Effective date: |
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SB 128 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating to the use of
certain human cells and tissue. |
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Summary: |
This
bill establishes a civil penalty and a criminal offense for a person engaging
in or attempting to engage in human cloning. The
bill does authorize scientific research, including nuclear transplantation to
develop regenerative or reparative medical therapies or treatments. See HB 1929, Woolley. Effective
date: |
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SB 130 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to the provision of health and human services. |
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Summary: |
This
bill amends the sections regarding the established procedures for the prior
authorization requirements under the Medicaid vendor drug program. This
bill requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission to establish an advisory committee to advise the commission on
rules and policies concerning indigent health care services. The committee shall consist of eleven
members, including four consumer and seven other representatives, appointed
by the executive commissioner.
Effective date: |
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SB 132 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to goals and strategies concerning the number of graduates from professional
nursing education programs. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 61.9623(a), 61.9624, and 61.9626(a); adds Section
61.0812. This new section would
require the Coordinating Board, in consultation with the Department of State
Health Services, to develop a model to assist the Coordinating Board in
determining for each academic year a target number of graduates from the
state’s professional nursing programs, goals for increasing the number of graduates
from these programs, and the levels of public and private funding needed to
achieve the target number and goals.
This model would be required to be developed not later than The
bill would also authorize the use of grants from the professional nursing
shortage reduction program to identify, develop, or implement innovative
methods to limit the need for additional professional nursing program
faculty. Effective date: |
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SB 136 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to the establishment of a school of pharmacy at the University of North Texas
Health Sciences Center at |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 105.405.
This bill would authorize the board of regents of the The
Coordinating Board would be required to prepare an impact statement regarding
the creation of the school of pharmacy and would be required to deliver the
statement to the board of regents of the UNT System
and to the chair of each legislative standing committee or subcommittee with
primary jurisdiction over higher education.
See HB 684, Giddings. Effective date: |
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SB 147 HB 1285 |
Wentworth, Swinford, |
Relating
to the exception from required disclosure under the public information law of
certain audit working papers. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 552.116(b) and (1).
This bill expands the definition of audit to include an audit
authorized or required by the charter or an ordinance of a municipality, or
an order of the commissioner’s court of a county. Effective date: |
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SB 148 HB 1284 |
Wentworth, Swinford, |
Relating
to the exception from required public disclosure of a photograph of a peace
officer. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 552.119. This
bill strikes the old language regarding security officers commissioned under
Section 51.212, Education Code.
Photographs of peace officers employed by institutions of higher
education who are commissioned as peace officers under the Code of Criminal Procedure
would still be excepted from disclosure. Effective date: |
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SB 151 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to students enrolled in courses for which students may receive both high
school and higher education academic credit. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 51.3062(r); adds Sections 54.2161; 31.021(c), 31.031,
and 42.005(g). This bill would
establish a pilot project for students enrolled in courses for concurrent
high school and higher education academic credit beginning with the fall 2005
and extending through August 2009. A
governing board of an institution of higher education would be required to
waive the tuition and mandatory fees charged by the institution for a student
who is a high school junior or senior in a school district that is eligible
for guaranteed yield allotments and is enrolled in a course for which the
student is entitled to simultaneously receive both high school academic
credit and course credit towards a degree offered by the institution. The student would be entitled to a free
textbook for the course provided by the school district through the foundation
school program textbook funding. There
is no provision to reimburse the institution of higher education for the
waived tuition and mandatory fees. The
Coordinating Board will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of the
pilot program in encouraging students to graduate from institutions of higher
education in a timely manner and of any other benefits or problems. Effective date: |
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SB 156 HB 321 |
Fraser, Hupp, Lampasas |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.1751.
This bill authorizes the board of regents of the Texas A&M University System to issue tuition revenue bonds
in an amount not to exceed $45 million for educational facilities for the Tarleton State University System Center—Central
Texas. The bill does authorize the
board of regents to transfer funds among component institutions of the system
if funds are not available for the board to meet its obligations to ensure
the most equitable and efficient allocation of available resources for each
institution. Effective date: |
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SB 157 HB 320 HB 495 |
Fraser, Hupp, Lampasas Miller, Stephenville |
Relating
to the student enrollment required for the operation of |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 87.861(d).
This bill would reduce the number of full-time students required to be
enrolled at |
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SB 158 HB 1725 |
Fraser, Casteel, |
Relating
to the authority of another institution of higher education to conduct
vocational or technical courses in the service area of a junior college
district. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 61.0551.
This bill establishes the criteria for an institution of higher
education to conduct a lower-division-level vocational or technical course or
program in a county with a population of 35,000 or less and is in the service
area of another junior college district.
Effective date: |
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SB 161 HB 373 |
Swinford, |
Relating
to the food and fibers research grant program. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Agriculture Code, Chapter 42. This
bill would eliminate the Texas Food and Fibers Commission and replace it with
the Food and Fibers Research grant program at the Texas Department of
Agriculture. This bill would eliminate
the commission which currently includes the president of |
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SB 173 |
Harris, |
Relating
to banning handguns and certain other weapons from parking areas associated
with schools or educational institutions. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would expand the areas associated with public or private schools or
educational institutions by including public or private parking lots, parking
garages, or other parking areas owned or leased by a public or private school
or educational institution unless an individual has authority to possess the
handgun or other weapon pursuant to written regulations or written
authorization of the school of institution.
Effective date: |
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SB 201 HB 376 |
Gallegos, Coleman, |
Relating
to a prohibition of discrimination by public educational institutions. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 1.0021.
This bill defines sexual preference to mean only a preference for
heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. A public educational institution or employee
of the institution is prohibited from discriminating against a student
enrolled in the institution on account of the ethnicity, color, gender,
gender identity, sexual preference, disability, religion, or national origin
of the student or the student’s parent.
