Legislative Summary: Overview of Bills Passed by Greater Houston Partnership

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

Table of Contents Budget Bills

Economic Development Bills

Energy Bills

Environmental Bills

General Business Bills

Higher Education Bills

HR/Employment Bills

Privacy Bills

Procurement Bills

Public Education Bills

Tax Bills

Tech-Telecom Bills

Tort Bills

Worker's Compensation Bills

Workforce Bills

Budget Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Budget Bills HB 1 by John Otto (R-‐Dayton) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) is the GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL for the 2016-‐2017 biennium. It appropriates $106.6 billion in general revenue funds; $7.48 billion in general revenue dedicated funds; $68.002 billion in federal funds; $27.345 in other funds; for an all funds total of $209.432 billion (compared to $196.9 billion in the 2014-‐2015 biennium). It is a 3.6 percent increase over the current biennium (3 percent if tax relief is excluded). It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

Foundation School Program: It provides $35.5 billion in general revenue funds and $42.3 billion in all funds for state aid to school districts and charter schools through the Foundation School Program (an increase of $3.8 billion – 12.3 percent -‐ over the 2014-‐15 biennium. It funds a projected enrollment growth of 83,000 – 85,000 students (1.7 percent). The funding reflects an increase of $2.6 billion to replace lower Property Tax Relief Fund revenue due to franchise tax relief, $1.2 billion in property tax relief, and $1.5 billion in additional funding for schools. It also includes $1.2 billion related to an increase in the basic allotment; $200 million contingent on legislation that equalizes within the school finance formulas the treatment of similar tax effort across school districts; $55.5 million for the Instructional Facilities Allotment to provide tax relief for property-‐poor districts issuing bonds for local facility needs; and $47.5 million for the New Instructional Facilities Allotment to provide start-‐up funds for new district and charter school campuses. Tax Relief: It appropriates $1.2 billion (to offset school funding lost) contingent on the passage of SB 1/SJR 1 increasing the mandatory homestead exemption for school districts from $15,000 to $25,000. $2.6 billion is appropriated (to offset school funding lost) contingent on the passage of HB 32 reducing the franchise tax rates by 25 percent. Medicaid: It appropriates $61.2 billion for the Texas Medicaid program, an increase of $2.1 billion that includes projected caseload growth, including transition of children from CHIP to Medicaid, maintaining fiscal year 2015 average costs for most programs, including fiscal year 2015 rate increases. It includes $587.7 million in all funds ($241.7 million in general revenue) to reimburse Medical managed care organizations for the cost of the Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Providers Fee. It includes $712.6 million (an increase of $573.3 million) for increases to hospital payments, including those to rural, trauma-‐designated, and safety-‐net hospitals. It funds an additional 5,601 long-‐term-‐care waiver clients at the Department of Aging and Disability Services. Funding levels also reflect a reduction of $869.6 million for cost-‐containment initiatives. It does not include potential cost increases due to medical inflation, higher utilization, and increased acuity. Transportation: It appropriates $23.1 billion in all funds to Texas Department of Transportation. $19.6 billion is provided for transportation planning and design, right-‐of-‐way acquisition, construction, and maintenance and preservation including $8.8 billion for maintenance and preservation of the existing transportation system; $5.8 billion for construction and highway improvements; $2.4 billion for constructing, maintaining, and acquiring rights-‐of-‐way got non-‐ tolled public roadways; $1.8 billion for transportation system planning, design, and management; and $0.9 billion for right-‐of-‐way acquisition. And, it provides $2.2 billion for debt service payments and other financing costs. Mental Health: It provides $3.6 billion in all funds for behavioral health and substance abuse services, an increase of $150.7 million (not including Medicaid mental health services). It includes in-‐patient funding for new contracted community hospital beds, state hospital

August 7, 2015 | Budget Bills

information technology improvements, and building repairs and inflation-‐related cost increases. Increased funding for out-‐patient services includes funding for adult mental health waitlist, federal Preadmission Screening and Resident Review services, substance abuse prevention and treatment, neonatal abstinence syndrome prevention services, transition support for patients moving from hospitals to the community, expansion of recovery-‐focused clubhouses, crisis and suicide prevention services, and residential treatment slots. Higher Education: It appropriates $7.2 billion in general revenue funds and $1.3 billion in general revenue-‐dedicated funds, an increase of $391.5 million in general revenue and an increase of $68.2 million in statutory tuition in general revenue-‐dedicated funds. It funds enrollment growth and increases rates in all of the formulas except the health-‐related institutions and the success point component of the Public Community and Junior Colleges formula. Formula amounts for the 2016-‐17 increases from $54.86 per weighted semester credit hour in 2014-‐15 to $55.39 in 2016-‐17. Formula appropriations for the public community and junior colleges maintain the 2014-‐15 rates for core operations funding. Formula appropriations decrease the rate for success point funding from $185.12 to $172.58, increase the rate for contact hour funding from $2.65 to $2.69, and maintains the percentage split for formula funding at 90 percent for contact hour funding and 10 percent for success point funding. Adult Criminal Justice: It provides $6.7 billion in all funds for the incarceration, probation, and parole of adult offenders, an increase of $458.4 million including $188 million for an 8 percent pay increase for correctional and parole officers and a $139.4 million increase for Correctional Managed Health Care. Juvenile Justice: It provides $634.9 million in all funds for juvenile justice services including $9.6 million to implement the new regional diversion alternatives plan and a pay increase for juvenile correctional and parole officers. Border Security: It includes $800 million for border security initiatives at the Department of Public Safety, Trusteed Programs within the Office of the Governor, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Department of Criminal Justice. The all funds total for border security is $839.6 million (an increase of $266.4 million). Teacher Retirement: It includes $3.6 billion in all funds for the state contribution to retirement benefits of the Teacher Retirement System. Funding reflects a state contribution rate of 6.8 percent of employee payroll each year. State Employee Retirement: Funding for state contributions for the Employees Retirement System retirement program reflects an increase of $265.3 million in all funds for state employees’ retirement benefits. Funding provides for a 9.5 percent state contribution rate per year. There is a contingency rider for HB 9, which increases the member contribution to ERS Retirement from 7.2 percent in 2016 and 7.5 percent in 2017 to 9.5 percent in each year of the 2016-‐17 biennium. It would provide $333.1 million for an across-‐the-‐board pay raise for state employees and provide $32 million for elimination of the 90-‐day waiting period for state contributions to ERS Retirement. Debt Service: It provides $4 billion to fully fund debt service (an increase of $390.4 million – 10.8 percent) for debt issued by the Texas Public Finance Authority, the Water Development Board, and Texas Department of Transportation. It provides an additional $240 million contingent on legislation authorizing tuition revenue bonds for capital projects at institutions of higher education.

August 7, 2015 | Budget Bills

HB 2 by John Otto (R-‐Dayton) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) is the SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL. It appropriates $290 million in additional general revenue funds and $265 million in federal funds

and shifts funding between agencies to cover costs in connection with the 2014-‐2015 biennium. The largest shifts include a reduction of $710 million from the Foundation School Program due primarily to increased property values in school districts and adding $768 million for the Teacher Retirement System’s TRS Care. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 6 by John Otto (R-‐Dayton) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) addresses the AMOUNT OF

UNSPENT MONEY IN GENERAL REVENUE-‐DEDICATED ACCOUNTS that can be counted for budget certification

and reduces unspent balances by $1.2 billion, down to $3 billion from the current $4.2 billion used to certify the 2014-‐15 state budget. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 7 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) is the FISCAL MANAGEMENT BILL.

It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. It; removes the 2 percent tuition set-‐aside for medical students and redirects the smokeless tobacco products tax allocation to the physician loan repayment program; repeals the $200 annual occupational tax on attorneys, accountants, property tax professionals, investment professionals, surveyors, engineers, architects, real estate brokers, interior designers, doctors, veterinarians, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, and psychologists; permits revenue from the solid waste disposal and transportation fees to convert heavy-‐duty vehicles to natural gas engines in non-‐attainment areas; reduces the diesel surcharge on the sale, lease, or rental of off-‐road equipment from 2 to 1.5 percent and deposits it in the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan Account; eliminates the Regional Trauma Account and transfers unexpended balances and revenue from photographic traffic control signal violations to the Trauma Facility and EMS Account; dedicates 100 percent of pipeline safety inspection fee revenue and gas disposal well permit fee revenue to the Oil and Gas Regulation and Cleanup Account; dedicates all specialty license plate fees to the specialty account within the License Plate Trust Fund; reduces the annual fee for driving without liability insurance from $250 to $125 and for driving without a valid drivers’ license from $100 to $50; abolishes the Emerging Technology Fund and establishes the Governor’s University Research Initiative Fund; reimburses local governments that have a loss of more than two percent of property tax revenue for homestead property tax exemptions for totally disabled veterans or their surviving spouses; and Provides additional state aid to school districts that have compressed tax rates below $1 that are assessing rates eligible for tax rate conversions.

HB 903 by Giovanni Capriglione (R-‐Southlake) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) requires the comptroller to

INVEST a PORTION OF THE RAINY DAY FUND to the extent that its balance exceeds that required by the legislative committee that sets the recommended fund balance in accordance with the prudent person standard. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Budget Bills

HB 1378 by Dan Flynn (R-‐Van) and Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) requires POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS TO COMPILE A REPORT ON DEBT INFORMATION including:

the amount of all authorized debt obligations; the principal of all outstanding debt obligations; the principal of each outstanding debt obligation; the combined principal and interest required to pay all outstanding debt obligations on time and in full; the combined principal and interest required to pay each outstanding debt obligation on time and in full; the amounts secured by ad valorem taxation, expressed as a total amount and per capita (if the political subdivision is a municipality, county, or school district); for each obligation – the issued and unissued amount, the spent and unspent amount, the maturity date, and the stated purpose for which the debt obligation was authorized; the current credit rating given by any nationally recognized credit rating organization to debt obligations of the political subdivision; and any other information that the political subdivision considers relevant or necessary to explain the values required. It defines political subdivision as a county, municipality, school district, junior college district, other special district, or other subdivision of state government. It requires political subdivisions to post the information on its Internet website or provide the information to the comptroller to post on the Comptroller’s website. It requires political subdivisions to include a link to the debt information on the Comptroller’s website on the political subdivision’s website (if the subdivision maintains a website). It prohibits political subdivisions from issuing bonds for a purpose that has been rejected by the voters within the preceding three years. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 1657 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Rick Miller (R-‐Sugar Land) provides that the approval of the issuance of TAX & REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES expires on the last day of the fiscal year for which the notes are approved. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SJR 5 by Robert Nichols (R-‐Jacksonville) and Joe Pickett (D-‐El Paso) proposes a constitutional amendment to provide a long-‐term solution to TRANSPORTATION FUNDING needs. It:

reserves $2.5 billion per year from state sales tax revenue above $28 billion (which is the approximate revenue brought in by the sales tax this year) starting in fiscal year 2018 and expires in 2032; and reserves 3.5 percent of state motor vehicle sales tax revenue above $5 billion (the current annual collection level is around $4 billion) beginning in fiscal year 2020 and expiring in 2029.

It will be on the constitutional amendment ballot on November 3, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Budget Bills

Economic Development Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ EconDev Bills HB 26 by Angie Chen Button (R-‐Garland) and Troy Fraser makes several changes to economic development programs in the governor’s office including: Governor’s University Research Imitative: It establishes the Governor’s University Research Initiative to provide 50/50 matching grants to assist universities with recruiting distinguished researchers. It will be administered by the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office within the office of the governor. Distinguished Researcher: It defines “distinguished researcher” as a researcher who is a Nobel laureate or a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, or the National Academy of Medicine. Grant Applications: It requires grant applications to identify the source and amount of the eligible institution’s matching funds and must demonstrate that the proposed use of the grant has the support of the institution’s president, the governing board, the chair of the institution’s governing board, and the chancellor if the institution is a component of a university system. The grant applications should identify a specific distinguished researcher being recruited. Matching Funds: The 50 percent match from the university can be committed from any funds of the institution other than appropriated general revenue. Prohibitions: A state matching grant cannot be used to recruit a distinguished researcher from another Texas public, private, or independent institution of higher education. Priority Funding: It requires the office to give priority to grant proposals that involve the recruitment of distinguished researchers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. Within those fields, the office must give priority to proposals that demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of contributing substantially to the state’s national and global economic competitiveness. Emerging Technology Fund Repeal: It repeals Chapter 490 of the Government Code thereby abolishing the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and transferring 45 percent of the unexpended balance to the Texas Enterprise Fund and 40 percent to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement the Governor’s University Research Initiative. Royalties, revenue, and other financial benefits realized from the commercialization of intellectual or real property developed from an ETF award will continue to be distributed in accordance with the terms of the contract unless the award recipient and the governor agree otherwise. Funds returned or repaid to the state by an award recipient will be credited to the governor’s university research initiative fund unless the recipient and the governor agree otherwise. Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization are also abolished. Confidentiality of Previously Collected ETF Information: It maintains the confidentiality of previously collected information related to applicants for and recipients of ETF grants including the identity, background, finance, marketing plans, trade secrets, or commercially or academically sensitive information of an individual or entity. Information that can be disclosed includes: the name and address of an individual or entity that received an award from the fund; the amount of funding received by an award recipient; a brief description of the funded project; a brief description of the equity position of the state, if applicable; and

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any other information with the consent of the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, and the individual or entity that received an ETF award. ETF Portfolio Management: It requires the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company to manage and wind up the state’s emerging technology investment portfolio and to wind up the portfolio in a manner that provides for the maximum return on the state’s investment. It allows the trust company to acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind of investment or associated assets that a prudent investor, exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in light of the purposes, terms distribution requirements, and other circumstances then prevailing pertinent to each investment or associated asset. Any realized proceeds, less administration costs, must be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. Any balance remaining in the ETF on final liquidation by the trust company must be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. Biennial Reporting: It requires the governor to submit a biennial report at the beginning of each regular session of the legislature to the Senate and House and post on the governor’s Internet website a report on matching grants made to eligible institutions for the fund including: the total amount of matching funds granted by the office; the total amount of matching funds granted to each recipient institution; a brief description of each distinguished researcher recruited by each institution, including the amount of external research funding that followed the distinguished researcher to the institution; a brief description of the expenditures made from the matching grant funds for each distinguished researcher; and a brief description of each distinguished researcher’s contribution to the state ‘s economic competitiveness (if available) including any patents issued to the researcher and any external research funding, public or private, obtained by the distinguished researcher.

ECONOMIC INCENTIVE OVERSIGHT BOARD

HB 26 establishes the Economic Incentive Oversight Board as an advisory body to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and funds administered by the office of the governor, the comptroller, or the Department of Agriculture that award monetary or tax incentives to business entities and other persons. The Board: The Economic Incentive Oversight Board is composed of nine public members -‐ two appointed by the speaker (one from a rural county); two appointed by the lieutenant governor (one from a rural county); two appointed by the comptroller; and three appointed by the governor, one of whom designated as the presiding officer. Each appointing officer is required to appoint one member with economic development expertise. The governor’s office must provide administrative support and staff to the board. The board must meet at least annually and can hold a meeting by telephone or video conference. Performance Matrix: It requires the board to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of economic development programs and funds that award businesses and other persons state monetary or tax incentives and develop a performance matrix that clearly establishes the economic performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide the board’s evaluations of those programs and funds. Review Schedule: It requires the board to develop a review schedule for the periodic review of each state incentive program or fund in order to make recommendations on whether to continue the

August 7, 2015 | Economic Development Bills

program or fund or to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the program or fund. It allows the board to recommend to the legislative audit committee that an audit of a program or fund be included in the committee’s audit plan. It requires the board to submit a report to the legislature prior to each regular session on its findings and recommendations resulting from each review of state incentive programs and funds conducted since the previous report. Conflicts of Interest: It requires board members to disclose if they have a substantial interest in a business entity that previously applied for or received a state monetary or tax incentive from a program or fund subject to review by the board. And, it requires a board member who has a business, commercial, or other relationship that could reasonably be expected to diminish the person’s independence to judgment in the performance of board responsibilities to disclose the relationship in writing to the board. Texas Enterprise Fund: It decreases the approval period for Texas Enterprise Fund grant approval from 90 days to 30 days. Major Events Trust Fund: It renames the Major Events Trust Fund the Major Events Reimbursement Program.

It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2667 by Trent Ashby (R-‐Lufkin) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) ELIMINATES OBSOLETE ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS & FUNDS administered by the Texas Economic Development Bank including the Small Business Industrial Development Corporation and the Linked Deposit Program. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3402 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Rodney Ellis (D-‐Houston) allows VENUE DISTRICTS in counties

with a population of more than 3.3 million (Harris County) to act as endorsing municipalities or counties for purposes of the Major Events Trust Fund. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 100 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) makes several changes to the TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015 Includes: expanding the definition of a qualified employee to include a truck driver who reports to the qualified business site and who lives within 50 miles of it; allowing all counties (instead of counties with a population of at least 1 million) to nominate a project that is within the city limits of a city in the county; requiring counties to enter into an interlocal agreement with a municipality if the county nominates territory within the municipality for an enterprise zone designation and requiring both the city and county to approve the designation; adding veterans to the list of new permanent employees that meet the threshold for qualification; striking the current preference for an area federally designated as a renewal community, a federal empowerment zone, or a federal enterprise community; allowing enterprise project designations to be split into two half designations and capping the refund at $125,000 per fiscal year;

August 7, 2015 | Economic Development Bills

requiring the qualifying jobs for double and triple jumbo designations to be new permanent jobs (eliminating retention jobs), although retention jobs are still allowed for single designations; and Eliminating franchise tax credit language.