Effective date: |
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SB 213 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to requiring more Spanish language content for online services provided by
state agencies. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 2054.116.
This bill does define state agency to include the university system or
an institution of higher education.
This bill requires each state agency to review the online services
provided by the agency to the public and make a reasonable effort to develop
and complement a system that ensures that Spanish-speaking persons of limited
English proficiency can meaningfully access state agency online
services. Effective date: |
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SB 219 HB 45 |
Carona, Grusendorf, |
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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SB 222 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to exempting books purchased by university and college students from the
sales tax for a limited period. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Tax Code by adding Section 151.3211.
This amendment would exempt the sale of a book bought by a full-time
or part-time student enrolled in a public or private institution of higher
education for a one week period in August and a one week period in
January. Effective date: |
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SB 230 HB 930 |
West, R. Branch, |
Relating
to regional funding of indigent health care services. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require that each county that provides health care assistance to
set aside annually an amount equal to not less than 8% of its general revenue
levy to pay for health care assistance.
The bill would expand the minimum eligibility standards for indigent
health care services to include those individuals with a net income
eligibility level of 200% of the federal poverty level as opposed to the
current 21%. The bill amends the
sections regarding the notice that a provider must provide to the patient’s
county or residence for reimbursement.
Effective date: |
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SB 238 HB 730 |
Janek, Harris Nixon, |
Relating
to training for members of the governing boards of public institutions of
higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 61.084(a).
Currently, appointed members of governing boards of institutions of
higher education are required to attend a training program provided by the
Coordinating Board within the member’s first two years of service. This bill would remove the permissive attendance
for elected members of a governing board and would require that they attend
the training program within the first two years of service. Effective date: |
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SB 246 |
Gallegos, |
Relating to the creation of
an offense involving certain sales of tickets to events; providing a penalty. |
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Summary: |
This
bill creates a criminal offense for the practice of ticket scalping. The offense would be a Class C
misdemeanor. Effective date: |
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SB 249 HB 1532 |
West, R. Rose, Dripping Springs |
Relating
to rates for professional liability insurance for physicians and health care
providers. |
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Summary: |
These
amendments impact rates for professional liability insurance that is
delivered through or by an insurance policy.
The amendment states that no rate will be considered excessive unless
the rate is unreasonably high for the insurance coverage provided and deletes
the current law regarding a reasonable degree of competition in an area. Effective date: |
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SB 254 HB 2631 |
Shapiro, Hill, |
Relating
to the removal of certain restrictions imposed on the programs, enrollment,
and admission policies of the |
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Summary: |
Repeals
Education Code, Sections 70.05 and 70.08.
The first repealed section protects programs at UNT,
TWU, A&M at Commerce,
and UT at |
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SB 255 |
Carona, |
Relating
to the removal of data from data processing equipment disposed of or
transferred by state agencies. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 2054.130.
This amendment would require a state agency to permanently remove data
from data processing equipment for disposing or transferring the equipment to
a person who is not a state agency or other agent of the state. The Department of Information Resources is
required to adopt rules to administer this section. Effective date: |
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SB 275 HB 606 |
Staples, Berman, |
Relating
to authorizing the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 76.02. This
bill would authorize the |
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SB 276 HB 605 |
Staples, Berman, |
Relating
to authorizing the University of Texas Health Science Center at |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 74.602. This
bill would authorize the UT Health Science Center at |
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SB 277 |
Lucio, |
Relating
to use of money in the Texas Enterprise Fund. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize the governor to enter into an interagency agreement with
the Texas Workforce Commission to use the Enterprise Fund in conjunction with
the skills development fund to better recruit new businesses and to maximize
efforts in creating new jobs. The
amendment also requires the governor to submit before December 1 of each
even-numbered year to the Lt. Governor, Speaker and each member of the
legislature a report outlining a long-range plan for the use of the money in
the Texas Enterprise Fund which would include how the current fund had been
spent. Effective date: |
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SB 283 HB 598 |
Staples, Blake, |
Relating
to a recreational sports fee at |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.5201.
This amendment would authorize the board of regents of |
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SB 286 HB 634 |
Wentworth, Baxter, |
Relating
to requiring public officials to receive training in the requirements
of the open meetings and public information laws. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Sections 551.005 and 552.012. This bill would require each elected or
appointed public official who is a member of a governmental body to complete
a training course regarding the responsibilities of the governmental body and
its members relating to the open meetings and public information laws. The official would be required to complete
the course within thirty days of taking the oath of office or otherwise
assuming responsibilities as a member of the governmental body. Members would be required to complete at
least one training course every two years.
The public official may designate a public information coordinator to
satisfy the training requirements regarding the public information laws if
the public information coordinator is the person primarily responsible for
administering the responsibilities of the public official or governmental
body for public information. The
bill designates the areas of the law that should be included in the training
and authorizes the attorney general to implement the training. Effective date: |
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SB 287 HB 1031 |
Janek, Harris |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 61.0572(e) and 61.058(b) and adds Section
55.1752. This bill would authorize the
board of regents of the UT System to issue tuition revenue bonds in an amount
not to exceed $57 million to construct and equip the Galveston National Biocontainment Laboratory at UTMB. Effective date: |
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SB 288 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to the transfer of certain surplus or salvage property to the United Mexican
States. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2175.241, 2175.242, and 2175.304. This bill would authorize a state agency or
a university system or institution of higher education to donate surplus or
salvage property that has not otherwise been disposed and has no resale
value. Effective date: |
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SB 295 |
Madla, |
Relating
to the issuance of revenue bonds for Texas A&M
University-San Antonio. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 61.0572(e) and 61.058(b); adds Section
55.17511. This bill would authorize
the Texas A&M University System board of
regents to issue tuition revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $80 million
to construct and equip facilities at |
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SB 296 |
Madla, |
Relating
to the student enrollment required for the operation of Texas A&M University-San Antonio as an independent general
academic teaching institution. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 87.841(d).
This bill would authorize the |
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SB 302 |
Ellis, |
Relating
to reports of strategies for increasing minority participation in higher
education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 61.080(a) and adds Section 51.4032. For purposes of this new section, a racial
or ethnic group is underrepresented in the undergraduate or graduate student
body if the percentage of the student body consisting of members of the
racial or ethnic group is less than the percentage of the population of this
state consisting of members of that racial or ethnic group. Each institution of higher education would
be required to submit a report to the Coordinating Board detailing its
strategies for increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate students
who enroll in the institution from ethnic and racial groups that are
underrepresented in the institution’s student body. The Coordinating Board would prescribe the
form for the report and the first report would be not later than |
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SB 303 |
Ellis, |
Relating
to notice of factors used in admissions and scholarship decisions at certain
public institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 51.805(d) and 51.842(d). Current law requires that an institution
publish in its catalog a description of the factors considered by the
institution for admissions decisions and for competitive scholarship
decisions in both undergraduate and graduate or professional programs at
least one year before those factors are used.
This bill would amend the requirement that those factors be published at
least 180 days before they are used.
Effective date: |
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SB 311 |
Deuell, |
Relating
to the regulation of academic language teachers and therapists. |
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Summary: |
This
bill defines academic language to mean treatment of dyslexia or related
disorders. The bill would require any
individual to be licensed by the Department of State Health Services before
the individual could practice academic language teaching or therapy. The bill establishes the minimum
educational requirements for an academic language teacher or therapist. Effective date: |
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SB 315 HB 547 |
Lucio, Bailey, |
Relating
to minimum personal leave for faculty members at public institutions of
higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.9615.
This bill would require a governing board of an institution of higher
education to adopt a policy permitting faculty members to use five sick leave
days as personal leave in an academic year so long as the total number of
sick leave days available to the faculty member does not fall below twenty
days. The bill specifies that the
institution and the faculty member will make every reasonable effort to
provide this leave without additional expense to the institution for
comparable instruction for any classes that the faculty member may miss. If
an institution has adopted a comprehensive leave policy for faculty members
and other employees under Section 51.961, this new section would not
apply. Effective date: |
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SB 319 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating to requiring state investment funds
to post certain information on the Internet. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 2054.114.
This bill defines state investment fund to include any investment fund
administered by or under a contract with any entity of state government,
including a fund established by statute or the Texas Constitution, or
administered by or under a contract with a public retirement system, an
institution of higher education, or any other entity that is part of state
government. Each entity of state
government would be required to post on a generally accessible Internet site
on or before the first day of each calendar quarter information regarding all
purchases and sales by or for the fund of domestic equity securities and
bonds by company, total amount of shares traded, total commission paid, and
the ratio of the amount of the commissions to the number of shares; the
fund’s investment managers, custodians, consultants, lending agents, and
other ancillary consultants by company name, average fund assets under
management, fees paid by the fund, and average basis points that fees paid by
the fund represent in relation to the average assets of the fund under
management; and the dollar amount of fees, commissions, and other amounts
paid in connection with the administration of the fund. This information would be required to be
provided by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the controlling ownership of each
business, the principal place of business of each business, and the status of
each business as a HUB. Effective
date: |
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SB 320 HB 750 |
Wentworth, Woolley, |
Relating
to admission to certain public institutions of higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 33.007(b), 51.805, 51.806 and 51.842(a); repeals
Sections 28.026, 51.803, 51.804, and 51.8045.
This bill repeals any existing statutes relating to automatic
admission to an institution of higher education based upon class rank. The bill eliminates all sections relating
to the top 10% and the top 25%. These
amendments would apply to admissions to a general academic teaching
institution beginning with the 2006-2007 academic year. Effective date: |
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SB 322 |
Staples, |
Relating
to proceeds from the sale of certain state surplus and salvage personal
property. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2175.134(c) and 2175.191(c). These amendments would direct that the
proceeds from the sale of surplus and salvage property belonging to the Texas
Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety, or the
Aircraft Pooling Board to be deposited to the credit of the state highway
fund (Fund 006). The Attorney General
is interpreting the current law to require that these funds to be deposited
to the general revenue fund. Effective
date: |
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SB 333 |
West, et al |
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 28.025(g), 28.026, 51.803 and 51.807. This bill makes nonsubstantive
changes in the statutes relating to the automatic admission of students in
the top 10% of their high school graduating class. The
bill does require the Coordinating Board in consultation with the Texas
Education Agency to establish standards for determining for purposes of the
automatic admission criteria whether a private high school is accredited by a
generally recognized accrediting organization and whether a person completed
a high school curriculum that is equivalent to the recommended or advanced
high school program. Effective
date: |
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SB 352 |
Madla, |
Relating
to the management of state-owned land, including the lease of the right to
produce groundwater from certain state-owned land. |
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Summary: |
This
bill amends the membership of the Public School Land Board. This bill establishes criteria for the
lease of the right to produce groundwater from lands dedicated to the
permanent school fund and the permanent university fund. Effective date: |
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SB 354 HB 948 |
Fraser, Miller, Stephenville |
Relating
to the issuance of revenue bonds for |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.17512.