SB 293 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Jason Isaac (R-‐Dripping Springs) clarifies that the list of

eligible site selection organizations under the MAJOR EVENTS TRUST FUND includes ESPN or an affiliate, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was signed by the governor on April 8, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 318 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Susan King (R-‐Abilene) increases the amount the Texas Military Preparedness Commission can grant under the TEXAS DEFENSE ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM to a local government from $2 million to $5 million and expands eligible uses of the grants to include projects necessary to accommodate a retained military mission or to construct infrastructure and other projects necessary to prevent the reduction or closing of a defense facility. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 458 by Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) and Greg Bonnen (R-‐Friendswood) requires the Governor’s AEROSPACE & AVIATION OFFICE and the Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee to develop short-‐ term and long-‐term policy initiatives or recommend reforms the state may undertake or implement to: increase investment in aerospace activities; support the retention, development, and expansion of spaceports in Texas; identify and encourage educational, economic and defense-‐related opportunities for aerospace and aviation activities; determine the appropriate level of funding for the spaceport trust fund and support ongoing projects that have been assisted by the fund, including recommending to the legislature an appropriate funding level for the fund; partner with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to foster technological advancement and economic development for spaceport activities by strengthening higher education programs and supporting aerospace activities; and partner with the Texas Workforce Commission to support initiatives that address the high-‐ technology skills and staff resources needed to better promote the state’s efforts in becoming the leading space exploration state in the nation. The short-‐term plan must be submitted to the legislature by September 1, 2017 and the initiatives and reforms in the short-‐term plan must be fully implemented by September 1, 2020. The long-‐term recommendations must be submitted to the legislature by September 1, 2020 and the long-‐term plan must be fully implemented by September 1, 2025. The terms of the current members of the Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee expire on September 1, 2015 and the governor is required to appoint new members. It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 503 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Eddie Rodriguez (D-‐Austin) increases the maximum loan from

the TEXAS MILITARY VALUE REVOLVING LOAN ACCOUNT from $2 million to $5 million and expands uses of the fund to include construction of infrastructure and other projects necessary to prevent the reduction or closing of a defense facility and for training of workers to support military installations or defense facilities. And, it allows financial assistance to a defense community affected by a U.S. Department of Defense base realignment process that occurred during or after 1995 (instead of 2005). It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Economic Development Bills

SB 633 by Troy Fraser (R-‐Marble Falls) and Jason Isaac (R-‐Dripping Springs) transfers ADMINISTRATION OF THE EVENTS TRUST FUNDS from the comptroller’s office to the Governor’s Office of Economic

Development and Tourism.

NCAA men’s or women’s lacrosse championships World Cup soccer tournament Major League Soccer All-‐Star Game Major League Soccer Cup Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association National Finals Rodeo Elite Rodeo Association World Championship United States Open Championship Amateur Athletic Union Jr. Olympic Games Moto Grand Prix of the United States Presidential general election debate It expands the definition of “site selection organization” to include: Dorna Sports Amateur Athletic Union Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Elite Rodeo Association, League Soccer United States Golf Association Commission on Presidential Debates

SB 1204 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Marisa Marquez (D-‐El Paso) requires the Department of Agriculture and the Parks and Wildlife Commission to waive the initial and renewal

fees for an aquaculture license or an exotic species permit if THE LICENSE OR PERMIT OR THE RENEWAL IS REQUIRED BY A PUBLIC SCHOOL TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN APPLICABLE AQUACULTURE & HYDROPONICS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM.

It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1358 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Susan King (R-‐Abilene) makes the TEXAS MILITARY PREPAREDNESS COMMISSION a separate entity that is administratively attached to the office of the governor (instead

of an office within the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office in the office of the governor). It requires the director of TMPC to hire at least one full-‐time employee who is knowledgeable about or has experience with military installations. It increases the maximum amount of a grant under the Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant from $2 million to $5 million. It was signed by the governor on June 4, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1389 by Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) and Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) requires the BORDER COMMERCE

COORDINATOR to continue to:

examine trade issues between the United States, Mexico, and Canada; act as an ombudsman for government agencies within the Texas and Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by improving communication and cooperation between federal, state, and local governments;

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work with federal officials to resolve transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads, and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people across the border between Texas and Mexico; work with federal officials to create a unified federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs; work to increase funding for the North American Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater facilities; and explore the sale of excess electric power from Texas to Mexico. It adds new required duties of the Border Commerce Coordinator including: study the flow of commerce at ports of entry between Texas and Mexico and establish a plan to aid that commerce and improve movement of commercial vehicles; work to identify problems associated with border truck inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure and develop recommendations for addressing those problems. work with the appropriate state and federal agencies to develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of entry; develop recommendations designed to increase trade by attracting new business ventures, support expansion of existing and new industries, and address workforce training needs; work with work groups and government and community entities along both sides of the border to address the unique planning and capacity needs of those areas and submit an annual report to the Legislature on the coordinator’s activities; work with private industry and state and federal entities to require the sale of low-‐sulfur fuel along highways in Texas with increased traffic related to activities under the North American Free Trade Agreement; and work with representatives from the Mexican government and the Mexican states along the Texas border to increase the use of low-‐sulfur fuel. It requires the coordinator to appoint the “Texas Good Neighbor Committee” a border mayor task force consisting of mayors from every Texas municipality located along the border that has a sister city in Mexico to advise the coordinator on key trade, security and transportation-‐related issues that are important to the municipalities represented. It requires quarterly meetings with mayors from Mexico to increase cooperation, communication, and the flow of information and to identify problems and recommend solutions. It requires the committee to seek assistance and input from private sector stakeholders involved in commerce to identify issues to address and provide recommendations to assist the coordinator in carrying out his/her statutory duties. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

VETOED BILLS-‐ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HB 2100 by Ana Hernandez (D-‐Houston) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) establishes the EAST HOUSTON MANAGEMENT DISTRICT in the City of Houston to promote, develop, encourage, and maintain employment, commerce, transportation, housing, tourism, recreation, the arts, entertainment, economic development, safety, and the public welfare in the district. VETO MESSAGE “Determining the boundaries of new taxing districts should be a fair and transparent process. The boundaries of the management district created by HB 2100 received particular attention during legislative deliberations. In particular, questions were raised regarding the exclusion of certain large parcels from the district.”

HB 2826 by Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) allows PROPERTY LOCATED IN MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT (up to three contiguous school districts) to qualify for a Chapter 313 Agreement under the Texas Economic Development Act. The minimum qualified investment amount and the total required minimum limitation for the multi-‐district project is based on the school district having the highest property value.

VETO MESSAGE “Chapter 313 of the Tax Code allows for certain businesses to negotiate with school districts for lower appraisal valuations and, as a result, lower school property taxes. While the program may sometimes have a positive impact on local economic development, serious concerns exist about its oversight, its transparency, and its value to the taxpayers.

August 7, 2015 | Economic Development Bills

Energy Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Energy Bills HB 40 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) establishes that the authority of a municipality or other political subdivision to REGULATE AN OIL & GAS OPERATION is expressly preempted by the state unless the measure regulates only aboveground activity, is commercially reasonable, does not effectively prohibit an oil and gas operation conducted by a reasonably prudent operator, and is not otherwise preempted by state or federal law. It was signed by the governor on May 18, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 939 by Tony Dale (R-‐Cedar Park) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) prohibits a PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION from adopting or enforcing a deed restriction that prohibits or restricts an owner from owning, operating, installing or maintaining a permanently installed STANDBY ELECTRIC GENERATOR. It allows a property owners’ association to enforce regulations on the operation and installation of standby electric generators that: require the generator to be installed and maintained in compliance with the manufacturer’s specifications and applicable governmental health, safety, electrical, and building codes; require all electrical, plumbing, and fuel line connections to be installed only by licensed contractors; require all electrical connections to be installed in accordance with applicable governmental health, safety, electrical, and building codes; require all natural gas, diesel fuel, biodiesel fuel, or hydrogen fuel line connections to be installed in accordance with applicable governmental health, safety, electrical, and building codes; require all liquefied petroleum gas fuel line connections to be installed in accordance with rules and standards promulgated and adopted by the Railroad Commission and other applicable governmental health, safety, electrical, and building codes; require nonintegral standby electric generator fuel tanks to be installed and maintained to comply with applicable municipal zoning ordinances and governmental health, safety, electrical, and building codes; require the standby electric generator and its electrical lines and fuel lines to be maintained in good condition; require the repair, replacement, or removal of any deteriorated or unsafe component of a standby electric generator, including electrical or fuel lines; require a dedicatory instrument provision that requires an owner to screen a standby electric generator if the generator is visible from the street faced by the dwelling, located in an unfenced side or rear yard of a residence and is visible from an adjoining residence or adjoining property owned by the property owners’ association, or located in a side or rear yard fenced by a wrought iron or residential aluminum fence and is visible through the fence; set reasonable times, consistent with the manufacturer’s recommendations, for the periodic testing of a standby electric generator; prohibit the use of a generator to generate all or substantially all of the electrical power to a residents unless utility-‐generated power is not available to the residence or is intermittent (except for nonpayment of service); regulate the location of the standby electric generator; or prohibit an owner from locating a generator on property owned or maintained by the association or owned in common by the association members. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 1101 by Sylvester Turner (D-‐Houston) and John Whitmire (D-‐Houston) extends the timeline over which the SYSTEM BENEFIT FUND would be exhausted by raising the limit for reduced electricity rates to assist low-‐income

electric customers, and extending the expiration date of that program from September 1, 2016 to September 1, 2017. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1184 by Chris Paddie (R-‐Marshall) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) expands the energy savings performance contracts

that a local government may enter into with a provider for energy or water conservation or usage measures to include a contract related to a pilot program operated by the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station that establishes and implements ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS TO STATE-‐ OWNED BUILDINGS maintained by the Texas Facilities Commission or a contract for the implementation of

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alternative fuel programs resulting in energy cost savings and reduced emissions for local government vehicles. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1535 by John Frullo (R-‐Lubbock) and Troy Fraser (R-‐Horseshoe Bay) requires the Public Utility Commission of

Texas to allow NON-‐ERCOT ELECTRIC UTILITIES to make a known and measurable rate adjustment to include the prudent capital investment, a reasonable return on the capital investment, depreciation expense, reasonable and necessary operating expenses, and all attendant impacts, including any offsetting revenue (determined by the PUC) associated with a newly constructed or acquired natural gas-‐fired generation facility. It authorizes the PUC to require refunds or surcharges of amounts determined to be over-‐ or under-‐charged based on the final rate order. It authorizes utilities to file a request that the commission grant a certificate of convenience and necessity for an electric generating facility and make a public interest determination for the purchase of an existing facility. It requires utilities to file comprehensive base rate filings every four years or when the utility earns materially more than the utility’s authorized rate of return on investment in the two most recent consecutive commission earnings monitoring reports. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1736 by Jason Villalba (R-‐Dallas) and Troy Fraser (R-‐Horseshoe Bay) adopts the International Residential Code,

as it existed on May 1, 2015, as the ENERGY CODE FOR SINGLE-‐FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION effective September 1, 2016. It allows the State Energy Conservation Office to adopt the latest published edition of the International Residential Code but not more often than once every six years. The International Energy Conservation Code as it existed on May 1 2001 is already the energy code for residential, commercial, and industrial construction. HB 1736 allows the State Energy Conservation Office to adopt a more recent edition. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2207 by Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) provides that an OIL OR GAS LEASE covering real

property subject to a security interest that has been foreclosed remains in effect after the foreclosure sale if the oil or gas lease has not terminated or expired on its own terms and was executed before the date the security interest was recorded or was executed after the security interest was recorded but before the foreclosure sale. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2015.

HB 2521 by Garnet Coleman (D-‐Houston) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) requires the deposit of proceeds from

leases of state oil and natural gas mineral interests from land under county roads to a new COUNTY ROAD OIL AND GAS FUND. It applies to proceeds of leases entered into beginning in fiscal year 2018. It was signed by the governor

on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2017.

HB 2558 by Jason Isaac (R-‐Dripping Springs) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) prohibits PROPANE DISTRIBUTORS from utilizing a CUSTOMER BILLING PERIOD that is more than 32 days during the months of December, January or February or 31 days for a billing cycle in any other month except under extreme condition involving impassable roads, a natural disaster, or civil disruption. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 734 by Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) and Byron Cook (R-‐Corsicana) allows the Public Utility Commission to set the ANNUAL INTEREST RATE for retail electric providers on customer deposits on any date on or before December 1 each year. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 774 by Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) and Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) extends from December 31, 2017

to September 1, 2019 the authorization for utilities to adjust their rates once per year to reflect changes in distribution investment. It requires the Public Utility Commission to STUDY ALTERNATIVE RATEMAKING MECHANISMS adopted by other states and to make recommendations regarding appropriate reforms to the legislature by January 15, 2017. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 776 by Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) and Kyle Kacal (R-‐College Station) prohibits a MUNICIPALLY OWNED

UTILITY (MOU) from directly or indirectly constructing, installing, operating, or extending a transmission facility outside of its certificated service area (except for a new natural gas facility) unless the municipally owned utility

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first obtains from the Public Utilities Commission a certificate that states that the public convenience and necessity requires or will require the transmission facility. The bill would not apply to a transmission facility used solely to provide the municipally owned utility access to a generation resource located outside its certificated service area; or upgrades to an existing transmission line that do not require any additional land, right-‐of-‐way, easement, or other property not owned by the municipally owned utility. It allows MOU’s to recover payments made in lieu of taxes. It was signed by the governor on June 97, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 932 by Troy Fraser (R-‐Horseshoe Bay) and Byron Cook (R-‐Corsicana) authorizes the Public Utility Commission to retain any consultant, accountant, auditor, engineer, or attorney the PUC considers necessary to REPRESENT THE PUC IN A PROCEEDING BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, or before a court reviewing

proceedings of that federal commission related to: the relationship of an investor-‐owned electric utility operating solely outside of ERCOT to a power region, regional transmission organization, or independent system operator; the approval of an agreement among the electric utility and the utility’s affiliates concerning the coordination of the operations of the utility and the utility’s affiliates; or other matters related to the utility that may affect the ultimate rates paid by retail customers. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 933 by Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) and Byron Cook (R-‐Corsicana) prohibits a person, including an electric

utility or municipally owned utility, from INTERCONNECTING A FACILITY TO THE ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL OF TEXAS (ERCOT) transmission grid that enabled additional power to be imported into or exported out of the ERCOT power grid unless the person obtains a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Public Utility Commission. The application must be filed within 180 days of seeking an order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission related to the interconnection. It requires the PUC to determine that the application is consistent with the public interest before granting the CNN and allows approval only if it is necessary for the service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1589 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Ryan Guillen (D-‐Rio Grande City) expands the reporting requirements for holders of UNCLAIMED OIL AND GAS ROYALTIES to include information similar to or identical to the information required in check-‐stub laws. The report must include in addition to owner information currently required: the lease, property, or well name; any lease, property, or well identification number used to identify the lease, property, or well; and the county in which the lease, property, or well is located. The comptroller is required to maintain the confidentiality of the information provided; however, the comptroller can release it in the aggregate by county. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 1626 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Dawnna Dukes (D-‐Austin) authorizes a developer to prohibit or restrict a property owner in a residential subdivision from installing a SOLAR ENERGY DEVICE in developments with 51 or fewer units/lots during the development period. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SCR 13 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Rafael Anchia (D-‐Dallas) urges the U.S. Congress and the president to recognize that CRUDE OIL EXPORTS and free trade are in the national interest and to end the current ban on crude oil exports. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015. SCR 32 by Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) and Gene Wu (D-‐Houston) urges Congress to expedite NATURAL GAS EXPORTS. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015.

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VETOED BILLS – ENERGY HB 1633 by Ramon Romero, Jr. (D-‐Fort Worth) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) requires the Railroad Commission

to adopt rules requiring an OIL OR GAS WELL DRILLING PERMIT APPLICATION to include an affirmation as to whether or not the well will be located within, or within 50 yards of, an easement held by the Texas Department of Transportation and require the Railroad Commission to send the application to TxDOT within 14 days of receipt. VETO MESSAGE “Oil and gas companies are already required to report the location of their wells to the State, via the Texas Railroad Commission. The problem HB 1633 seeks to solve is that the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation do not communicate effectively with one another when an oil and gas producer asks the Railroad Commission for a permit to drill near a right-‐ of-‐way owned by TxDOT. Instead of requiring these two state agencies to work more effectively together, HB 1633 thrusts a new and unnecessary hurdle onto oil and gas producers to solve the State's internal communication challenges. It is within the existing power of the two state agencies to solve this problem, and they should do so.”

HB 3291 by Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) creates an offense (a second degree

felony) of THEFT OF PIPELINE EQUIPMENT, oil and gas equipment, oil, gas, or condensate and the unauthorized purchase or sale of those items.

VETO MESSAGE “Theft of oil and gas is a serious problem facing one of our state's most vital industries. Those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I support increasing the criminal penalties for these crimes. And, I support providing prosecutors with new tools targeted at theft of oil and gas. HB 3291 shares these goals, but unfortunately its overly broad language creates severe criminal penalties for conduct that may have nothing to do with theft of oil and gas. For example, the bill would make it a second-‐degree felony to possess, purchase, or sell oil or gas without the proper Railroad Commission permit. Under current law, such a violation results only in a civil fine -‐ like most other violations of state permitting rules. But under HB 3291, the penalty for not having the appropriate Railroad Commission paperwork could be as much as 20 years in prison. And because the crime created by the bill requires only a reckless mental state, a felony conviction could be obtained even if the defendant did not know his paperwork was out of order. Turning paperwork errors into felonies is not the right solution to the very real problem of oil and gas theft.”

HB 4025 by Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) changes the Transportation Infrastructure

Fund formula to provide relief to counties that have road damage due to increased truck traffic from oil and gas exploration. It allows counties to designate a contiguous geographic area in its jurisdiction as a COUNTY ENERGY TRANSPORTATION REINVESTMENT ZONE, decreases the amount that counties can spend on administration from $250,000 to $100,000 or one percent (instead of five percent) of the grant. It requires grants to be allocated 20 percent according to vertical well completions and 30 percent according to horizontal well completions (instead of 50 percent according to well completions). VETO MESSAGE “In the 2011 statewide election, the voters of Texas rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given counties the authority to create tax-‐increment reinvestment zones. The Legislature's attempts to confer this authority on counties without a constitutional amendment have been found by three separate Attorney General opinions to violate article VIII, section 1(a) of the Texas Constitution. HB 4025, in part, is an attempt to do what the Texas Constitution and multiple Attorney General opinions prohibit. If the Legislature wants counties to have the authority to create tax-‐increment reinvestment zones, it must again ask the voters to amend the Constitution.”

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Environmental Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Environment Bills HB 30 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires each regional water planning group to

include in its regional water plan to the Texas Water Development Board opportunities for and the benefits of developing large-‐scale DESALINATION FACILITIES FOR BRACKISH GROUNDWATER OR SEAWATER that serve local or regional brackish groundwater production zones. It requires TWDB to include the identification and designation of brackish groundwater production zones in its biennial progress report on the implementation of desalination activities. It prohibits brackish groundwater production zones from being located in: the jurisdiction of the Edwards Aquifer Authority; the boundaries of the Barton Springs-‐Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, Harris-‐Galveston Subsidence District, or Fort Bend Subsidence District; an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or geologic stratum that had an average total dissolved solids level of more than 1,000 milligrams per liter and was serving as a significant source of water supply for municipal, domestic, or agricultural purposes at the time of designation of the zones; or an area of a geologic stratum designated or used for wastewater injection. It requires TWDB to identify and designate brackish groundwater production zones for portions of the Carrizo-‐ Wilcox Aquifer located between the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers, the Gulf Coast Aquifer and sediments bordering that aquifer, the Blaine Aquifer, and the Rustler Aquifer by December 1, 2016. By December 1, 2022, the board is required to identify and designate brackish groundwater production zones for the other areas of the state. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 163 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) changes the name of the MULTI-‐STATE WATER

RESOURCES PLANNING COMMISSION to Southwestern States Water Commission; makes it an advisory commission to

the governor and the legislature, rather than an agency of the state; and changes the composition of the commission from seven to three commissioners. It allows, rather than requires, the commission to discuss the water needs of the region with neighboring states and Mexico; and repeals the requirement for the commission to request studies that consider utilization of only that floodwater that is determined to be in excess of the reasonably foreseeable needs of any area where that floodwater is located. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 200 by Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) sets out provisions governing the petition to appeal the Texas Water Development Board's approval of a desired FUTURE CONDITION OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES. It requires an appeal to be heard by the State Office of Administrative Hearings instead of the Texas Water Development Board, requires the district to issue a final order on the matter upon receipt of the administrative law judge’s proposal for decision, and provides for the appeal of the order in district court. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 239 by Drew Springer (R-‐Muenster) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) provides that gasoline, diesel fuel, or kerosene may be stored in an ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANK AT A RETAIL SERVICE STATION located in an unincorporated area or in a municipality with a population of less than 5,000. It authorizes counties with a population of 3.3 million or more to limit the maximum volume of an aboveground storage tank in an unincorporated area of the county in accordance with the county fire code. It authorizes a retail service station to have a tank for each separate grade of gasoline, diesel fuel, or kerosene, but prohibits it from having more than one tank for the same grade. It deletes existing text providing that gasoline, diesel fuel, or kerosene may be stored in an aboveground storage tank with a capacity of not more than 4,000 gallons at a retail service station located in an unincorporated area or in a municipality with a population of less than 5,000. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 280 by Ron Simmons (R-‐Carrollton) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires the Texas Water Development Board to post on its website information related to THE STATE WATER IMPLEMENTATION FUND (SWIFT), including;

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the amount of bonds issued and the terms of the bonds, a summary of the terms of the bond enhancement agreement, and the status of repayment of any loan provided in connection with the project, including an assessment of the risk of default based on a standard risk rating system; a description of the investment portfolio of the fund; the expenses incurred in investing money in the fund; the rate of return on the investment of money in the fund; a description of the point system for prioritizing projects established by the board and the number of points awarded by the board for each project; any non-‐confidential information submitted to the board as part of an application for financial assistance that is approved by the board; the administrative and operating expenses incurred by the board in developing the state water plan and providing financial assistance for projects included in the plan; and any other information required by board rule.

It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 281 by Ron Simmons (R-‐Carrollton) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) is bracketed to apply only to a

municipally owned Type 1 municipal solid waste landfill permitted by the state before 1980 that is located wholly inside the boundaries of a municipality and is owned by a municipality other than the municipality in which it is located. The landfill is located in the City of Lewisville and is owned by the City of Farmers Branch. It prohibits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from approving a SOLID WASTE LANDFILL application for issuance, amendment, or renewal in that seeks to expand the area or capacity of a landfill unless the governing body of the municipality in which the landfill is located first approves of the permit. It requires TCEQ to provide members of the legislature that represent the area containing the landfill when an application is filed and to give the legislators an opportunity to comment on the application, and requires them to consider those comments in evaluating an in evaluating the application. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 497 by Gene Wu (D-‐Houston) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) expands the definition of SALTWATER PIPELINE FACILITY to mean a pipeline facility that conducts water that contains salt and other substances and is intended to

be used in drilling or operating a well used in the exploration for or production of oil or gas, including an injection well used for ENHANCED RECOVERY OPERATIONS. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 655 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) authorizes a water right holder or an

applicable water user to undertake an aquifer storage and recovery project without obtaining any additional water right authorization for the project but requires a person undertaking the project to obtain any required authorization to comply with the terms of the applicable water right. It grants the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality jurisdiction over the regulation and permitting of AQUIFER STORAGE & RECOVERY (ASR) project injection wells, and requires reporting of injection and recovery volumes and water quality data to TCEQ by the project operator. It requires a person authorized under the Injection Well Act to undertake an aquifer storage and recovery project to register each ASR injection well and recovery well associated with a project to any groundwater conservation district in the project area and authorizes the district to assess a well registration fee or other administrative fee. It prohibits a district from requiring a permit for drilling, equipping, operation, or completion of an ASR injection well or an ASR recovery well that is authorized by the TCEQ. It subjects an ASR recovery well associated with aquifer storage and recovery project to the district’s permitting, spacing, and production requirements if the amount of groundwater recovered from the well exceeds the volume authorized by TCEQ to be recovered under the project. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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HB 735 by Celia Israel (D-‐Austin) and Rodney Ellis (D-‐Houston) requires the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to

collect information on the number of ALTERNATIVELY FUELED VEHICLES in Texas. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2016.

HB 763 by Susan King (R-‐Abilene) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires an interested party submitting a petition

requesting the ADOPTION OF STATE AGENCY RULES to be a Texas resident. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 930 by Doug Miller (R-‐New Braunfels) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation to establish an APPRENTICE WATER WELL DRILLER program and an APPRENTICE WATER WELL PUMP INSTALLER program. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 942 by Kyle Kacal (R-‐College Station) and Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) transfers the Tier II Chemical Reporting

Program reporting requirements from the Department of State Health Services to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality including all resources used for reporting as well as the civil, criminal, and administrative penalties in the Health and Safety Code used in reporting compliance. It authorizes the State Fire Marshal to enter an AMMONIUM NITRATE FACILITY to inspect for hazardous conditions and provides that a facility owner has up to 10 days to correct a hazard. It allows local fire departments to do pre-‐fire planning assessments of the facilities. It requires ammonium nitrate to be stored in a fertilizer storage compartment or bin constructed of wood, metal, or concrete and stored separately from any non-‐fertilizer materials and separated from combustible or flammable material by at least 30 feet. It requires warning signs to be placed on the outside of the storage area. It institutes administrative and civil penalties for violations of the community right-‐to-‐know law and criminal penalties criminal penalties if a person proximately causes an occupational disease or injury by knowingly disclosing false information or failing to disclose hazard information. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 949 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) authorizes the Texas Water Development

Board to waive the requirement for a RETAIL PUBLIC UTILITY that has a water loss meeting or exceeding the threshold established by the board to use a portion of financial assistance received from the board to mitigate the utility system’s water loss. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1016 by Tracy King (D-‐Batesville) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) designates segments of the Nueces River,

the Frio River, the Sabinal River, the San Marcos River, and the Comal River as being of UNIQUE ECOLOGICAL VALUE, which prohibits a state agency or political subdivision of the state from financing the actual construction of a reservoir in the designated segment. It was filed without the governor’s signature on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1042 by James Frank (R-‐Wichita Falls) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) designates the site of the proposed RINGGOLD RESERVOIR, to be located on the Little Wichita River in Clay County approximately one-‐half mile upstream

from its confluence with the Red River, as having unique value for the construction of a dam and reservoir. It was signed by the governor on May 21, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1146 by Kyle Kacal (R-‐College Station) and Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) allows a volunteer to be the LICENSED OPERATOR OF A WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM and requires the owner or manager of such a water system to

maintain records related to each volunteer operator. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1221 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) requires a SELLER'S DISCLOSURE

required to be given to the purchaser of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit to include a statement of whether or not the seller is aware of any portion of the property that is located in a groundwater conservation district or a subsidence district. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

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HB 1224 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) authorizes the Texas Water Development

Board to approve the use of assets of the revolving fund, the safe drinking water revolving fund, or an additional state revolving fund as a source of revenue or security, or both revenue and security, for the payment of the principal of and interest on STATE REVOLVING FUND BONDS. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1232 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) requires the Texas Water Development

Board to conduct a study of the quantity and quality of GROUNDWATER IN confined and unconfined AQUIFERS. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1331 by Phil King (R-‐Weatherford) and Troy Fraser (R-‐Horseshoe Bay) exempts a person who generates drill

cuttings and transfers them to another person with the contractual understanding they will be used for road building or another beneficial use from liability in TORT FOR A CONSEQUENCE OF THE SUBSEQUENT USE OF THE DRILL CUTTINGS. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1662 by Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) authorizes a municipality to exempt property

used for cemetery purposes from MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE SERVICE CHARGES if the cemetery is closed to new interments and does not accept new burials. It allows all or a portion of drainage charges to be exempt on property owned by a tax –exempt religious organization. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1794 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kelly Hancock, (R-‐North Richland Hills) limits the amount of

maximum PENALTIES THAT A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN RECOVER in a suit to civil penalties up to $4.3 million, divided equally between the state and the local government. And, it establishes a five-‐year statute of limitations on lawsuits for penalties, running from the earlier of the date the alleged violator notifies the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of the violation or the date the alleged violator receives notice of enforcement from the TCEQ. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1902 by Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to adopt and implement minimum standards for indoor and outdoor USE & REUSE OF TREATED GRAYWATER and alternative onsite water. It requires the standards adopted by the commission to allow the use of graywater and alternative onsite water for toilet and urinal flushing. It authorizes TCEQ to adopt and implement rules providing for the inspection and annual testing of a graywater or alternative onsite water system by the commission. It requires TCEQ to develop and make available to the public a regulatory guidance manual to explain the rules adopted by the commission. It defines “alternative onsite water” as rainwater, air-‐conditioner condensate, foundation drain water, storm water, cooling tower blowdown swimming pool backwash and drain water, reverse osmosis reject water, or any other source of water considered appropriate by the commission. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 1919 by Larry Phillips (R-‐Sherman) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) prohibits the importation, possession, sale, or placement into the public water of Texas of EXOTIC HARMFUL OR POTENTIALLY HARMFUL FISH, SHELLFISH, OR AQUATIC PLANTS except as authorized by a rule of or permit issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. It

prohibits TPWD from requiring a permit for a water transfer that is undertaken by a utility owned by a political subdivision, that is transferred through a water supply system, and that is transferred from and into a water body in which there is no known exotic harmful or potentially harmful fish or shellfish population; is transferred directly to a water treatment facility, is water that has been treated prior to the transfer into a water body; or is transferred from a reservoir or through a dam to address flood control or to meet water supply requirements or environmental flow purposes but requires notice to the TPWD if the water is transferred from a body of water in which there is a known exotic harmful or potentially harmful fish or shellfish population. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2031 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) authorizes a water supply entity to use state water that consists of MARINE SEAWATER for any beneficial purpose if it is treated before use without

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obtaining a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality unless the point of diversion is located within three miles of the coast or if the seawater contains a concentration of total dissolved solids of more than 20,000 milligrams per liter. It requires a person to obtain a permit to discharge treated marine seawater into a natural stream or an impoundment in Texas or to discharge waste resulting from the desalination of treated marine seawater into the Gulf of Mexico. It requires TCEQ, based on input from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the General Land Office, to designate MARINE SEAWATER DIVERSION ZONES AND DESALINATION WASTE DISCHARGE ZONES in the Gulf of Mexico; and requires TCEQ to adopt rules to allow water treated by marine seawater desalination facilities to be used as public drinking water and rules to ensure that water treated by those facilities meets public drinking water requirements. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2179 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) authorizes the board of directors of a GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT to take action on any uncontested permit application at a properly noticed

public meeting held at any time after the public hearing at which the application is scheduled to be heard, and to issue a written order to grant the application; grant the application with special conditions; or deny the application. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2187 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) requires METAL RECYCLING ENTITIES to pay for regulated material only by cash if the seller has been issued a cash transaction card; debit card if the seller has been issued a cash transaction card; check; money order; or direct deposit by electronic funds transfer. It requires metal recycling entities to include in the record of purchase: a copy of the sellers cash transaction card or approved application for a cash transaction card; the debit card receipt and the cash transaction card or approved application; or the check if the entity paid by check. An application for a cash transaction card must include: the name, address, sex, and birth date of the applicant; the identification number from the applicant’s personal identification document; a digital photograph that accurately depicts the applicant’s entire face taken at the time the applicant completes the application; and a clear and legible thumbprint of the applicant and the signature of the applicant. It makes provisions governing metal recycling entities inapplicable to a telecommunications provider, cable service provider, or video service provider. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2230 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) authorizes the Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality to authorize by individual permit, by general permit, or by rule a CLASS V INJECTION WELL for the injection of nonhazardous brine from a desalination operation or nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals into a Class II injection well that is also permitted by the Railroad Commission to be used for oil and gas waste disposal. It requires TCEQ and the Railroad Commission by rule to enter into or amend a memorandum of understanding to implement and administer its provisions. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2528 by Patricia Harless (R-‐Spring) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) authorizes a WATER DISTRICT located in the unincorporated area of Harris County to accept voluntary donation from customers receiving potable water or sewer services to provide funds to a nonprofit organization providing the district with ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS that preserve local property values. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

HB 2598 by John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) prohibits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from considering STEEL SLAG as solid waste if the steel slag is an intended output or result of the use of an electric arc furnace to make steel, is sold and distributed in the stream of commerce for consumption, use, or further processing into another desired commodity, and is managed as an item of commercial value in a controlled manner and not as discarded material or in a manner constituting disposal. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 2763 by Ed Thompson (R-‐Pearland) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) requires the Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality conduct a STUDY QUANTIFYING THE AMOUNT OF MATERIALS CURRENTLY BEING RECYCLED, assessing the cost, value, and quality of materials currently being recycled; and estimating the amount of materials that could be recycled but are not currently being recycled. The study must also: identify methods that may be used, by the public and/or private sectors to increase recycling including through the development of new markets for recycled materials and new businesses that may result from recycling; investigate the current and potential availability of funding for the methods identified; assess the current types and number of jobs associated with recycling and potential additional opportunities for job creation that may result from increased recycling; and assess infrastructure needs and development opportunities associated with recycling in rural areas.