This bill would authorize the board of regents of the Texas A&M University System to issue $48 million in tuition
revenue bonds for infrastructure needs at |
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SB 358 HB 954 |
Gallegos, Chavez, |
Relating
to the collection and reporting of employment information regarding
beneficiaries of certain health care services. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would require the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission to adopt rules requiring a person applying for public
health care assistance to identify the employer or employers of the proposed
beneficiary of the assistance or of the person who is legally liable for the
proposed beneficiary’s support. Each
hospital providing charitable hospital care or services would be required to
identify the same employer or employers.
Effective date: |
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SB 391 HB 1215 |
Armbrister, Morrison, |
Relating
to the degree programs offered by the University of Houston-Victoria. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 111.96(b).
This bill would expand the degree programs offered by UH-Victoria to
include all graduate level programs, not just master’s. Effective date: |
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SB 392 |
Van de Putte, |
Relating
to the residency requirements for tuition and fee exemptions for certain
military personnel and their dependents. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 54.203(a) and (b).
This bill would clarify the exemption from payment of tuition and
fees. Current law requires that the
military individual and his/her dependents must be a citizen of |
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SB 400 HB 7 |
Nelson, Flower Mound Solomons, |
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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SB 412 HB 1116 |
Nelson, Flower Mound Solomons, |
Relating
to the governmental entities subject to the sunset review process. |
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Summary: |
This
bill is the biennial bill to adjust sunset review dates for certain state
agencies. Effective date: |
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SB 418 HB 1633 |
Shapleigh, Grusendorf, |
Relating
to the continuation and functions of the State Board for Educator
Certification. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would add educational diagnostician to the individuals who must hold an
appropriate certificate or permit in order to be employed. The amendments would also make certain
individuals ineligible to serve on the board.
The bill sets forth certain training requirements that each board
member must comply with in order to serve.
The bill establishes criteria for removal from the board. The
bill authorizes the Governor to designate one member of the board to serve as
the presiding officer. The
bill requires the board to establish and update necessary informational
materials regarding the requirements for educator certification, including
information related to criminal history check requirements and the type of
criminal history that could prevent a person from becoming certified. The bill establishes criteria for the State
Board of Educator Certification to use in developing proposed rules for
approval by the State Board of Education.
The bill also establishes criteria for certification renewal and
waiver of certification requirements.
Effective date: |
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SB 419 HB 1944 |
Nelson, Flower Mound Solomons, |
Relating
to the continuation and functions of the State Board of Medical Examiners. |
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Summary: |
This
bill represents the Sunset Commission recommendations regarding the State
Board of Medical Examiners. The bill
renames the board as the Texas Medical Board.
The new section of the bill authorizes the board to issue and renew a
license to a foreign medical graduate who has extensive and verifiable
academic or clinical qualifications and achievements and who is recommended
and endorsed by the president or dean of an accredited medical school in this
state. The license would expire when
the license holder’s employment at the medical school ends. Effective date: |
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SB 420 HB 2274 |
Carona, Cook, R. |
Relating
to the continuation and functions of the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan
Corporation. |
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Summary: |
This
bill reflects the recommendations of the Sunset Commission regarding the
Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation.
The amendments require each state agency that conducts higher
education and financial aid outreach activities to enter into a memorandum of
understanding with the corporation to outline how the corporation and the
state agency will coordinate outreach activities to maximize resources and
avoid duplication. Effective date: |
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SB 423 |
Carona, |
Relating
to the issuance of a limited license to practice medicine to certain
applicants. |
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Summary: |
This
bill would authorize the State Board of Medical Examiners to adopt rules and
prescribe fees related to the issuance of a license that is limited in scope
to an applicant by virtue of the applicant’s conceded eminence and authority
in the applicant’s specialty. The
applicant must present proof in seven areas including a recommendation to the
board by the dean, president, or chief academic officer of a school of
medicine in this state or the UT Health Sciences Center at |
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SB 424 HB 567 |
Carona, Branch, |
Relating
to the deadline for passing the examination for a license to practice
medicine in this state. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Occupations Code, Section 155.051.
These amendments would allow an applicant for a license to practice
medicine in this state to have ten years as opposed to seven years to
complete certain portions of the required examination. The amendments would also authorize a
graduate of a program leading to both a doctor of philosophy degree and a
doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy degree to have two years after the
applicant has completed the graduate medical training to pass certain
portions of the required examination.
Currently, an applicant has only two years after being awarded a
doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy degree. Effective date: |
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SB 445 |
Carona, |
Relating
to indemnification provisions in construction contracts. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Civil Practice and Remedies Code by adding Chapter 502. This bill defines construction
contract. The bill prohibits an
agreement in the construction contract to indemnify a contractor for personal
injury, property damage, or other fines or penalties assessed by a
governmental entity due to the construction.
See HB 490, Driver. Effective date: |
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SB 448 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 25.086(a) and 28.024; adds Section 87.505. This bill authorizes the board of regents
of the Texas A&M University System to establish
the |
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SB 452 |
Wentworth, |
Relating
to transferring the duties of the Building and Procurement Commission under
the public information law to the attorney general. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Chapter 552. This
bill would move all powers and duties of the Building and Procurement
Commission under the public information law and transfer those powers and
duties to the attorney general. This
would include the annual report that each state agency is currently required
to file with the Building and Procurement Commission relating to requests for
public information. Effective
date: |
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SB 459 HB 957 |
Staples, Pickett, |
Relating
to the valuation of state-owned real property. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Natural Resources Code, Section 31.156(d).
This bill amends the requirements of when the asset management
division of the General Land Office must furnish the market value of real
property and current market conditions.
The division would only be required to furnish this information to the
commissioner if the division is recommending a real estate transaction. If the division is not recommending a real
estate transaction, evidence of the real property’s value in a form
determined to be appropriate by the commissioner would be permissible. Effective date: |
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SB 462 HB 1431 |
Eltife, Frost, |
Relating
to the issuance of revenue bonds for |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.17513.