It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2767 by Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) is an omnibus technical correction bill of statutes

regulating GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3163 by John Cyrier (R-‐Lockhart) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) establishes that for liability purposes only, a

GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT DIRECTOR is considered a district employee under the Texas Tort Claims Act and grants a director immunity from liability for official votes and actions. It grants immunity to district board members for liability associated with official votes or actions. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3187 by Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) allows local governmental entities to

establish programs under the PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY ACT. It authorizes a program application fee paid by the property owner to be expressed as a set amount, a percentage of the amount or in any other manner. It requires each proposed qualified project to include a verification that a proposed qualified improvement meets the requirements of a qualified project; and provides that a verification provided conclusively establishes that the improvement is a qualified improvement and the project is a qualified project. It prohibits a lien, after the notice of a contractual assessment is recorded, from being contested on the basis that the improvement is not a qualified improvement or the project is not a qualified project. It authorizes any combination of local governments to agree to jointly implement or administer a PACE program including entering into an interlocal contract to jointly implement or administer the program. It authorizes one or more local governments to contract with a third party, including another local government, to administer a program; and provides that members of the governing body or a local government, employees of a local government, and board members, executives, employees, and contractors of a third party who enter into a contract with a local government to provide administrative services for a PACE program are not personally liable as a result of exercising any rights or responsibilities under the program. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3264 by Ryan Guillen (R-‐Rio Grande city) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) authorizes the Texas

Commission on Environmental Quality to issue an emergency order suspending the operation of a domestic

WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY that handles waste and wastewater from humans or household operations, if the

facility is required to obtain a permit from the commission, and is operating without the required permit. It

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

authorizes the commission to impose an administrative penalty or institute a civil action to enjoin further operation of the facility until the permit is obtained and impose a civil penalty. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 4097 by Todd Hunter (R-‐Corpus Christi) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) authorizes a person to divert state

water from the Gulf of Mexico or a bay or arm of the Gulf of Mexico for DESALINATION & USE FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES without obtaining a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; however, it allows TCEQ to require a permit if the point of diversion is located within three miles of the coast or if the seawater contains a concentration of total dissolved solids of more than 20,000 milligrams per liter. It authorizes TCEQ to issue a permit for the discharge of water treatment residuals resulting from the desalination of seawater for an industrial use into a portion of the Gulf of Mexico inside the territorial limits of the state. It allows disposal of water treatment residuals and concentrate produced by the desalination of seawater in injection wells. It requires the Public Utility Commission, in cooperation with transmission and distribution utilities and the ERCOT independent system operator, to study whether existing transmission and distribution planning processes are sufficient to provide adequate infrastructure for seawater desalination projects. It requires the PUC and the operator to study the potential for seawater desalination projects to participate in existing demand response opportunities in the ERCOT market. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 4112 by DeWayne Burns (R-‐Cleburne) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) establishes that GROUNDWATER

OWNERSHIP RIGHTS entitle the landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or assigns, to drill for and produce the groundwater below the surface of real property without causing waste or malicious drainage or of other property or negligently causing subsidence and have any other right recognized under common law. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 394 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Phil King (R-‐Weatherford) requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, for a respondent that is a local government, to approve a SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL project if the local government has not previously committed a violation at the same site with the same underlying cause in the preceding five years and did not agree, before the date that the commission initiated the enforcement action, to perform the project. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 523 by Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) and Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) requires limited SUNSET REVIEW OF RIVER AUTHORITIES as if they were a state agency but the river authority may not be abolished. The review must include a

review of each entity’s governance, management, operating structure, and compliance with legislative requirements. It requires the river authorities to pay the cost incurred by the Sunset Advisory Commission in performing the review. River authorities scheduled for evaluation in the 2016-‐17 review cycle include: Central Colorado River Authority, Palo Duro River Authority of Texas, Sulphur River Basin Authority, and Upper Colorado River Authority. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 551 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) requires the WATER CONSERVATION ADVISORY

COUNCIL to submit recommendations for legislation to advance water conservation in its biennial report to the

governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 709 by Troy Fraser (R-‐ Horseshoe Bay) and Geanie Morrison (R-‐Victoria) clarifies that the Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality is not required to grant “AFFECTED PERSON” STATUS to a group or association, unless the group or association identifies, by name and physical address in a timely request for a contested case hearing, a member of the group or association who qualifies as an affected person in the person’s own right. It requires the person making the request for a hearing to have timely submitted comments on the permit application. It itemizes the issues the commission can consider including: the merits of the underlying application, including whether the application meets the requirements for permit issuance;

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

the likely impact of regulated activity on the health, safety, and use of the property of the hearing requestor; the administrative record, including the permit application and any supporting documentation; the analysis and options of the executive director; and any other expert reports, affidavits, opinions, or data submitted on or before any applicable deadline to the commission by the executive director, the applicant, or a hearing requestor. It establishes that the draft permit, executive director’s recommendation, and supporting documentation create prima facie evidence showing that the permit complies with all applicable laws and regulations and requires the protesting party to rebut that showing by demonstrating the specific parts of the draft permit that violate environmental laws or standards. And, it allows the executive director and permit applicant to present additional evidence supporting the permit. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 854 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) requires a GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION

DISTRICT, without a hearing, to renew or approve an application to renew an operating permit for the operation of

or production from a well before the permit's expiration date, provided that the application is submitted in a timely manner and accompanied by required fees, and the permit holder is not requesting a change that would require a permit amendment. A district is not required to renew a permit if the applicant is delinquent in paying a required fee; is subject to pending enforcement action for a substantive violation of a district permit, order, or rule that has not been settled by agreement with the district or a final adjudication; or has not paid a civil penalty or has otherwise failed to comply with an order resulting from a final adjudication of a violation of a district permit, order, or rule. It authorizes a district to initiate an amendment. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 912 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Myra Crownover (R-‐Denton) establishes that an individual responsible for a

facility which may cause pollution is not required to notify the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, officials, or media whenever an ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE OR SPILL occurs that may cause pollution or adversely affect a public or private source of drinking water if the single accidental discharge or spill occurs at a wastewater treatment or collection facility owned or operated by a local government and: is 1,000 gallons or less; is not associated with another simultaneous accidental discharge or spill; has been controlled or removed before it enters water in the state or adversely affects a public or private source of drinking water; will not endanger human health or safety or the environment; and was not subject to other local regulations and reporting requirements. It requires the volume of an accidental discharge or spill to be calculated using a standard method established by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and requires the responsible individual to report monthly to TCEQ regarding accidental discharges and spills that do not require 24-‐hour notice. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 991 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) requires the General Land Office and the Texas Water Development Board to conduct a STUDY REGARDING THE USE OF WIND & SOLAR POWER to develop and desalinate brackish groundwater on real property owned by the state. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 1101 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Chris Paddie (R-‐Marshall) requires a REGIONAL WATER PLANNING GROUP, if no groundwater conservation district exists within the area of the planning group, to determine the supply of groundwater for regional planning purposes. It requires a regional water plan to include consideration of potential

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

impacts on public health, safety, or welfare in Texas with respect to existing regional water or drought planning efforts. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1148 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) sets out provisions relating to the functions of

the Public Utility Commission in relation to the economic regulation of a WATER & SEWER UTILITY. It authorizes the PUC to issue an emergency order relating to water rates and services with our without notice or opportunity for a hearing and authorizes the PUC to delegate the authority to receive applications and issue emergency orders to the executive director or to a representative to act on the executive director’s behalf. If the PUC issues an emergency order without a hearing, a hearing is required to affirm, modify or set aside the emergency order unless the person affected by the order waives the right to a hearing. It limits the emergency order to 180 days and provides for one 180-‐day extension. It requires a municipally owned utility, upon request, to disclose to a person the number of ratepayers who reside outside the corporate limits of the municipality and provide a list of the names and addresses of those ratepayers; however, it prohibits the utility from disclosing the address of a ratepayer who has requested that personal information to remain confidential. It allows the PUC to delegate the responsibility and authority to give reasonable notice of a hearing regarding a rate change of a Class A or Class B utility to an administrative law judge of the State Office of Administrative Hearings. It increases from 205 days to 265 days the maximum number of days the PUC may suspend the effective date of a rate change of a Class B utility. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1162 by Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) and Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) is a non-‐substantive recodification of local laws concerning WATER & WASTEWATER SPECIAL DISTRICTS. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on April 1, 2017. SB 1267 by Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) and Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) amends the Administrative Procedure Act to make the deadlines and provisions align more closely with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure concerning CONTESTED CASE HEARINGS. It requires state agencies to provide a detailed statement of the facts and the pertinent section of the statute or rule at least seven days (instead of three days) before the date set for the hearing. It authorizes a state agency that has been granted the power to summarily suspend a license to determine that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action and to issue an order to summarily suspend the license holder’s license pending proceedings for revocation or other action, provided that the agency incorporates a factual and legal basis establishing that imminent peril in the order. It requires the agency to initiate the proceedings for revocation or other action within 30 days after the summary suspension order is signed. It requires state agencies to notify each party to a contested case either personally; if agreed to by the party to be notified, by electronic means to the party’s attorney of record or the party is the party is not represented by counsel; or by first class, certified or registered mail sent to the attorney’s or party’s last known address. The communication must include a copy of the final decision or order within 15 days of it being signed. It requires the order to be signed within 60 days after the date the hearing is finally closed. It requires a motion for rehearing to be filed within 40 days of the decision or order being signed and requires state agencies to act on a motion for rehearing within 55 days, with an optional 10-‐day extension. It requires a motion for rehearing to identify the particular findings of fact or conclusions of law that are the subject of the complaint and to state the legal and factual basis for the claimed error. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1301 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) removes language specifying that there be six directors on the TEXAS RESOURCES FINANCE AUTHORITY and allows the directors to call a meeting on request of a majority of the directors, as opposed to three directors. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 1336 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Jim Keffer (R-‐Eastland) makes several changes to provisions governing GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS and makes technical corrections to the following water districts: Bexar Metropolitan Water District Edwards Aquifer Authority Clearwater Underground

Lost Pines Groundwater

Crockett County Groundwater

Mesa Underground

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

Sandy Land Underground

South Plains Underground

Santa Rita Underground

Sutton County Underground

Saratoga Underground

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

VETOED BILL – ENVIRONMENT HB 2647 by Trent Ashby (R-‐Lufkin) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) prohibits a groundwater conservation district from reducing or curtailing production from a well or limiting the GROUNDWATER PRODUCTION RATE of a well to a rate or amount that is less than the maximum annual amount of withdrawal as of September 1, 2014, for groundwater that supports the operation of a power generation facility or a mine that provides fuel to a power generation facility. VETO MESSAGE “Texas landowners have a constitutionally protected right to access the groundwater under their property. Government action affecting that vested right must be based only on very careful deliberation, which ideally should take place at the local level based on local needs and concerns. Statewide groundwater rules are less able to take vitally important local interests into account. Under current law, local groundwater conservation districts have the ability to implement specific management strategies, such as curtailment, that prioritize certain users as deemed appropriate after local deliberation. HB 2647 eliminates local discretion by mandating the preferential treatment of certain types of groundwater use over other important uses. If one class of landowners is automatically exempt from curtailment, others will have to bear an unequal burden when water is scarce. Enshrining in state law the rule that groundwater conservation districts will give priority to one class of water users could result in the abridgement of other users' groundwater rights. Groundwater management should be based on sound science and public input at the local level, not on one-‐size-‐fits-‐all state mandates like HB 2647.”

August 7, 2015 | Environmental Bills

General Business Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ General Business Bills HB 441 by Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) and Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) increases the period during which a person may use a certified copy of a court order as a restricted OCCUPATIONAL DRIVER’S LICENSE from 31 to 45 days after the effective date of the order. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 824 by John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) authorizes a package store permittee to SELL AN

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE to a customer after the hours of legal sale ends if the customer entered the store during hours in which the sale of alcohol is permitted, and is still in the store shopping after the designated end of the hours of legal sale. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1039 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) removes the requirement that CONTAINERS OF LIQUOR WITH A CAPACITY OF LESS THAN SIX FLUID OUNCES offered for sale in a package store be sold in units of

sealed packages featuring multiple bottles of liquor. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1077 by John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) includes one master sign

electrician member on the ELECTRICAL SAFETY & LICENSING ADVISORY BOARD. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1265 by Gene Wu (D-‐Houston) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) makes it a DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE to: deliver or distribute a solicitation in connection with a good or service that falsely represents that the solicitation is sent on behalf of a governmental entity; deliver a notice that resembles a governmental notice or form that represents or implies that a criminal penalty may be imposed if the recipient does not remit payment for the good or service; deliver a notice that resembles a check or other negotiable instrument or invoice, unless the portion of the solicitation that resembles a check or other negotiable instrument includes a notice stating “SPECIMEN-‐NON-‐NEGOTIABLE.” make a deceptive representation or designation about a synthetic substance that produces and is intended to produce an effect when consumed or ingested similar to the effect of a controlled substance; solicit employment by a licensed public insurance adjuster for the purpose of entering into a contract with an insurer or referring the insured to an attorney without the intent to actually perform the service customarily provided by a licensed public insurance adjuster.

It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1348 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) requires the Texas Alcoholic Beverage

Commission to approve DISTILLED SPIRITS OR WINE PRODUCTS for which a certificate of label has been approved and issued by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; and prohibits the commission from requiring additional approval for the product unless there is a change to the label or product that requires reissuance of the federal certificate of label approval. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1454 by John Raney (R-‐Bryan) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) authorizes the OWNER OF SHARES OF A MUTUAL FUND OR A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX to designate the name and a mailing or e-‐mail address of a representative of the owner on

a form prescribed by the comptroller. It clarifies that the owner’s representative for notice does not have any rights or access to the mutual fund shares. And clarifies that the running of the period of abandonment ceases immediately if a designated representative communicates to the holder that the representative knows the owner’s location and that the owner exists and has not abandoned the shares of the mutual fund. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2017.

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

HB 1626 by Eric Johnson (D-‐Dallas) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the Finance Commission and the Credit

Union Commission to administer a BANKING & CREDIT UNION DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT PROGRAM to encourage the establishment of branches of a financial institution in areas where there is a demonstrated need for banking or credit union. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1629 by Eric Johnson (D-‐Dallas) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the State Securities Board to adopt rules to regulate and facilitate ONLINE INTRASTATE CROWDFUNDING authorized small business development entities. The rules must: allow authorized small business development entities to list on their web portals offerings of securities by issuers in which they are financially interested; allow authorized small business development entities and their portals to list offerings of securities without offering investment advice; allow authorized small business development entities to subcontract the operations of a crowdfunding web portal to a third party; and limit the offerings of securities on an authorized small business development entity’s web portal to securities of issuers located within the service area of the authorized small business development entity.

It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2022 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) increases the maximum capacity of a CONTAINER

IN WHICH A PERSON CAN SELL WINE to a retail dealer from 8 gallons to 15.5 gallons. It was signed by the governor

on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2035 by Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) clarifies that local governmental entities

can regulate an establishment that derives 50 percent or more of the establishment’s gross revenue from the ON-‐ PREMISE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES if the establishment is located in a municipality or county, any portion of which is located within 50 miles of an international border. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2162 by Ron Simmons (R-‐Carrollton) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) prohibits a MUNICIPAL PERMIT FEE FOR AN ALARM SYSTEM from exceeding $50 per year for a residential location and $250 per year for other

locations in municipalities. It requires the fee to be used by the municipality to administer the municipal ordinance. It prohibits a municipality from terminating a law enforcement response because of excess false alarms if the false alarm fees are paid in full; and prohibits a municipality from refusing to issue an alarm system permit for a residential location solely because the location is an individual residential unit located in a multiunit housing facility. It establishes criteria for responding to alarms and penalties associated with false alarms. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2235 by Rodney Anderson (R-‐Grand Prairie) and Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) requires the secretary of state to reject an APPLICATION TO SERVE AS A NOTARY PUBLIC or revoke the commission of a notary if the secretary of state discovers that an applicant is not eligible to serve as a notary or has “good cause” to reject or terminate the commission. It codifies an attorney general opinion clarifying the circumstances when the secretary of state can take action on a notary application or revoke a notary commission. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 2255 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) requires one member of the TEXAS

STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING EXAMINERS to be a master plumber with at least five years experience as a master

plumber and at least ten years experience as a licensed journeyman plumber or master plumber; and one member who is a licensed engineer practicing in the field of plumbing engineering. It requires the board to employ at least one plumbing examiner that holds a plumber’s license, is knowledgeable of state and municipal plumbing regulations; and be qualified by experience and training in plumbing practice. It allows the board to credit up to 1,000 (instead of 500) hours of work experience if the applicant has completed the classroom portion

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

of a training program. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2358 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) establishes the FACILITATING BUSINESS RAPID

RESPONSE TO STATE DECLARED DISASTERS ACT. It exempts an out-‐of-‐state emergency or disaster response business

entity performing work during a disaster response period from taxes and licensing obligations. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2390 by Dwayne Bohac (R-‐Houston) and Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) prohibits a suit against an employer that establishes, maintains, or requires participation in an EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM unless:

the program discriminates on the basis of a prior medical condition, age, gender, or income level; or the cause of action is based on intentional or reckless conduct.