This bill authorizes the board of regents of the Texas A&M University System to issue tuition revenue bonds
for |
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SB 467 |
Lucio, |
Relating
to a risk assessment for Type 2 diabetes. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Health and Safety Code, Chapter 95.
This bill would replace the assessment for an acanthosis
nigricans screening program with a Type 2 diabetes
education and risk assessment program administered by the Border Health
Office of the University of Texas—Pan American. See SB 545, Madla
and HB 3099, McReynolds. Effective date: |
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SB 470 |
Averitt, |
Relating
to the portion of designated tuition set aside to fund financial assistance
for resident undergraduate and graduate students at public institutions of
higher education. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 56.011 and 56.012.
This bill would amend the set asides from the deregulated designated
tuition. The current set aside for the
resident undergraduate tuition is 20%; this bill would establish an
incremental set aside of 20% for tuition charged between $46 and $66, 30% for
tuition charged between $66 and $86 and 40% for tuition charged at greater
than $86 per hour. Current
law requires a set aside of 15% on deregulated designated tuition in graduate
or professional degree programs. This
bill would create a incremental set aside of 15% for
tuition charged between $46 and $66 per hour, 25% for tuition charged between
$66 and $86 and 25% for tuition charged at greater than $86 per semester
credit hour. These changes would apply
to tuition set asides beginning with the 2005 fall semester. Effective date: |
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SB 479 HB 1171 |
Barrientos, Brown, F. |
Relating
to protecting students and employees at an institution of higher education
from threatened acts of violence. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.9365.
For purposes of this section, a person poses a substantial threat to
human life if the person knowingly threatens to commit a violent offense
against a student or employee in a manner that reasonably places the student
or employee in fear of imminent bodily injury. The president of an institution shall
provide for the identification of a student who poses a substantial threat to
human life on the campus or other facility of the institution and make
provision for the removal of the student.
The institution is required to establish procedures for filing of
complaints or reports by students and employees of persons who pose a
substantial threat and the removal of the student or employee from the campus
or facility. Effective date: |
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SB 482 |
Shapiro, |
Relating
to the retirement benefits payable to retirees of the Teacher Retirement
System who are employed as teacher mentors. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 824.602(a).
This bill would prohibit the Teacher Retirement System from
withholding a monthly benefit payment to a retiree who is employed in a |
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SB 500 HB 1774 |
West, R. |
Relating
to prices charged for the provision of health care services. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Insurance Code, Section 552.001.
Current law does not apply the applicability of this chapter to the
provision of health care services to a Medicaid or Medicare patient or
medically indigent person who qualifies for a sliding fee scale. This amendment would state that the chapter
does not apply to the provision of any health care service. Effective date: |
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SB 501 |
West, R. |
Relating
to indemnification provisions in health care provider contracts. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Civil Practice and Remedies Code by adding Chapter 503. This bill would prohibit a covenant,
promise, or understanding contained in a health care provider contract, or an
agreement collateral to or affecting a health care provider contract if it
purports to indemnify, hold harmless, or defend a person against loss or
liability for damages caused by the negligence of the health care provider
and resulted in personal injury or death, property damage, or any other loss,
damage, or expense that arises from an occurrence. Effective date: |
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SB 502 |
West, R. |
Relating
to common undergraduate admission application forms for public institutions
of higher education in this state. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 51.761 and 51.762(a), (b), and (f). This bill would require the Coordinating
Board to expand the use of the common undergraduate admission application
form usage to include junior college districts and public technical
institutes. Each institution would be
required to use the common application form beginning with applications for
the 2007-2008 academic year. Effective date: |
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SB 507 HB 1940 |
Wentworth, Ritter, |
Relating
to alternative dispute resolution of certain contract claims against the
state. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Sections 2260.003(a) and (c); 2260.005; 2260.051(d);
2260.052(a); 2260.056(a); 2260.104(e); 2260.105; and 2260.1055(a). Repeals Government Code, Section
2260.052(b). These amendments would
allow award of damages for consequential or similar damages and attorney’s
fees. The amendment also authorizes a
contractor to assert a counterclaim or right of offset against the unit of
state government in the court in which the unit of state government files a
lawsuit. The amendments reduce the
amount of time in which a unit of state government must assert any counterclaim
to not later than 60 days after the date of notice from the contractor. Current law is within 90 days. It also reduces the time period for the
parties to agree to mediation of a claim from 270 days to 90 days. In
a contested case hearing a party would only be allowed to appeal when the
party can prove an abuse of discretion.
The administrative judge may order the unit of state government to pay
the total amount of damages if the amount of damages is less than 25% of the
original contract price as adjusted by approved change orders and
counterclaims. See HB
1026, Nixon. Effective date: |
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SB 508 |
Wentworth, |
Relating
to the confidentiality of certain communications involving an ombudsman’s
office established by an employer. |
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Summary: |
This
bill defines employer as a person who employs at least one employee. The term does not include a state agency,
political subdivision, or other public entity or instrumentality. The
bill authorizes an employer to establish an ombudsman’s office for employees
to communicate issues of concern, including allegations of organizational
misconduct. All oral and written
communications to the ombudsman’s office would be confidential under certain
circumstances. Effective date: |
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SB 511 |
Deuell, |
Relating
to public testimony at regular meetings of the governing board of a general
academic teaching institution. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.355.