It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2391 by Dwayne Bohac (R-‐Houston) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) requires a seller, upon request by a

consumer, to REFUND THE BALANCE IN CASH ON A GIFT CARD that is used to make a purchase and that has a remaining balance of less than $2.50. The requirement would not apply to stored value cards that are: issued by a financial institution or air carrier, prepaid calling cards, loyalty or promotional rebates, issued as a refund for a return without receipt, or that had an initial value under $5 and cannot have additional value added. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2533 by Craig Goldman (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) repeals Section 101.62 of the Alcoholic

Beverage Code thereby repealing the offense that prohibits OFFENSIVE NOISE ON A PREMISE COVERED BY AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE or permit. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3742 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) authorizes the Texas Department of Licensing

and Regulation to adopt an alternative means of determining or verifying ELIGIBILITY FOR AN OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE issued by the department, including evaluating a person’s education, training, experience, and military service. It allows the department to waive prerequisites for obtaining a license of an applicant if the applicant holds a similar license in another jurisdiction or if Texas has a reciprocity agreement with another state for the license. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 367 by Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) and Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) prohibits ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE

HOLDERS from allowing another person to use or display their license; and makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense for a person to unlawfully display or use a permit or license issued to another person by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. It requires TABC to cancel an original or renewal license or permit of a license holder convicted of an offense under this law and to deny a permit application of a person convicted under this law for five years after the conviction. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 540 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) clarifies that the holder of a retail dealer’s on-‐premise late hours license to sell beer for on-‐premises consumption until 2:00 a.m. if the premises covered by the license is in an area where the sale of beer during those hours is authorized by the locality. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 641 by Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) and John Raney (R-‐Bryan) transfers provisions of the Finance

Code to the Business and Commerce Code that prohibits a merchant from imposing a surcharge on a buyer who uses a DEBIT OR STORED VALUE CARD instead of cash, a check, credit card, or similar means of payment. It authorizes the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney in the county in which the violation occurs to bring a suit to recover the civil penalty and an action in the name of the state to restrain or enjoin a person from

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

violating the prohibition; and allows a first-‐time violator to an opportunity to cure the violation. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 652 by Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) and Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) specifies that a FRANCHISOR

is not considered to be an employer of a franchisee or a franchisee’s employees (unless the franchisor has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in Texas to have exercised a type or degree or control over the franchisee or the franchisee’s employees not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor’s trademarks and brand) for the purposes of statutes related to: Professional employer organizations Employment discrimination Workers’ compensation Payment of wages Minimum wage

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 660 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Cesar Blanco (D-‐El Paso) establishes regional coordinators within the

VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAM at the Texas Veterans Commission. It was signed by the governor on May 22,

2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 680 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Giovanni Capriglione (D-‐Southlake) clarifies the WET OR DRY

STATUS of territory annexed or owned by the multi-‐county jurisdiction of City of Grapevine. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 700 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) clarifies that any electronic information, record, or other ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT, SUBMITTED TO THE TEXAS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMMISSION, including a permit application, that has an electronic signature with the required specific identifiers of the signatory has the same force and effect as a manual signature before a notary public and is considered a sworn statement for purposes of the criminal offense of making a false statement or false representation in an application for an alcoholic beverage permit or license. It was signed by the governor on May 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 807 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) requires state agencies that issue

licenses to waive the LICENSE APPLICATION & EXAMINATION FEES FOR MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS & VETERANS whose service, training, or education substantially meets all the requirements for the license and to service members, veterans, or military spouses who hold a current license issued by another jurisdiction for which the licensing requirements are substantially equivalent to those in Texas. It was signed by the governor on June 4, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 808 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) removes the condition on the authority of a

DISTILLER’S & RECITFIER’S PERMIT HOLDER to sell distilled spirits to ultimate consumers that the permit holder be located in a wet area; and instead conditions the authority for the permit holder to collect a fee for distilled spirits samplings on the permitted premises and to sell to ultimate consumers for consumption on the permitted premises distilled spirits manufactured or rectified by the permit holder on the permitted premises being located in an area where the sale of alcoholic beverages is legal. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 858 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) adds BREWPUB LICENSEES to the list of types of permittees and licenses that are allowed to apply for and receive label approval on beer, ale, or malt liquor. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 860 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Rene Oliveira (D-‐Brownsville) revises the Business Organizations Code to

revise statutory provisions to CORPORATIONS & FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS to reflect updated corporate practices. It was signed by the governor on May 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

SB 880 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) changes the name of the Wine

Industry Development and Marketing Advisory Committee to the WINE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE to assist and advise the Commissioner of Agriculture in determining the best and most productive and efficient expenditures of the WINE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT FUND. It requires the committee to submit an annual plan and budget to the Agriculture Commissioner by September 1, of each fiscal year and requires the commissioner to incorporate the committee recommendations into the department’s annual plan and budget by November 1 of each fiscal year. It re-‐establishes the Wine Industry Development Fund as a dedicated account to be used for administrative costs incurred by the department and for research and projects related to: Developing the Texas wine industry; Developing viticulture and enology-‐related education programs; Eliminating and eradicating diseases and pests that negatively impact the production of grapes and wine; and Developing technologies or practices that could benefit the production of grapes and wine.

It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 881 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Drew Springer (R-‐Muenster) dedicate up to $2 million in revenue from EXCISE TAXES ON WINE PRODUCED IN TEXAS to: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (increased from $50,000 to $830,000), Texas Tech University Viticulture and Enology program (increased from $50,000 to $365,000), Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute at Texas Tech University (increased from $65,000 to $150,000); T.V. Munson Vitaculture and Enology Center of the Grayson County Junior College District (increased from $50,000 to $150,000), and any remaining unappropriated revenue from sales and excise taxes on wine produced in Texas up to $300,000 (whichever is less) to the Wine Industry Development Fund for the development of technologies, strategies, and practices for mitigating or eliminating the effects of frost, pestilence, or infestation on grapevines.

It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 899 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Phil Stephenson (R-‐Wharton) exempts from the definition of money services businesses persons in the business of CURRENCY TRANSPORTATION who are registered as a motor carrier and licensed as an armored car or courier company if the person only transports currency from a person to the same person at another location or a financial institution to be deposited in an account belonging to the same person; and does not otherwise engage in the money transmission or currency exchange business without a license under the Finance Code. It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1228 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Bryan Hughes (R-‐Mineola) authorizes a child of a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission employee to be employed by the holder of an ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE OR PERMIT; and requires the commission to establish an agency policy requiring employees to disclose information regarding their children’s employment by a holder of an alcoholic beverage license or permit. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1307 by Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) and Susan King (R-‐Abiline) clarifies provisions related to OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES FOR MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS, military veterans, and military spouses, and authorizes a state agency to waive any licensing prerequisites for a military applicant, upon reviewing the applicant's credentials. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1313 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Jason Villalba (R-‐Dallas) requires business entities that provide consent in writing for the use, reservation, or REGISTRATION OF A SIMILAR BUSINESS NAME to provide the secretary of state a notarized written statement of the of the entity’s or person’s consent to the use, reservation, or registration. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

SB 1651 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Andrew Murr (R-‐Junction) authorizes grocery stores to employ 16-‐ and 17-‐ year-‐olds to work as GROCERY CASHIERS IN ALCOHOL ON/OFF-‐PREMISE SALES ESTABLISHMENTS, but it does not change the requirement that servers of alcohol to be at least 18 years old. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

VETOED BILL -‐ GENERAL BUISNESS

HB 1628 by Eric Johnson (D-‐Dallas) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) allows banks and credit unions to operate SAVINGS PROMOTION RAFFLES with cash prizes in which the entry ticket is a savings account deposit receipt.

VETO MESSAGE “The Texas Constitution authorizes raffles to be conducted only for charitable purposes. When

non-‐charitable businesses conduct drawings, they typically allow entry with ‘no purchase necessary,’ which generally exempts the drawing from the constitutional restrictions on raffles or lotteries. HB 1628 authorizes banks and credit unions to conduct raffles in which raffle tickets are offered only in exchange for opening a savings account. Opening an account and paying any customary fees associated with the account amounts to consideration paid for the raffle ticket and places such a raffle squarely within the gambling prohibitions of the Texas Constitution and Penal Code. The bill would therefore require a conforming constitutional amendment in order to be effective. No such constitutional amendment was proposed by the Legislature.”

August 7, 2015 | General Business Bills

Higher Education Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Higher Education Bills HB 100 by John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) authorizes the issuance of TUITION REVENUE BONDS of $3.1 billion for capital construction projects at 64 campuses at Texas colleges and universities. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 197 by Four Price (R-‐Amarillo) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) requires public institutions of higher education including general academic teaching institutions, medical and dental units, junior colleges, state colleges, and technical institutes to post information regarding MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES available to students at the institution on the institution’s Internet website. The web page must include the address of the nearest local mental health authority. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 382 by Terry Canales (D-‐Edingurg) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) requires the board of trustees of the

SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT to adopt and implement a plan to expand opportunity for instructional programs consisting of postsecondary courses leading to an associate degree offered in a classroom setting within the corporate limits of the cities of Edcouch or Elsa beginning with the 2019-‐2020 academic year. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 495 by Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) extends the sunset date on the requirement for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to award grants to NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS from the permanent fund for higher education nursing, allied health, and other health-‐related programs from 2015 to 2019. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 505 by Eddie Rodriguez (D-‐Austin) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) prohibits the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from adopting a rule that limits the number of DUAL CREDIT COURSES or hours in which a high school student may enroll. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 658 by John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) establishes a campus of the TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE System in Fort Bend County, and includes Fort Bend County among the counties in which

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approval of technical-‐vocational programs offered by a campus or extension center is not required. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 671 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Robert Nichols (R-‐Jacksonville) authorizes STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY to assess an intercollegiate athletics fee of up to $10 per semester credit hour (up to 15 semester credit hours) if approved by a majority vote of the students. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 699 by Poncho Nevarez (D-‐Eagle Pass) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) requires public institutions of higher

education to establish a POLICY ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT. The policy must include definitions of prohibited behavior; sanctions for violations; and the protocol for reporting and responding to reports of campus sexual assault. It must be approved by the institution’s governing board before final adoption by the institution. The policy must be made available to students, faculty, and staff members by including the policy in the student and personnel handbooks and posting it on the institution’s Internet website. Entering freshmen and undergraduate transfer students are required to attend an orientation on the institution’s campus sexual assault policy prior to or during the first semester term of the student’s enrollment at the campus. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 700 by Helen Giddings (D-‐Dallas) repeals the TEXAS B-‐ON-‐TIME STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM. It continues the program for students currently receiving the awards but requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to redistribute the balance in the account to eligible institutions where the institution’s percentage of the total tuition set-‐aside was greater than the percentage of students at the institution who received a B-‐On-‐time loan. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

HB 909 by Larry Phillips (R-‐Sherman) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) authorizes a MINOR TO TASTE AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE if the minor is at least 18 years old and is enrolled as a student at a public or private institution of higher education or a career school or college that offers a program in CULINARY ARTS, viticulture, enology or wine technology, brewing or beer technology, or distilled spirits production or technology; and the beverage is tasted for educational purposes as part of the curriculum for the course. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1000 by John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) changes the Texas Competitive Knowledge Fund to the TEXAS RESEARCH UNIVERSITY FUND and bases the annual amount appropriated to eligible institutions on the average amount of total research funds expended by each institution per year for the three preceding state fiscal years. It changes the Research Development Fund to the TEXAS COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH FUND and bases the annual appropriation on the average amount of restricted research funds expended by each institution per year for the three preceding state fiscal years. And, it establishes the CORE RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND to promote increased research capacity at emerging research universities. The annual appropriation to eligible institutions are allocated: 50 percent based on the average amount of restricted research funds expended by each institution per year for the three preceding state fiscal years; and 50 percent based on the average amount of total research funds expended by each institution per year for the three preceding state fiscal. Money from the fund can only be used for the support and maintenance of educational and general activities, including research and student services that promote increased research capacity at the institution. Funds received by an institution can be carried forward into subsequent fiscal years. Each eligible institution that receives money from the fund must report annually to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Legislative Budget Board on the use of money received from the fund. It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1049 by Eddie Rodriguez (D-‐Austin) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) classifies courses of INSTRUCTION IN MASSAGE THERAPY provided by a licensed massage school as a postsecondary education program and authorizes

massage schools that provide instruction to persons beyond the age of compulsory education to operate educational programs in massage therapy at the postsecondary level. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1051 by John Wray (R-‐Waxahachie) and Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) establishes a campus of the TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM in the City of Red Oak in Ellis County. It was signed by the governor on May 21, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1054 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to prescribe a score below which a student is eligible for basic academic skills education for each assessment instrument designated by the board for use by institutions of higher education to determine the need for DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1287 by Ron Simmons (R-‐Carrollton) and Konni Burton (R-‐Colleyville) requires institutions of higher education

to have a link on the institution’s Internet website to the TEXAS CONSUMER RESOURCE FOR EDUCATION & WORKFORCE STATISTICS (“TEXAS CREWS”) report on gainful employment applicable to the institution for the most

recent year for which the report is available. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1583 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires public junior colleges to

establish a BLOCK SCHEDULE CURRICULUM for at least five ALLIED HEALTH, NURSING & CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATE DEGREES or certificate programs offered under which courses required for a student’ enrollment in the

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

program as a full-‐time student are offered each semester in scheduled blocks designed to provide scheduling predictability from semester to semester and allow students to enroll in an entire block schedule curriculum rather than enrolling in individual courses. It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1807 by Elliott Naishtat (D-‐Austin) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to maintain an inventory of postsecondary educational programs and services provided for PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES by institutions of higher education. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1992 by John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) provides that an institution of higher education

may not require a score of more than three as the MINIMUM SCORE REQUIRED ON AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION for granting course credit unless the institution’s chief academic officer determines, based on

evidence, that a higher score on the examination is necessary to indicate a student is sufficiently prepared to be successful in a related, more advanced course for which the lower-‐division course is a prerequisite. It requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in consultation with institutions of higher education, the board’s Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee, and other interested parties, to conduct a study on the performance of undergraduate students at institutions of higher education who receive undergraduate course credit for achieving required scores on one or more Advanced Placement examinations. The study must compare the academic performance retention rates and graduation rates of students who complete a lower-‐division course at an institution and students who receive credit for that course for a score of three or more on an Advanced Placement examination, disaggregated by score. It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2396 by Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) repeals Section 61.539 of the Education Code,

which requires medical schools to set aside two percent of tuition for the PHYSICIAN EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT program; and repeals Section 61.9731 of the Education Code, which requires law schools to set aside one percent of tuition for the REPAYMENT OF EDUCATION LOANS OF ATTORNEYS. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2472 by John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) repeals Section 51.803(a-‐3) of the Education

Code which sunsets the University of Texas at Austin’s ability to fulfill 75 percent of their admissions under the top ten percent AUTOMATIC ADMISSIONS rule rather than 100 percent of admissions under the top ten percent rule after the 2017-‐2018 academic year. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2568 by Geanie Morrison (R-‐Victoria) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) authorizes the University of Houston

System to impose a student center fee of up to $150 per regular semester at the UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-‐ VICTORIA. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2628 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish alignment between the COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS standards and the knowledge, skills, and abilities students are expected to demonstrate in career and technical education. It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 2629 by Kyle Kacal (R-‐College Station) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) makes it an offense for a

person to DEFACE ANY BUILDINGS, statues, monuments, memorials, trees, shrubs, grasses, or flowers on the grounds of a PUBLIC OR PRIVATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

HB 3078 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) establishes the UNIFORM PRE-‐NURSING CURRICULUM ADVISORY COMMITTEE to develop and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the

creation of a uniform pre-‐nursing curriculum for undergraduate professional nursing programs offered by institutions of higher education. The recommendations must specify the prerequisite courses a student must complete to qualify for consideration for admission to an undergraduate professional nursing program and the content for each course. It requires the advisory committee to assess the prerequisite courses required for each undergraduate nursing program in Texas and the ability of a student to use course credit earned at one institution of higher education for admission to an undergraduate professional nursing program at another institution of higher education. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3337 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) prohibits state agencies from reimbursing administers or STATE EMPLOYEES FOR TUITION EXPENSES for training or education programs offered by institutions of higher education unless the programs were successfully completed at an accredited institution and unless the executive agency head authorizes tuition reimbursement payments. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 3348 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) requires the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to establish a pilot project to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of authorizing

BACCALAUREATE DEGREE programs in the field of DENTAL HYGIENE at a public junior college that offers a degree

program in that field, has a main campus located in the county seat of a county with a population greater than 200,000, and includes territory in at least six public school districts located in two counties. It requires the coordinating board to report to the legislature on the progress of the pilot project by January 1, 2019. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 11 by Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) and Allen Fletcher (R-‐Tomball) allows CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE HOLDERS to carry a concealed handgun in approved areas of college and university campuses. It has been sent to the governor.

SB 18 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) expands GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION

(GME). Key provisions include:

Graduate Medical Education Planning Grants Program: It authorizes the program to provide partnership grants to hospitals, medical schools, and community-‐based, ambulatory patient care centers to develop new graduate medical education programs with first-‐year residency positions, regardless of whether the entity has offered a graduate medical education previously. Grants for Unfilled Residency Positions: It allows grants for first-‐year residency positions that were unfilled as of July 1, 2013 and specifies that grants can be awarded for the duration of the residency (instead of for two consecutive fiscal years). If demand exceeds available appropriations, priority funding goes to medical specialties determined to be at critical shortage levels. Grants for Program Expansion and New Programs: It directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to award grants to new or existing graduate medical education programs under Grants for Program Expansion or New Programs. The grants can be awarded for the period in which a resident fills the position that is funded by the program. Research on Supply of Physicians: It requires the Department of State Health Services to conduct research on the supply of physicians in Texas and the ability of the state’s graduate medical education system to meet the state’s health care needs. And, it requires the coordinating board to consider this research when determining critical shortage levels. Permanent Fund Supporting Graduate Medical Education: It establishes the Permanent Fund Supporting Graduate Medical Education administered by the Texas Safekeeping Trust Company.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

Texas Medical Liability Joint Underwriting Association: It requires the Texas Department of Insurance to complete an actuarial study of the Texas Medical Liability Joint Underwriting Association to determine the amount of assets necessary for the JUA’s known and unknown insurance claims and costs associated with those claims and administrative expenses of the association. Within 60 days of completion of the study, the association must transfer assets not obligated to the Permanent Fund Supporting Graduate Medical Education. The TDI study must also determine whether a necessity exists to suspend the JUA’s ability to issue new policies.

It was signed by the governor on June 13, 2015 and takes effect on August 1, 2016.