This bill would require the governing board of each general academic
teaching institution or university system to adopt a policy that allows the
public to present, for a reasonable amount of time and for any item on the
agenda, both written and oral testimony at a regular meeting of the board. The governing board shall consider the
public testimony presented to the board on an issue before making a decision
on that issue. Policies would be
required to be adopted not later than |
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SB 527 HB 258 |
Hinojosa, Pena, |
Relating
to authorizing a sports recreation and wellness facility fee at the |
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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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SB 528 HB 993 HB 2609 |
Hinojosa, Gonzales, Guillen, San Aiego |
Relating
to the installment payment of tuition and fees charged by a public junior
college for a summer term. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 54.007(b) and (c).
This amendment would authorize the governing board of a public junior
college to allow a student enrolled for a summer term to pay one-half payment
of tuition and fees prior to the beginning of the summer term and the
remaining amount in one or two later payments to be made in the percentages
and by the dates determined by the governing board, provided that the final
payment must be made before the beginning of the last week of the summer
term. Effective date: |
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SB 529 HB 994 |
Hinojosa, Gonzales, |
Relating
to the tuition charged for certain courses repeated by students attending
public junior colleges. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 130.0034.
This amendment would authorize the governing board of a public junior
college to charge a student a higher rate of tuition if the student enrolls
in a course that the student previously enrolled in the same course or a
course of substantially the same content and level two or more times after
the 2003-2004 academic year. This would not apply to non-degree-credit
developmental courses. The total
amount of tuition charged under this new section could not exceed the full
cost of instruction for the course. See
SB 531, West, R. Effective date: |
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SB 530 |
West, R. |
Relating
to a fixed tuition rate provided by general academic teaching institutions to
certain students for satisfactory academic progress and performance. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 54.011.
This bill would establish a fixed designated tuition rate at general
academic teaching institutions for students who enrolled at the institution
as a first time freshman or not later than the first fall semester following
the student’s graduation from high school.
The rate would be established at the rate the student paid during the
first semester or other academic term that the student was enrolled at the
institution. The student would have to
be continuously enrolled, entitled to pay resident tuition, enrolled in a
full course load as determined by the Coordinating Board, must have completed
at least 75% of the semester credit hours previously attempted at the
institution, and must have earned accumulative grade point average of at
least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. This fixed
designated tuition rate would end on the fourth anniversary of the date that
the student first enrolled or on the date that the student should have
completed his degree program if enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program
other than a 4-year program. This
section would not apply to a transfer student. This section would not apply to a student
who enters a general academic teaching institution for the first time before
2006 fall semester. Effective date: |
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SB 531 |
West, R. |
Relating
to the tuition charged for certain courses repeated by students attending
public junior colleges. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 130.0034.
This amendment would authorize the governing board of a public junior
college to charge a student a higher rate of tuition if the student enrolls
in a course that the student previously enrolled in the same course or a
course of substantially the same content and level two or more times after
the 2003-2004 academic year. This would not apply to non-degree-credit
developmental courses. The total
amount of tuition charged under this new section could not exceed the full
cost of instruction for the course.
See SB 529, Hinojosa and HB 994,
Gonzales. Effective date: |
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SB 532 HB 1214 |
Shapiro, Morrison, |
Relating
to tuition for a student registered in a public junior college. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 54.051(n).
This bill would authorize the governing boards of public junior
colleges to establish differential tuition rates for each program, course, or
course level offered by the institution.
The change in tuition would apply to the fall 2005 semester. Effective date: |
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SB 543 |
Shapleigh, |
Relating
to the authority of a member, agency, or committee of the legislature to
receive on request one copy of public information from a governmental body
without charge. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 552.264.
Current law authorizes a member, agency, or committee of the
legislature to request one copy of public information from a state agency
that shall be provided without charge.
This bill expands that from just state agencies to include all
governmental bodies. Effective date: |
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SB 544 HB 493 |
Shapleigh, Naishtat, |
Relating
to the creation of a commission to study capital punishment in |
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Summary: |
This
bill creates the Texas Capital Punishment Commission to study capital
punishment in this state. The
commission would be composed of eleven members including one member appointed
by the dean of the law school at the |
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SB 545 |
Madla, |
Relating
to the creation of the Type 2 Diabetes Screening Program Advisory Council and
the establishment of a type 2 diabetes screening program for school children. |
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Summary: |
This
bill amends Health and Safety Code, Chapter 95. This bill would replace the current
screening for acanthosis nicgicans
with a screening program for Type 2 diabetes.
The bill authorizes the Department of State Health Services to
contract with one or more institutions of higher education, such as the
Texas-Mexico Border Health Coordination Office of UT—Pan American or the
Texas Tech Diabetes Research Center to administer the screening program. See SB 467, Lucio
and HB 3099, McReynolds. Effective date: |
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SB 549 |
Ellis, |
Relating
to the disclosure of information relating to the investment of the permanent
university fund and other funds under the management and control of the board
of regents of the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 66.08. Current
law provides that the investment records of the nonprofit investment
management corporation handling assets under the fiduciary care of the |
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SB 554 |
|
Relating
to the liability of an ERISA-regulated employee
benefit plan under certain state law. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Civil Practice and Remedies Code by adding Section 88.00115. This amendment states that this chapter
does not apply to an employee benefit plan regulated under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Effective date: |
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SB 562 |
Janek, |
Relating
to the creation of health savings accounts for certain state employees and
retirees and their dependents. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Insurance Code, Chapter 1551. This
bill requires the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System to
establish a state employee health savings account program for the benefit of
state employees and annuitants and their dependents. Each employee and each annuitant eligible
to participate in the group benefits program is eligible to participate in
the health savings account program if the employee is eligible under the
Internal Revenue Code. An employee or
annuitant who elects to participate in the program waives basic plan coverage
and must be enrolled in a high deductible health plan. See HB 1795, Crownover. Effective
date: |
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SB 572 |
Barrientos, |
Relating
to the development and implementation of personnel policies and procedures
for certain state agencies. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Labor Code, Section 21.452. This bill
requires Health and Human Services Commission, Department of State Health
Services, Department of Aging and Disability Services, Department of Family
and Protective Services, Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Criminal Justice, Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas
Youth Commission to use personnel selection procedures that incorporate
job-related objective criteria, including a selection instrument that matches
job-related occupational interests, behavioral characteristics, and thorough
processes of applicants to a particular job or class of jobs. The selection instrument must conform to
federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission uniform guidelines on
employee selection procedures. This
would apply only to entry-level position compensated under the Schedule A
classification salary schedule.