SB 24 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) requires TRAINING FOR MEMBERS OF HIGHER

EDUCATION GOVERNING BOARDS to be in the member’s first year of board service (instead of in the first two years

of service) and requires the training to include:

the orientation course provided to newly appointed state officers, board members and executive officials; ethics training; limitations on the authority of the governing board; and information on student privacy. It prohibits a board member from voting on a budgetary or personnel matter until the orientation course is completed. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 27 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) requires telephone MEETINGS OF THE BOARDS

of institutions of higher education to be broadcast over the Internet. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 37 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Elliott Naishtat (D-‐Austin) requires the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to collect data and maintain a database relating to the participation of persons with

INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES in public higher education including data regarding applications for

admission, admissions, retention, graduation, and professional licensing. It requires an ongoing study by the coordinating board submitted to the legislature before each legislative session that includes information on: the data collected and maintained to analyze factors affecting the participation of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities at institutions of higher education; and the recruitment of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities that identify previously made recruitment efforts, limitations on recruitment, and possible methods for recruitment. It requires institutions of higher education to submit information to assist the coordinating board in compiling the required information. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 42 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and J.D. Sheffield (R-‐Gatesville) prohibits the governor from appointing a

STUDENT REGENT who has not submitted an application to the student government of the institution of higher education. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 44 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) adds undergraduate research and

undergraduate financial aid grants to the list of items an institution of higher education can receive to qualify for

TEXAS RESEARCH INCENTIVE PROGRAM matching grants. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes

effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

SB 239 by Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) and John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) requires the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to establish a student LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS that have completed up to five consecutive years of practice in a mental health professional

shortage area and provide mental health services to Medicaid patients, Children’s Health Insurance Program patients, or persons in a correctional facility. It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 317 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Sergio Munoz, Jr. (D-‐Palmview) clarifies the statutory name of The UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 453 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) increases the scaled score of 50 percent to

60 percent for the minimum score required for public school students to receive CREDIT BY EXAMINATION administered through the College-‐Level Examination Program. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 495 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Doug Miller (R-‐New Braunfels) deletes Gillespie County and the part of

Nixon Smiley Consolidated Independent School District located in Gonzales County from the AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 596 by Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) and Myra Crownover (R-‐Denton) authorizes the board of regents of TEXAS

WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY to levy a student centers fee of up to $75 (instead of $40) per student, per semester or up to $35 (instead of $20) per student per summer session and allows them to increase the fee to up to $150 if the increase is approved by a majority vote of the students participating in the election. It requires revenue from the fee to be deposited in the Texas Woman’s University Student Center Fee Account under the control of the university’s student fee advisory committee. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate.

SB 632 by Troy Fraser (R-‐Marble Falls) and Angie Chen Button (R-‐Richardson) establishes the GOVERNOR’S

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INITIATIVE to provide 50/50 matching grants to assist universities with recruiting distinguished researchers. It will be administered by the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office within the office of the governor.

Distinguished Researcher: It defines “distinguished researcher” as a researcher who is a Nobel laureate or a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, or the National Academy of Medicine. Grant Applications: It requires grant applications to identify the source and amount of the eligible institution’s matching funds and to demonstrate that the proposed use of the grant has the support of the institution’s president, the governing board, the chair of the institution’s governing board, and the chancellor (if the institution is a component of a university system). The grant applications should identify a specific distinguished researcher being recruited. Matching Funds: The 50 percent match from the university can be committed from any funds of the institution other than appropriated general revenue. Prohibitions – A state matching grant cannot be used to recruit a distinguished researcher from another Texas public, private, or independent institution of higher education. Priority Funding: It requires the office to give priority to grant proposals that involve the recruitment of distinguished researchers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. Within those fields, the office must give priority to proposals that demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of contributing substantially to the state’s national and global economic competitiveness.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

Emerging Technology Fund Repeal: It repeals Chapter 490 of the Government Code thereby abolishing the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and transferring 45 percent of the unexpended balance to the Texas Enterprise Fund and 40 percent to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement the Governor’s University Research Initiative. Royalties, revenue, and other financial benefits realized from the commercialization of intellectual or real property developed from an ETF award will continue to be distributed in accordance with the terms of the contract unless the award recipient and the governor agree otherwise. Funds returned or repaid to the state by an award recipient will be credited to the governor’s university research initiative fund unless the recipient and the governor agree otherwise. Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization are also abolished. Confidentiality of Previously Collected ETF Information: It maintains the confidentiality of previously collected information related to applicants for and recipients of ETF grants including the identity, background, finance, marketing plans, trade secrets, or commercially or academically sensitive information of an individual or entity. Information that can be disclosed includes: the name and address of an individual or entity that received an award from the fund; the amount of funding received by an award recipient; a brief description of the funded project; a brief description of the equity position of the state, if applicable; and any other information with the consent of the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, and the individual or entity that received an ETF award. ETF Portfolio Management: It requires the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company to manage and wind up the state’s emerging technology investment portfolio and to wind up the portfolio in a manner that provides for the maximum return on the state’s investment. It allows the trust company to acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind of investment or associated assets that a prudent investor, exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in light of the purposes, terms distribution requirements, and other circumstances then prevailing pertinent to each investment or associated asset. Any realized proceeds, less administration costs, must be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. Any balance remaining in the ETF on final liquidation by the trust company must be remitted to the comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund. Biennial Reporting: It requires the governor to submit a biennial report at the beginning of each regular session of the legislature to the Senate and House and post on the governor’s Internet website a report on matching grants made to eligible institutions for the fund including: the total amount of matching funds granted by the office; the total amount of matching funds granted to each recipient institution; a brief description of each distinguished researcher recruited by each institution, including the amount of external research funding that followed the distinguished researcher to the institution; a brief description of the expenditures made from the matching grant funds for each distinguished researcher; and a brief description of each distinguished researcher’s contribution to the state ‘s economic competitiveness (if available) including any patents issued to the researcher and any external research funding, public or private, obtained by the distinguished researcher.

It was signed by the governor on June 3, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. Similar provisions included in HB 26.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

SB 685 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and John Raney (R-‐Bryan) clarifies that an EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER

ADVISORY BOARD is considered to be a governmental body for purposes of the state’s open meetings and public information law; and allows advisory board meetings by electronic means as authorized by state open meetings laws. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 686 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) allows state appropriations to the MATH & SCIENCE SCHOLARS LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM, specifies that the teacher must be teaching in a school (instead of school district) that receives Title I federal funding and allows the teacher to be teaching under a probationary teaching certificate. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 806 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Susan King (R-‐Abilene) requires the Texas Workforce

Commission in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to annually report the results of the COLLEGE CREDIT FOR HEROES PROGRAM including: the results of any grants awarded; the best practices for veterans and military service members to achieve maximum academic or workforce education credit at institutions of higher education for military experience, education, and training obtained during military service; measures needed to facilitate the award of academic or workforce education credit by institutions of higher education for military experience, education, and training obtained during military service; and other related measures needed to facilitate the entry of trained, qualified veterans and military service members into the workforce.

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 947 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the creation of more WORK-‐STUDY JOBS that are not on college campuses. It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 1066 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) changes eligibility requirements for

institutions of higher education to participate in the TEXAS SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATHEMATICS (T-‐STEM) CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM to allow institutions three instead of two years for 70 percent of the

institutions graduating class to have graduated with an associate degree or within nine months after graduation have enrolled in upper-‐division baccalaureate degree courses or become employed. It was signed by the governor on May 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1189 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) requires public junior college districts to establish a MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM at each junior college in the district. The multidisciplinary studies associate degree program must require a student to successfully complete the junior college’s core curriculum and the courses selected by the student in the student’s degree plan. Upon completion of 30 or more semester credit hours of coursework in a multidisciplinary studies associate degree program, the student is required to meet with an academic advisor to complete a degree plan that accounts for all remaining credit hours required for the completion of the degree program and emphasizes the student’s transition to a four-‐year college or university of the student’s choice and preparations for the student’s intended field of study or major at the college or university. It requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules ensuring that a multidisciplinary studies associate degree program is established at each public junior college; and the common application form contains a description of multidisciplinary studies associate degree programs. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

SB 1191 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Myra Crownover (R-‐Denton) sets the allocation of the annual

CONSTITUTIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION and technical colleges and increases the

overall allocation from $262.5 million to $393.75 million. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on August 31, 2015.

SB 1470 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and John Raney (R-‐Bryan) authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Board to enter into a STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT among states, districts, and territories regarding the delivery of postsecondary distance education that establishes comparable standards for the provision of distance education by public or private degree-‐granting postsecondary educational institutions in each of the states, districts, or territories covered by the agreement to students of the other states, districts, or territories covered under the agreement. It requires the board to administer an agreement entered into including by: establishing an application and approval process for a degree-‐granting postsecondary educational institution with its principal campus located in Texas to participate under the agreement; and maintain a dispute resolution procedure for complaints regarding participating postsecondary educational institutions located in Texas. It requires the board to take appropriate action to terminate an institution’s operation within Texas if the board obtains evidence that a public or private postsecondary educational institution established outside Texas that is providing courses within the state under a state authorization reciprocity agreement is in apparent violation of the agreement. It allows public institutions of higher education established outside of Texas to offer a course within Texas without the approval of the coordinating board if the course is provided in accordance with a state authorization reciprocity agreement. It requires the coordinating board to develop and submit a plan and application for entering into a state authorization reciprocity agreement through the Southern Regional Education Board or other appropriate organization no later than September 1, 2016. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1543 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and James Frank (R-‐Wichita Falls) requires institutions of higher education

that sort applicants by high school graduating class rank to place applicants that have successfully completed a

NONTRADITIONAL SECONDARY EDUCATION that does not include a high school graduating class ranking at or above

the average high school graduating class rank of undergraduate applicants to the institution who have equivalent standardized testing scores as the applicant. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1624 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Marisa Marquez (D-‐El Paso) adds information on available MENTAL

HEALTH & SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES offered by the institution or by any associated organizations or programs;

and early warning signs that are often present in and appropriate intervention for a person who may be considering suicide to the required orientation for undergraduate students. It was signed by the governor on June 87, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1750 by Royce West (D-‐Dallas) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) requires eligible institutions of higher education

to ensure that between 20 and 50 percent of the EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS PROVIDED THROUGH THE WORK-‐STUDY program are provided by employers located off campus. It requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to report to the legislature and post the report on the coordinating board’s website on the number of students employed through the Texas College Work-‐Study Program disaggregated by the employment position location on or off campus and the employer’s status as a for-‐profit or non profit entity. The initial report must be submitted by May 1, 2019. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 2031 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) creates an exception to the statutory posting

timeline for PUBLICATION OF THE FACTORS CONSIDERED FOR ADMISSION to new graduate and professional programs if the accrediting body stipulates a different timeline. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

VETOED BILL -‐ HIGHER EDUCATION SB 1655 by Royce West (D-‐Dallas) and Geanie Morrison (R-‐Victoria) authorizes the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board to charge a fee to cover all or a portion of the board’s costs associated with issuing, maintaining, or revising a CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORIZATION OR CERTIFICATE OR AUTHORITY and maintaining a repository for student transcripts from closed institutions. VETO MESSAGE “The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board already has the legal authority to perform the services described in SB 1655. The primary purpose of the bill is to raise more revenue for the Board by creating new fees that will ultimately be paid for by students through increased tuition. These fees would be unnecessary burdens on institutions of higher education and their students. The Board should operate within its existing resources.”

August 7, 2015 | Higher Education Bills

HR/Employment Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ HR/Employment Bills HB 931 by Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) and Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) provides that a person is eligible to receive

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS on their waiting period claim if the person has been totally or partially unemployed for at least seven consecutive days and has returned to full-‐time employment, or if the person has exhausted his/her regular benefits for the current year, other than benefits applicable to the waiting period. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1251 by Carol Alvarado (D-‐Houston) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the Texas Workforce Commission, in the case of a partial acquisition of an organization, trade, or business of an employing unit for which the transfer of COMPENSATION EXPERIENCE is required, to allow the predecessor employer and successor employer to jointly submit information necessary for making a determination that the part of the organization, trade, or business transferred is definitely identifiable and searchable and that compensation experience can be specifically attributed to that part of the organization. Following a partial acquisition of an organization, trade, or business of an employing unit, substantially common ownership does not exist solely because the predecessor employing unit has the right to repossess the part acquired by the successor employing unit in the event of the successor's failure to complete a condition of the acquisition. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 1657 by Hubert Vo (D-‐Houston) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) clarifies that an employer is prohibited

from receiving a surplus credit rate if any DELINQUENT UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION CONTRIBUTIONS are due on the computation date, rather than on the contribution date. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3373 by Doug Miller (R-‐New Braunfels) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) establishes that an

employer is not liable for paying a reimbursement for UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS paid to an individual if the individual’s separation from work resulted from being discharged for misconduct or voluntarily leaving work without good cause. A reimbursing employer would be authorized to contest reimbursements billed to them by the Texas Workforce Commission through prescribed dispute resolution procedures. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3547 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) allows a private employer to

adopt a voluntary VETERAN’S EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE. The policy must be in writing and must be applied reasonably and in good faith in employment decisions regarding hiring, promotion, or retention during a reduction in the employer’s workforce. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3685 by Charles “Doc” Anderson (R-‐Waco) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) allows individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age, physical impairment, developmental disability, mental illness, or intellectual disability or injury to qualify for UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS while the individual is in a training at a facility operated by a charitable organization under a rehabilitation program. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016. SB 529 by Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) and Phil King (R-‐Weatherford) clarifies that a LANDMAN is not

eligible for UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION if the compensation paid to the landman directly relates only to the performance of a service performed for a private for-‐profit person as an independent contractor under a written contract. It was signed by the governor on May 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 664 by Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) and Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) authorizes an employer to discharge an employee,

regardless of contractual obligations, based on a reasonable factual basis that the employee FALSIFIED OR MISREPRESENTED MILITARY RECORDS to obtain employment or employment benefits. It authorizes an employee

who believes he/she was wrongfully terminated under this law to bring suit against the employer in district court in the county in which the termination occurred for appropriate relief, including rehiring or reinstatement to the

August 7, 2015 | HR/Employment Bills

employee’s previous job, payment of back wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits to which the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not been terminated. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 805 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and John Raney (R-‐Bryan) requires each state agency to establish a

GOAL OF HIRING, in full-‐time positions, a number of VETERANS equal to at least 20 percent of the total number of employees at the agency, and authorizes each state agency to establish a higher goal and to designate an open position as a veteran’s position and only accept applications from qualified veterans. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | HR/Employment Bills

Privacy Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Privacy Bills HB 372 by Debbie Riddle (R-‐Tomball) and John Whitmire (D-‐Houston) requires SEX OFFENDERS who are on community supervision parole or mandatory supervision who are assigned a numeric risk level or two or three to submit to regular inspection or monitoring of the offender’s electronic devices used to access the Internet. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 764 by Susan King (R-‐Abilene) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) requires the TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES to develop a database that does not include identifying information. It requires DSHS to make a

form available on the DSHS website for use by providers and requires providers to notify patients whose health data is being collected. The notice must include the name of the agency or entity receiving the data and of an individual within the agency or entity that the patient can contact regarding the collection of data. It requires the procedures adopted by the executive commissioner that establish the accuracy and consistency of the public use data to meet available best practices and national standards for public research on and consumer use of health care data collected by governmental agencies. It requires an annual report describing the security measures taken to protect the data and any breaches, attempted cyber attacks, and security issues related to the data that are encountered during the calendar year. If a cyber attack occurs, the Department of State Health Services is required to notify the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It prohibits the department from collecting a fee for the data from a health and human services agency. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 896 by Ana Hernandez (D-‐Houston) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) applies the offense of BREACH OF

COMPUTER SECURITY to a person who knowingly accesses a computer, computer network, or computer system

that is owned by the government or a business or other commercial entity with the intent to defraud or harm another or alter, damage or delete property in violation of a clear and conspicuous prohibition by the owner of the computer, computer network, or computer system or a contractual agreement to which the person has expressly agreed and with the intent to obtain or use a file, data, or proprietary information stored in the computer, network, or system to defraud or harm another or alter, damage or delete property. It is a defense to prosecution that the actor’s conduct consisted solely of action taken pursuant to a contract that was entered into with the owner of the computer, computer network, or computer system for the purpose of assessing the security of the computer, network, or system or providing other security-‐related services. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1481 by Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) and Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) prohibits the OPERATION OF AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT less than 400 feet over a critical infrastructure facility; prohibits an unmanned aircraft from making

contact with or coming within a distance that is close enough to interfere with the operations or causing a disturbance to a critical infrastructure facility unless the unmanned aircraft is operated by: the federal government, the state, or a governmental entity; a law enforcement agency or person under contract with a law enforcement agency; an owner or operator of the critical infrastructure facility; a person who has the prior written consent of the owner or operator of the targeted facility;

the owner or occupant of the property on which the critical infrastructure facility is located or a person who has prior written consent of the owner or occupant; or an operator that is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over that airspace. A critical infrastructure facility includes: a petroleum or alumina refinery; an electric power generation facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control center; a chemical, polymer, or rubber manufacturing facility; a water intake structure, water treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant or pump station;

August 7, 2015 | Privacy Bills

a natural gas compressor station; a liquid natural gas terminal or storage facility; a telecommunications central switching office; a port, railroad switching yard, trucking terminal or other freight transportation facility; a gas processing plant, including a plant used in the processing treatment, or fractionation of natural gas; a transmission facility used by a federally licensed radio or television station; a steelmaking facility that uses an electric arc furnace to make steel; a dam that is classified as a high hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or any portion of an above ground oil or gas or chemical pipeline that is enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders. A first offense under this law is a Class B misdemeanor and subsequent offense(s) are Class A misdemeanors. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1491 by Ruth Jones McClendon (D-‐San Antonio) and Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) prohibits a business

entity from publishing CONFIDENTIAL JUVENILE RECORD INFORMATION or confidential criminal record information of a child. It requires business entities to immediately remove the information from the website or publication if the business receives a written notice that the business is publishing prohibited information. It provides that the business is not in violation of this law if the business entity receives written consent from the child after his/her 18th birthday; the publication of the information is authorized or required by another law; or the business entity is an interactive computer services, as defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 230, and published material provided by another person. Also exempted are: statewide juvenile information and case management systems; a publication of general circulation or an Internet website related to such a publication that contains news or other information, including a magazine, periodical newsletter, newspaper, pamphlet, or report; a radio or television station that holds a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission; an entity that provides information service or that is an interactive computer service; or

a telecommunications provider. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1912 by Gary Elkins (R-‐Houston) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires the executive director of the Department of Information Resources to employ a STATEWIDE DATA COORDINATOR to improve the control and security of information collected by state agencies; promote between state agencies the sharing of information, including customer information; and reduce information collection costs incurred by the state. It requires the statewide data coordinator to: improve interagency information coordination; reduce duplicative information collection; increase accountability and ensure compliance with statutes and rules requiring agencies to share information; improve information management and analysis to increase information security, uncover fraud and waste, reduce agency costs, improve agency operations, and verify compliance with applicable laws; encourage agencies to collect and post on the agencies’ Internet websites information related to agency functions that is in an open file format and is machine-‐readable, exportable, and easily accessible by the public; and encourage the evaluation of open document formats for storing data and documents generated by state agencies.