Effective date: |
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SB 579 HB 1010 |
Van de Putte, Corte, |
Relating
to the eligibility of children of certain military personnel to receive |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 56.455. This
bill expands the eligibility of students to participate in the
Texas-B-On-time loan program. Students
who are entitled to a waiver of nonresident tuition because the student is a
child of a member of the armed forces that is entitled to the waiver would be
eligible for an initial loan. Also
students graduating from high school operated by the U. S. Department of
Defense who graduated from school not earlier than the 2002-2003 school year and at the time of graduation was a dependent child
of a member of the armed forces would be entitled to participate in the loan
program. Effective date: |
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SB 582 |
Van de Putte, |
Relating
to tuition and fee exemptions for certain military personnel and their
dependents. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Section 54.203.
Current law exempts dependents and spouses of members of the armed
forces who were killed in action from the payment of tuition and required fees. This bill would expand that exemption from
the payment of tuition and required fees to children and spouses of members
of the armed forces who become permanently and totally disabled if certain
qualifications are met. This would
apply to fall semester 2005 tuition and other fees. Effective date: |
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SB 593 HB 2717 SB 1337 |
Carona, Swinford, Madla, |
Relating
to the governor’s study of emerging technology and economic development. |
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Summary: |
This
bill directs the office of the Governor to review how other leading states
and countries have structured their economic development programs to match
the needs of businesses in the new economy in which information, ideas, and
technology are the driving forces. The
bill requires an outline of the current roles of the state, members of the
finance and business communities, researchers from universities and
industries and others who have a stake in fueling economic growth and
opportunity in |
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SB 601 |
Van de Putte, |
Relating
to importing prescription drugs for use in state funded programs that provide
heath care services or benefits. |
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Summary: |
This
bill requires the Employee Retirement System to conduct a detailed study to
determine whether importing prescription drugs from a foreign country for use
in the state employees group benefits program would
be safe, feasible, and cost-effective.
Effective date: |
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SB 608 |
Nelson, Flower Mound |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the University of North
Texas Health Science Center at |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 61.0572(e) and 61.058(b); adds Section 55.1745. This bill would authorize the board of
regents of the |
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SB 613 HB 1537 |
Whitmire, Wong, |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center facilities and infrastructure. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 61.0572(e) and 61.058(b); adds Section
55.17523. This bill would authorize
the board of regents of the UT System to issue tuition revenue bonds in an
amount not to exceed $40 million to construct and renovate facilities and
related infrastructure for the |
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SB 623 |
Hinojosa, |
Relating
to the authorized charges for providing a copy of public information
requested under the public information law. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 552.263. This
bill amends the public information law to state that a requestor who fails to
make a deposit or post a bond as required before the 10th day
after the date the deposit or bond is required is considered to have
withdrawn the request for the copy of the public information. Effective date: |
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SB 633 HB 952 |
Barrientos, Delisi, |
Relating
to a pilot program to provide health services to state employees in state
office complexes. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Health and Safety Code by adding Section 12.151. This bill requires the Department of State
Health Services to develop and implement a pilot program to employ a licensed
advanced practice nurse to provide authorized on-site health services to
state employees at a selected location.
The pilot program must employ the advanced practice nurse and a
licensed physician to supervise the advanced practice nurse; provide
appropriate office space and professional liability insurance; and report to
the Employee’s Retirement System. The
pilot program will begin not later than |
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SB 634 |
Barrientos, |
Relating
to the compensation of administrators in public institutions of higher
education and university systems. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 51.969.
This bill takes the current rider in the General Appropriations Act
relating to reporting by each institution of higher education and each
university system office the total number of persons holding high-ranking
administrative positions and the compensation for those administrative
employees and places it in the statute. This
new section adds a requirement that the institution report at the same time
on comparable salary information for the institution’s faculty members. It requires the Legislative Budget Board to
determine the average salary increase in the fiscal year for all
administrators and for all faculty members at each institution and each
university system office. The bill
states that the average salary increase for all high-ranking administrators
employed by an institution that is not a component of a university system may
not exceed in any fiscal year the average salary increase for all faculty
members employed by that institution.
For a university system, the average salary increase for all
high-ranking administrators employed within the system may not exceed for any
fiscal year the average salary increase for all faculty members employed by
the component institutions of the system.
The governing board of an institution would be required to take
appropriate steps in a following year if a disparity is found to exist. These
amendments would require that copies of the reports be delivered to the
faculty senate at each institution and that the report be posted on the
institution’s Internet website and in the main library of the
institution. The reports would be due
not later than December 1 of each fiscal year. Effective date: |
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SB 635 HB 2708 |
Barrientos, Naishtat, |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.17522.
This bill authorizes the board of regents of the UT System to issue
tuition revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $75 million to construct or
renovate facilities and related infrastructure at UT Austin. Effective date: |
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SB 638 |
Barrientos, |
Relating
to the award of a grant and reporting requirements under the Enterprise Fund. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code, Section 481.078 and adds Sections 481.079 and 481.080. The bill would require the Governor to
develop a mechanism for awarding grants from the TEF
that gives greater consideration to potential recipients who commit to using
grant money to purchase goods and services that result in the creation or
retention of jobs. The bill would
require the Governor to enter into a written agreement with a grant recipient
that states that if the recipient does not meet the targets promised, the
recipient must repay the grant and any related interests. Prior to making an award of a grant to an
entity for a proposed initiative, the Governor’s office would be required to
prepare the direct and indirect economic impact of the approval of the
grant. The office would also be
required to submit to the legislature an annual report on the Texas
Enterprise Fund and the report would be required to contain certain
information. Effective date: |
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SB 646 HB 479 |
Barrientos, Keel, |
Relating
to the concurrent jurisdiction of campus peace officers commissioned by the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 67.03.
The bill restates that campus peace officers commissioned by the |
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SB 651 |
Harris, |
Relating
to the |
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Summary: |
This
bill transfers subchapter I, Chapter 105, Education Code, to Chapter 63, Code
of Criminal Procedures. Effective
date: |
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SB 674 |
West, R. |
Relating
to limiting the use of customers’ social security numbers by persons. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Business and Commerce Code by adding Section 35.62. This bill would prohibit a person from
requesting a customer’s social security number, or another number that
includes four or more consecutive digits of a customer’s social security
number, as an identifier unless the number is needed to complete a credit
check that is required to provide a service or product requested by the
customer. This section does not apply
to a financial institution or a governmental entity. The bill creates a civil penalty for
violation. Effective date: |
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SB 676 |
West, R. |
Relating
to identifying which public institutions of higher education in this state
are comprehensive research universities of the first class. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 61.0818.
The bill states that the purpose of the act is to provide guidance
regarding the definition of a comprehensive research university of the first
class to enable a common understanding and the use of common terminology in
legislative decisions relating to the designation of and support for
universities of this character. The
Coordinating Board would be required to establish a system for designating a
general academic teaching institution as a comprehensive research university
of the first class and to prescribe criteria to determine whether a general
academic institution should be assigned that designation. The Coordinating Board shall consider the
criteria to identify those universities and shall include the following
factors: number, variety, and quality
of degree programs, the institution’s selectivity in admissions to each
program, time to obtain a degree in each program, the institution’s
graduation rates in each program, and the institution’s faculty-to-student
classroom ratios; the degree to which writing and critical though are
incorporated as elements in the undergraduate degree program, the number of
graduates, the level of graduate performance on licensure examinations, the
number, variety, and quality of honors programs available at the institution,
and the availability of independent study credits at the institution; the
number of doctoral degrees awarded and the number of students enrolled in
each program; the degree of faculty and student engagement in research and
other creative activities, the resources applied by the institution to those
activities, the success of the institution in receiving federal research and
development funding, the number of faculty who are members of nationally recognized
academic associations; the quality of the libraries of the institution; the
amount of institutional endowment and state revenue available on behalf of
each student; whether the institutions are members of the Association of
American Universities, the Association of Research Libraries, or another
similar entity that recognizes institutional excellence on a national level;
and alumni involvement in institution activities. The
Coordinating Board is required to administer this new section with the assistance
of an advisory committee composed of at least five but not more than fifteen
higher education experts or scholars from any state. The board is required to develop the
initial criteria not later than |
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SB 690 |
Zaffirini, |
Relating
to the required posting by a governmental body of a meeting of the
governmental body that is continued to the following regular business day. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Government Code by adding Section 551.0411.
This bill amends the open meetings act to state that a governmental
body that recesses a meeting to the following regular business day is not
required to post notice of the continued meeting if the action is taken in
good faith and not to circumvent this act.
If because of a catastrophe the governmental body is prevented from
continuing the meeting on the following regular business day, the
governmental body may convene the continued meeting on the next regular
business day without posting notice.
The bill defines catastrophe.
Effective date: |
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SB 700 HB 1742 |
Hinojosa, Seaman, |
Relating
to the issuance of revenue bonds for |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.17513.
This bill authorizes the board of regents of the Texas A&M University System to issue tuition revenue bonds
in an amount not to exceed $58 million to construct and renovate facilities
and related infrastructure for a kinesiology and wellness center, a college
of business academic facility, and distribution of utilities for Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi. Effective date: |
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SB 701 HB 1491 |
Deuell, Flynn, |
Relating
to the issuance of revenue bonds for |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.17515.
This bill would authorize the board of regents of Texas A&M University System to issue tuition revenue bonds
in an amount not to exceed $37,770,000 to construct and renovate facilities
and related infrastructure for a music building and for the James G. Gee
Library at Texas A&M University—Commerce. Effective date: |
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SB 702 HB 1541 |
Deuell, Flynn, |
Relating
to authorizing certain used for student center complex fees charged to
students enrolled in component institutions of the Texas A&M
University System. |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code, Sections 54.521(a).
This bill amends the authority of the board of regents of the Texas A&M University System and authorizes the board to
collect a fee from students enrolled at educational institutions within the
system to acquire, construct, or renovate facilities for student
centers. Effective date: |
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SB 703 |
West, R. |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the |
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Summary: |
Amends
Education Code by adding Section 55.1755.
This bill authorizes the board of regents of the University of North
Texas System to issue tuition revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed (1)
$94 million for the University of North Texas; (2) $30 million for the
university of North Texas System Center at Dallas; and (3) $10 million for
the Universities Center at Dallas to construct and renovate facilities and
related infrastructure for the University of North Texas, the University of
North Texas System Center at Dallas or for the Universities Center at
Dallas. Effective date: |
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SB 704 HB 2105 |
West, R. Branch, |
Relating
to authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at |
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Summary: |