August 7, 2015 | Privacy Bills

It requires state agencies to cooperate with the statewide data coordinator in fulfilling the requirements of this law. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2167 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) allows UNMANNED AIRCRAFT to capture an image if the image is captured:

for the purpose of professional or scholarly research and development or for another academic purpose by a person acting on behalf of a public or private institution of higher education; by a registered professional land surveyor in connection with the practice of professional surveying providing that no individual is identifiable in the image; or by a Texas licensed professional engineer in connection with the practice of engineering.

It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1 2015.

HB 3628 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) requires the Director of the

Department of Public Safety to adopt rules governing the use of UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX. The rules can prohibit the use of or authorize limited use of unmanned aircraft in the capitol complex. It makes it a Class B misdemeanor if a person violates the adopted rules. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 4046 by Carol Alvarado (D-‐Houston) and Rodney Ellis (D-‐Houston) clarifies that a STUDENT’S EDUCATION RECORDS are confidential and exempt from public disclosure unless the disclosure is authorized by federal law.

And, it adds information related to an applicant for admission to an institution of higher education to statutory provisions requiring confidentiality of student records. It allows confidential student information to be provided to a parent or legal guardian to an applicant that is a minor. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 34 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) requires the Department of Information

Resources to submit a report prior to each legislative session evaluating the INFORMATION SECURITY OF THE STATE’S INFORMATION RESOURCES. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 344 by Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) and Tony Dale (R-‐Cedar Park) changes the offense of ONLINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR to apply to persons age 17 or older with the intent to commit a crime under the Code of Criminal

Procedure Section 62.001 (5) (A) which is continuous sexual abuse of a young child, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, or prohibited sexual conduct; (5) (B) which is compelling prostitution, sexual performance by a child, or possession or promotion of child pornography; or (5) (K) which is trafficking of persons. It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1135 by Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) and Mary Gonzalez (D-‐El Paso) provides injunctive relief, damages,

reasonable attorneys fees, and court costs for a person depicted in INTIMATE VISUAL MATERIAL if another person discloses the material without consent of the depicted person. It does not apply to a claim brought against an interactive computer service, as defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 230. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1213 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Rene Oliveira (D-‐Brownsville) requires state agencies to provide

written notice to a person to whom the agency releases DE-‐IDENTIFIED INFORMATION that the information is de-‐ identified information. It requires a person who sells covered information or receives compensation for the transfer or disclosure of covered information to provide written notice to the person to whom the information is sold, transferred or disclosed that the information is de-‐identified information obtained from a state agency. It makes it a Class A misdemeanor to re-‐identify or attempt to RE-‐IDENTIFY PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION about an individual who is the subject of covered information or knowingly disclose or release covered

August 7, 2015 | Privacy Bills

information that was re-‐identified in violation of Section 506 of the Business and Commerce Code. It is a defense to prosecution if the person was re-‐identifying the covered information for the purpose of a study or other scholarly research, including performing an evaluation or test of software intended to de-‐identify information and did not release or publish the names or other information identifying any subjects of the re-‐identified covered information or the person obtained informed, written consent from the individual who is the subject of the covered information. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1317 by Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) and Doug Miller (R-‐New Braunfels) makes it an offense to TRANSMIT A VISUAL IMAGE of an intimate area of another person without the person’s consent. It prohibits a court from

allowing visual material involving a child under the age of 14 to be copied or disseminated during the course of a criminal hearing or proceeding of an offense under this law and requires the court to place such material under seal and can only lift the seal upon a finding that it is in the best interest of the public. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1714 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) allows institutions of higher education to

request the submission of a signed consent form authorizing the institution to release INFORMATION REGARDING A STUDENT’S ACADEMIC COURSES, GRADES, & CREDIT INFORMATION with each application for undergraduate transfer

admission to the institution or request a student to release the student’s transcript by the institution. It allows institutions of higher education to release student information through the National Student Clearinghouse or similar national electronic data sharing and exchange platform. It establishes a procedure for lower division institutions to receive course completion information to help facilitate REVERSE-‐TRANSFER CREDIT. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1844 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Armando Walle (D-‐Houston) establishes the INTERAGENCY DATA COORDINATION & TRANSPARENCY COMMISSION to study and review:

The current public data structure, classification, sharing and reporting protocols for state agencies; The possibility of collecting an depositing data from state agencies online in an open source format that is machine-‐readable, exportable, and easily accessible by the public; Methods to structure, classify, and share data among state agencies; Methods to more efficiently gather and process data; Methods to standardize data across agencies; Methods to incorporate reporting practices by state agencies into the open data system of the state; Methods to improve coordination of interagency data; Methods to reduce the costs and of collecting data; Methods to reduce duplicative data and information; Methods to increase accountability and ensure state agencies share and report the data collected by state agencies; Methods to improve information management and analysis to increase information security, uncover fraud and waste, reduce costs incurred by state agencies, improve operations performed by state agencies, verify compliance with applicable laws and determine other data and transparency issues.

It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1877 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Rick Galindo (R-‐San Antonio) requires each state agency to develop a

DATA USE AGREEMENT that is consistent with rules adopted by the Department of Information Resources related

to information security standards for state agencies. It requires state agencies to update the data use agreement

August 7, 2015 | Privacy Bills

at least every two years to accommodate best practices in data management. The agency’s data use agreement must be distributed to each agency employee that handles sensitive information, including financial, medical, personnel, or student data and requires the employee to sign the data use agreement. It also requires state agencies, to the extent possible, to provide employees with cybersecurity awareness training to coincide with the distribution of the data use agreement and each update to the agreement. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1878 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Gary Elkins (R-‐Houston) requires the Department of Information

Resources to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of implementing new identification and access requirements for ACCESSING INFORMATION THAT IS ELECTRONICALLY STORED BY THE STATE, including personal identifying information and sensitive personal information. It requires DIR to collaborate with other agencies to consider the needs or concerns specific to the agency. It requires the study to: Examine the relative costs and benefits of various forms of identification and access management, including multifactor authentication; and Develop a strategy by which DIR may most effectively negotiate for bulk purchase across agencies at the lowest cost to the state.

It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Privacy Bills

Procurement Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Procurement Bills HB 23 by Sarah Davis (R-‐Houston) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) requires local government officers to file a

CONFLICT DISCLOSURE STATEMENT with respect to a vendor if the vendor enters into a contract with the local

governmental entity or the local governmental entity is considering entering into a contract with the vendor if the vendor has an employment or other business relationship with the officer or a family member of the officer that results in the officer or family member receiving income exceeding $2,500 during the preceding 12-‐month period or has given the officer or a family member a gift with an aggregate value of more than $200 (instead of $250) in the preceding 12 months. It also requires vendors to file a conflict of interest questionnaire. It requires the Texas Ethics Commission to adopt the conflicts disclosure statement and conflict of interest questionnaire for local government officers and vendors. It creates an offense if officials or vendors knowingly fail to file statements or questionnaires punishable by: a Class C misdemeanor if the contract amount is less than $1 million; a Class B misdemeanor if the contract amount is between $1 and $5 million; or a Class A misdemeanor if the contract is $5 million or more.

It allows a local governmental entity to terminate the employment of an employee who fails to comply with these requirements; and allows a governing body of a municipality to declare a contract void if a violation has occurred. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1295 by Giovanni Capriglione (R-‐Southlake) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) requires public

communications from a faculty member of employee of an institution of higher education concerning the results of SPONSORED RESEARCH to conspicuously disclose the identity of each sponsor of the research. It prohibits a state agency that expends appropriated funds from entering into a research contract with an institution of higher education if the contract contains a provision precluding public disclosure of any final data generated or produced in the course of executing the contract unless the agency reasonably determines that the premature disclosure of such data would adversely affect public safety, the protection of intellectual property rights of the institution of higher education, publication rights in professional scientific publications, or valuable confidential information of the institution of higher education or a third party. It prohibits a state agency from adopting a rule based on research conducted under contract with an institution of higher education unless the agency has made the results of the research and all data supporting the research publicly available. It prohibits GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND STATE AGENCIES from CONTRACTING with a person unless the person submits a disclosure of interested parties to the governmental entity or state agency at the time the person submits a signed contract of at least $1 million to the entity or agency. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1890 by Gary Elkins (R-‐Houston) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the Department of Information

Resources to develop a LEGACY SYSTEM MODERNIZATION strategy to guide the state in legacy system modernization efforts. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2000 by Roland Gutierrez (D-‐San Antonio) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) authorizes the Electric Reliability

Council of Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority, private schools, private or independent institutions of higher education, and volunteer fire departments to purchase INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMODITY ITEMS through the Department of Information Resources. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3342 by John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) allows the comptroller to enter into, participate

in, sponsor, conduct, or administer one or more compacts, interagency agreements or COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENTS directly with or through an entity that facilitates cooperative purchasing agreements (except for

engineering and architectural services). It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Procurement Bills

HB 3014 by Tan Parker (R-‐Flower Mound) and Royce West establishes the SUCCESS CONTRACT PAYMENTS TRUST FUND with the comptroller as the trustee for payments due in connection with success contracts where the majority of the contract payment is conditioned on the contractor meeting or exceeding specified performance measures toward the outcome of the contract’s objectives. The fund cannot exceed $50 million at any time. It prohibits the comptroller and a state agency from executing a proposed success contract unless:

the state agency and the Legislative Budget Board certify that the proposed contract is expected to result in significant performance improvements and significant budgetary savings for the state agency or agencies party to the contract if the performance targets are achieved; and the legislature has appropriated for deposit to the credit of the trust fund, contingent on the execution of the contract, an amount of money necessary to administer the contract and make all payments that may become due under the contract over the effective period of the contract.

It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 3707 by Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) changes statutory references

regarding “advanced Internet-‐based computing services” to “CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES” for purposes of automated information system purchasing statutes allowing state agencies to consider cloud computing service options when making purchases for a major information resources project. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 20 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Four Price (R-‐Amarillo) makes several changes to PROCUREMENT

STATUTES including:

HHSC Audits: It requires the State Auditor to consider the performance of audits on contracts entered into by the Health and Human Services Commission that exceed $100 million in annual value (including a contract between the commission and a managed care organization) when devising an audit plan. It requires the auditor to collaborate with the financial managers in the Medicaid/CHIP Division of HHSC in performing an audit. The audit may be limited to an area of the contract that the auditor determines poses the highest financial risk to the state and it must determine whether the entity contracting with the commission has spent state money in accordance with the purpose authorized in the contract. It allows the State Auditor to contract with a private auditor to audit the contract. Centralized State Purchasing Study: It requires the comptroller, in cooperation with the governor’s budget and policy staff, to conduct a study examining the feasibility and practicality of consolidating state purchasing functions into fewer state agencies or one state agency. The study must examine potential cost savings to the state that may be achieved through abolishing offices or departments of state agencies that have a dedicated office or department for purchasing and consolidating or reducing the number of vendors authorized to contract with this state to allow the state to better leverage its purchasing power. The comptroller’s report to the governor and the legislature must include: a detailed projection of expected savings or costs to the state in consolidating state purchasing; a report on the process for the legislature or the executive branch to implement the consolidation of state purchasing; a list of state agencies, including dedicated officers or departments in those agencies with purchasing responsibilities; and the total cost to the state of the purchasing responsibilities for each state agency, including the dedicated office or department in the agency with purchasing responsibility. The report must be submitted to the governor and legislature and posted on the comptroller’s Internet website by December 31, 2016. It allows the comptroller to contract with a public or private entity to conduct the study.

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Document Retention: It requires state agencies to retain records on each contract entered into by the agency and all contract solicitation documents related to the contract for seven years after the contract is completed or expires or all issues that arise from any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving the contract or documents are resolved. Revolving Door: It prohibits a former state agency officer or employee that participated in a procurement or contract negotiation with a person from accepting employment from that person for two years after the officer or employee leaves employment with the state agency. Posting of Solicitation Documents: It requires the Department of Information Resources to post solicitation documents related to a contract of the department on the centralized accounting and payroll system or any successor system used to implement the enterprise resource planning component of the uniform statewide accounting project. The posting must include documents showing the criteria by which the department evaluated each vendor responding to the contract solicitation and if applicable, an explanation of why the vendor was selected. Enterprise Resource Planning: It adds administration of a state agency’s purchasing solicitations and contracting to the definition of “enterprise resource planning.” And, it allows state agencies in the legislative branch to elect to participate in the enterprise resource planning system. Reporting of Contracting Information: It requires the comptroller to determine, by rule, the contracting information that state agencies must report or provide using the centralized accounting and payroll system. It requires state agencies to report contract and purchasing information in the uniform manner required by the comptroller. The comptroller must consider requiring state agencies to report: a brief summary of each contract that is quickly and easily searchable, including the contract’s purpose, timeline, and deliverables; contract planning and solicitation documents; the criteria used to determine the vendor awarded the contract; if the contract was awarded based on best value to the state, a list of the factors considered in determining best value with the weight given each factor and a statement regarding how the vendor awarded the contract provides the best value to the state in relation to other vendors who bid or otherwise responded to the contract solicitation; any statements of work and work orders prepared for or under the contract; the proposed budget for the contract; any conflict of interest documents signed by state agency purchasing personnel participating in the planning, soliciting, or monitoring of the contract; criteria used or to be used by the state agency in monitoring the contract and vendor performance under the contract; a justification for each change order, contract amendment, contract renewal or extension, or other proposed action that would result in an increase in the monetary value of a contract with an initial value exceeding $10 million; and additional supporting documentation and justification for a change order, contract amendment, contract renewal or extension, or other proposed action of a contract that would result in an increase in the contract’s monetary value by more than 20 percent. Best Value Standard: It requires state agency contract managers or procurement directors to approve each state agency contract for which the agency is required to purchase goods or services using the best value standard; ensure that for each contract, the agency documents the best value standard used for the contract; and acknowledge in writing that the agency complied with the agency’s and comptroller’s contract management guide in the purchase. It requires the comptroller to ensure that each agency includes in the

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vendor performance tracking system information on whether the vendor satisfied the standard for each purchase of goods or services for which the state agency is required to use the best value standard. Grounds to Bar a Vendor: It allows the comptroller to bar a vendor from participating in state contracts including contracts for which purchasing authority is delegated to a state agency, for repeated unfavorable performance reviews or classifications received by the vendor after considering the severity of the vendor’s substandard performance; the impact to the state of the substandard performance; any recommendations by a contracting state agency that provides an unfavorable performance review; whether debarment of the vendor is in the best interest of the state; and any other factors that the comptroller considers relevant. The comptroller can bar a vendor from participating in state contracts if more than two contracts between the vendor and the state have been terminated by the state for unsatisfactory vendor performance during the preceding three years. Training of State Agency Purchasing Personnel: It requires the training and continuing education required for state agency purchasing personnel to include ethics training. The training, continuing education, and certification must include training on the selection of an appropriate procurement method by project type and training conducted by the Department of Information Resources on purchasing technologies. It authorizes the comptroller to assess a fee to cover the training provided by the comptroller. Reporting Vendor Performance: It requires state agencies to review the vendor’s performance after a contract is completed using the comptroller’s vendor performance tracking system. Cooperative Contracts: It allows the comptroller to participate in, sponsor, or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement through an entity that facilitates those agreements for the purchase of goods or services if the comptroller determines that the agreement would be in the best interest of the state. It requires state agencies purchasing information technology to use the Department of Information Resource’s commodity list in the following ways: for a contract with a value of $50,000 or less, the agency can award the contract directly to a vendor included on the list without submitting a request for pricing to other vendors on the list; for a contract with a value between $50,000 and $150,000, the agency must submit a request for pricing to at least three vendors on the list; and for a contract with a value between $150,000 and $1 million, the agency must submit a request for priding to at least six vendors included on the list or all vendors on the schedule if the category to which the contract relates has fewer than six vendors. It prohibits state agencies from entering into a contract to purchase a commodity item if the value of the contract exceeds $1 million. Information Technology Services: For contracts of more than $50,000, state agencies must develop and execute a statement of work to initiate services and consult with the Department of Information Resources before submission of the statement of work to a vendor and to post each statement of work entered into by the agency on the agency’s Internet website as required by DIR rule. It requires the DIR to sign off on the statement of work before a contract is awarded and money is paid to a vendor. Conflicts-‐Of-‐Interest: It requires state agency employees and officials who are involved in procurement or contract management to disclose to the agency any potential conflict of interest that is known by the employee or official with respect to any contract with a private vendor or bid for the purchase of goods or services from a private vendor by the agency. It prohibits a state agency from entering into a contract for the purchase of goods or services with a private vendor with whom a member of the agency’s governing body, the governing official, executive director, general counsel, chief procurement officer, or procurement director of the agency, or a family member related to such an employee that has a financial interest. Posting of Contract Information: It requires state agencies to post on its Internet website information on each contract for the purchase of goods or services from a private vendor including;

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each contract the agency enters into, including contracts that are not competitively bid, until the contract expires or is completed; the statutory or other authority under which the contract that is not competitively bid is entered into; and the request for proposals related to a competitively bid contract until the contract expires or is completed. The information can be posted monthly for contracts valued less than $15,000. Enhanced Performance Monitoring: It requires state agencies to establish a procedure (by rule) to identify each contract that requires enhanced contract or performance monitoring and submit information on the contract to the agency’s governing body or the officer who governs the agency. It requires the agency’s contract management office or procurement director to immediately notify the agency’s governing body or official of any serious issue or risk that is identified with respect to a contract being monitored. Contracts Exceeding $1 Million: It requires state agencies to develop and implement contract reporting requirements for information on contracts for goods or services that have a value exceeding $1 million that includes information on compliance with financial provisions and delivery schedules; corrective action plans required under the contract and the status of any active corrective action plan; and any liquidated damages assessed or collected under the contract. It requires state agencies to verify the accuracy of information provided by a contractor and the delivery time for goods or services scheduled for delivery under the contract. It allows state agencies to enter into a contract for the purchase of goods or services with a value exceeding $1 million only if it is approved by the governing body and it is signed by the presiding officer; or it is approved and signed for by the governing officer (if the agency is not governed by a governing body). Contracts Exceeding $5 Million: For state agency contracts for goods and services that exceed $5 million, the agency is required to verify in writing that the solicitation and purchasing methods and contractor selection process comply with state law and agency policy; and submit to the governing body or official information on any potential issue that may arise in the solicitation , purchasing, or contractor selection process. Purchasing Accountability: It requires each state agency to develop and comply with a purchasing accountability and risk analysis procedure that provides for assessing the risk of fraud, abuse, or waste in the contractor selection process; identifying contracts that require enhanced contract monitoring; and establishing clear levels of purchasing accountability and staff responsibilities. Contract Management Handbook: It requires state agencies to publish a contract management handbook that establishes consistent contracting policies and practices that is consistent with the comptroller’s contract management guide and post it on the agency’s Internet website. It requires the comptroller’s Internet website to include a link to each agency’s handbook. Contract Database: It requires each state agency that becomes a participant in the centralized accounting and payroll systems to use the system to identify and record each state agency contract and requires the comptroller to make the information available to other state agencies including the Legislative Budget Board, the state auditor and the Department of Information Resources. Vendor Performance Tracking: It requires the comptroller to establish an evaluation process that rates vendors on an A – F scale and allows vendors who receive an grade lower than a C to protest any classification given by the comptroller. It requires state agencies to use the vendor performance tracking system to determine whether to award a contract to a vendor. It requires the comptroller to make the vendor performance tracking system accessible to the public on the comptroller’s Internet website. Sponsored Research: It requires public communications from a faculty member of employee of an institution of higher education concerning the results of sponsored research to conspicuously disclose the identity of each sponsor of the research. (sponsored research provisions are similar provisions are included in HB 1295) It was signed by the governor on June 4, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

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SB 59 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) allows the commission to use a noncompetitive procurement procedure to award a contract for services provided by a FAMILY VIOLENCE CENTER if there is no competition between eligible family violence centers for the services. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 1281 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Garnet Coleman (D-‐Houston) authorizes local governmental entities to

participate in a COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM with another local government of Texas or another state or with a local cooperative organization in Texas or another state. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and took immediate effect.

VETOED BILLS -‐ PROCUREMENT HB 3193 by Diego Bernal (D-‐San Antonio) and Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) allows municipalities that contain more than 75 percent of the population of a county with a population of 1.5 million or more (San Antonio) to consider a vendor’s principal place of business in awarding MUNICIPAL CONTRACTS for personal property not affixed to real property or services other than professional services unless the contract is for construction services in an amount of $100,000 or more. VETO MESSAGE “I previously vetoed SB 408, explaining that government has an obligation to spend no more of the taxpayers' money than necessary. The practice of competitive bidding forces government officials to put the taxpayers' interests ahead of any temptation to steer the people's business to favored vendors. HB 3193 would allow the City of San Antonio, and only that City, to reject the best bid and instead spend more money on a San Antonio-‐based vendor. Like SB 408 before it, HB 3193 improperly relieves government officials of their duty to seek the best possible value for the taxpayers. The bill is made worse because it creates different rules for different cities without any legitimate reason to do so.”

SB 408 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Cesar Blanco (D-‐El Paso) allows COUNTIES to give preference to LOCAL

BIDDERS for purchase of real or personal property if the local bidder is within five percent of the lowest bid price received by the county.

VETO MESSAGE "Government has an obligation to spend no more of the taxpayers' money than necessary. All government contracts should be competitively bid, and the vendor who offers the best value to the taxpayers should be chosen every time. SB 408 would authorize counties to reject the best bid and instead spend 5 percent extra in order to select an in-‐county vendor. The needs of taxpayers should come before the needs of government or vendors. County governments should focus on protecting the public first — not steering business to local vendors who are not offering the value the taxpayers deserve."

HB 3736 by Sarah Davis (R-‐Houston) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) requires individuals serving as a member of

a state agency governing board or a state agency officer that governs an agency without a multimember governing board and who are in a position to receive a pecuniary gain from a governing board decision to DISCLOSE THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST in writing to the state agency; and it prohibits the individual from participating in that decision of the governing board. It requires ethics financial statements to list property characterized as separate property under the Family Code and community property which the individual has sole management, control, and disposition of or community property the individual exercises both factual and legal control over. VETO MESSAGE “At the beginning of this legislative session, I called for meaningful ethics reform. This legislation does not accomplish that goal. Provisions in this bill would reduce Texans' trust in their elected officials, and I will not be a part of weakening our ethics laws. Serious ethics reform must be addressed next session -‐ the right way. Texans deserve better.”

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Public Education Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Public Education Bills HB 4 by Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) requires the Commissioner of

Education to establish a HIGH QUALITY PRE-‐KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM to provide funding for school districts and open-‐enrollment charter schools to implement a quality pre-‐kindergarten program. Funding in addition to the half-‐day program provided through the Foundation School Program is capped at $130 million for the 2016-‐2017 biennium and at $1,500 per qualifying student. It authorizes a grant participant to contract with an eligible private provider to provide services or equipment for the program. It requires the Commissioner of Education to develop a pre-‐kindergarten teacher training course for school district or open-‐enrollment charter school teachers and requires the Texas Education Agency to produce and make available to the public on TEA’s website annual early education reports for school districts and open-‐enrollment charter schools. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 18 by Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) sets out measures to support public school student academic achievement and high school, college, and career preparation including:

Texas High Performance Schools Consortium: It increases the number of districts in the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium from 20 to 30. It limits the Consortium to representing not more than 10 percent (up from 5 percent) of the state’s total student enrollment. It adds the State Board of Education as an entity that the Consortium must inform regarding methods for transforming public schools by improving student learning through the development of innovative, next-‐generation learning standards and assessment and accountability systems, including standards and systems related to college and career readiness. Curriculum Information: It requires the Texas Education Agency to develop and distribute public outreach materials to promote awareness of curriculum changes required in HB 5 from the 2013 legislative session. It requires school districts to provide instruction to students in grade seven or eight in preparing for high school, college, and a career. Career Counseling Academies: It requires the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas at Austin to develop and make available postsecondary education and career counseling academies for school counselors and other postsecondary advisors employed by a school district at a middle school, junior high school, or high school. Dual Credit: It prohibits the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from adopting a rule that limits the number of dual credit courses or dual credit course semester credit hours in which a high school student can enroll. It requires a course offered for joint high school and junior college credit to be taught by a qualified instructor approved or selected by the public junior college. Skills Development Fund: It makes school districts eligible for an award from the skills development fund pursuant to an agreement with a lower-‐division institution of higher education. Texas Success Initiative: It requires institutions of higher education that administer a test under the Texas Success Initiative to report to school districts from which tested students graduated from high school on all available information regarding student scores, test performance and student demographics.

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 181 by Cecil Bell, Jr. (R-‐Magnolia) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) eliminates the inclusion of endorsements, performance acknowledgements and distinguished level of achievement on HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS. The information must still be included on the academic achievement record, or transcript for each student. It was signed by the governor on May 13, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 218 by Marisa Marquez (D-‐El Paso) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) requires teachers assigned to a BILINGUAL CLASSROOM using the transitional bilingual/early-‐exit program model or the transitional bilingual/late-‐exit

program model to be appropriately certified for bilingual education by the State Board of Educator Certification.

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It requires a teacher assigned to a bilingual education program using a dual-‐language immersion/one-‐way or two-‐ way program model to be appropriately certified for bilingual education for the program component provided to a language other than English, and for bilingual education or English as a second language for the component provided in English. It allows a district using the dual-‐language immersion/one-‐way or two-‐way program model to assign different teachers to the different components. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 440 by Larry Gonzalez (R-‐Round Rock) and Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) adds STUDENTS WITH A MENTAL DISABILITY

to the type of students for whom the physical education curriculum must be developmentally appropriate. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 731 by Eddie Lucio, III (D-‐Brownsville) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) allows a school district in a county that borders the United Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico to participation in a PILOT PROGRAM to enable to state to evaluate the benefit of providing additional FUNDING AT THE PRE-‐KINDERGARTEN LEVEL FOR LOW-‐INCOME STUDENTS and providing funding for one half-‐day of prekindergarten attendance for twice the number of students receiving diplomas under the three-‐year high school diploma plan pilot program. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 743 by Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) requires ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS to be

evaluated by an entity independent of Texas Education Agency or the entity that developed the assessment instrument prior to being adopted as a valid and reliable assessment. It requires the assessment instrument to be designed so that if administered to students in grades three through five, 85 percent of students will be able to complete it within 120 minutes; and if administered to students in grades six through eight, 85 percent of students will be able to complete it within 180 minutes. It requires TEA to conduct a study regarding the essential knowledge and skills of the required curriculum and assessment instruments to evaluate: the number and scope of the essential knowledge and skills of each subject of the required curriculum with each essential knowledge or skill identified as a readiness or supporting standard, and whether the number or scope should be limited; the number and subjects of assessment instruments that are required to be administered to students in grades three through eight; and how assessment instruments assess standards essential for student success and whether the assessment instruments should also assess supporting standards.

The report must be submitted to the State Board of Education by March 1, 2016 and submitted to the governor and legislature by May 1, 2016. It requires TEA to develop a comprehensive methodology for auditing and monitoring performance under contracts for services to develop or administer assessment instruments to verify compliance with contractual obligations. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 744 by Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) and Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) eliminates the clause “on a school

campus” from current law that allows a school board to purchase INSURANCE AGAINST BODILY INJURY SUSTAINED BY STUDENTS training for or engaging tin interschool athletic competition or engaging in school-‐sponsored activities. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 771 by Joe Deshotel (D-‐Beaumont) and Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) sets the funding allotment for the TEXAS ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP IN THE HUMANITIES as the same allotment from the Foundation School Program as

if the academy were a school district without a tier one local share. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 786 by Amando Walle, Jr. (D-‐Houston) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) clarifies that an employee of a public

employer, including a school district, has THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS BREAST MILK AT THE WORKPLACE and requires a

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public employer to develop a written policy that states that the employer will support the practice and make reasonable accommodations including providing reasonable break time and a place, other than a multiple-‐use bathroom, that is private and can be locked for the employee’s use. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 870 by Wayne Smith (R-‐Baytown) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) requires school district chief financial officers

and investment officers and municipal investment officers to attend an INVESTMENT TRAINING session not less than once in a two-‐year period that begins on the first day of the school district’s fiscal year and consists of the two consecutive fiscal years after the date, and that they receive at least five hours (instead of 10 hours) of instruction relating to investment responsibilities. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1164 by Gary VanDeaver (R-‐New Boston) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston), which requires the Texas Education

Agency to conduct a study to develop a WRITING ASSESSMENT method for public school students and establishes a pilot program to administer the assessment method developed. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1171 by Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) provides that an OPEN-‐ ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL, charter holder, employees, volunteers, or governing body members are IMMUNE FROM LIABILITY to the same extent as a school district or its employees, volunteers, or trustees. It makes an open-‐

enrollment charter school liable in tort claims in the same manner as a school district. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1300 by Giovanni Capriglione (R-‐Southlake) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) requires the State Board of Educator

Certification to allow an EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAM to admit, in extraordinary circumstances, a person who fails to satisfy a GPA requirement if, in addition to current requirements, each person admitted performs, before admission, at a satisfactory level on an appropriate subject matter exam for each subject in which the person seeks certification. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1305 by Greg Bonnen (R-‐Friendswood) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) allows school districts with at least

10 percent of students eligible for free or reduced price breakfasts in one or more of its schools to develop and implement a locally funded program providing a FREE OR REDUCED-‐PRICE BREAKFAST to all students in the school or schools eligible under the national free-‐ or reduced-‐price breakfast program. It allows students receiving full-‐ time virtual education through the state virtual school network to be included in determining the number of educationally disadvantaged students. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1430 by Susan King (R-‐Abilene) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires information provided to students

relating to HEALTH SCIENCE CAREER PATHWAYS include mental health careers as a possible pathway. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1431 by Susan King (R-‐Abilene) and Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Higher Education and business and industry leaders to develop an advanced language course that a school district may use in the curriculum to provide students with INSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRY-‐RELATED TERMINOLOGY that prepares students to communicate in a language other than English in a specific professional, business, or industry environment. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 1474 by Gary VanDeaver (R-‐New Boston) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) requires transfers from the Permanent School Fund to the INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FUND to be made each biennium instead of each year and allows

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the Texas Education Agency to make temporary early transfers to the fund. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1551 by Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) requires the State Board of

Education to establish the procedure used to determine the date a transfer will be made and the amount that will be TRANSFERRED TO THE AVAILABLE SCHOOL FUND available school fund from the real estate special fund. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1559 by Tan Parker (R-‐Flower Mound) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) requires schools that maintain an

Internet website to post information regarding local programs and SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ASSIST HOMELESS STUDENTS on the website. It does not apply to schools within a school district with less than 3,000 students primarily located in a county with a population of less than 50,000. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1613 by Ryan Guillen (D-‐Rio Grande City) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires the State Board of Education to develop a chart that clearly indicates the alignment of the college readiness standards and expectations with the essential knowledge and skills identified by the board. It exempts a student from taking the ALGEBRA 1, ENGLISH 1 AND ENGLISH II END-‐OF-‐COURSE TESTS if the student meets college readiness standards in a college preparatory mathematics or English language arts course even if the student did not preform satisfactorily on a previous administration of the applicable end-‐of-‐course assessment instrument. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1706 by Gary VanDeaver (R-‐New Boston) and Konni Burton (R-‐Colleyville) requires the Commissioner of

Education to ELIMINATE ANY REPORTS OR PAPERWORK required by state law that duplicate the content of reports or paperwork also required by federal law. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1783 by Joe Moody (D-‐El Paso) and Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) requires a superintendent to notify the

State Board of Educator Certification if a district of school obtains information about the CRIMINAL RECORD OF AN EDUCATOR who is employed or seeking employment with the school or district through a means other than a

criminal history check; and requires a superintendent to report to SBEC that an educator’s employment was terminated based on evidence that the educator was involved in a romantic relationship with or solicited or engaged in sexual contact with a student or minor. It allows a school district or open-‐enrollment charter school employee to report a crime witnessed at the school to any peace officer and prohibits a school from adopting a policy requiring an employee to refrain from REPORTING A CRIME WITNESSED AT THE SCHOOL. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1804 by Elliott Naishtat (D-‐Austin) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the Texas Education Agency to designate at least one employee to act as a liaison officer regarding educational issues related to STUDENTS IN THE CONSERVATORSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES; and requires each institution of higher education to designate at least one employee of the institution to act as a liaison officer for current and incoming students at the institution who were formerly in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 1842 by Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) makes several changes regarding accreditation interventions and sanctions for LOW PERFORMANCE & CAMPUS TURNAROUND.

Charter Schools: It requires the Commissioner of Education to adopt an informal procedure to be used for revoking the charter of, reconstitution of a governing body of, or denying the renewal of an open-‐ enrollment charter school.

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Innovation School Districts: It allows school districts to designate a district of innovation if the district’s most recent performance rating reflects at least acceptable performance, subject to a local innovation plan that provides for a comprehensive education program that can include: innovative curriculum, instructional methods, and provisions regarding community participation, campus governance, and parental involvement; modifications to the school day or year; provisions regarding the district budget and sustainable program funding; accountability and assessment measures that exceed the requirements of state and federal law; and any other innovations prescribed by the board of trustees. The plan must identify statutes that inhibit the goals of the plan and from which the district should be exempted upon adoption of the plan. The local innovation plan may not include an exemption from state or federal requirements applicable to an open-‐enrollment charter school, state curriculum and graduation requirements, and academic and financial accountability sanctions. Campus Turnaround: It requires the commissioner to assign a campus intervention team if a campus performance is below standard to conduct a targeted on-‐site needs assessment and to recommend appropriate actions including conducting a public meeting at the campus that includes the principal, parents, and community members. After two years of unacceptable performance, a district must prepare and submit a school turnaround plan that can include alternative management, a board of managers, a local charter, or closure. After three more years of unacceptable performance, a school would be closed or placed under a board of managers. It allows school districts to partner with universities to implement a turnaround plan. Student Trustees: It establishes a student trustee position in school districts in which a school in the district is operating under a campus turnaround plan.

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1993 by J.D. Sheffield (R-‐Gatesville) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) authorizes school districts that use an

ELECTRONIC PLATFORM FOR COMMUNICATING student grade and performance INFORMATION TO PARENTS to allow a

parent to sign a notice electronically as long as the district retains a record verifying the parent’s acknowledgement of the required notice. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2025 by Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) and Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) expands participation in the

THREE-‐YEAR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA PLAN PILOT PROGRAM to include a school district with an enrollment of

between 5,000 and 7,000 students located in a county that contains the headwaters of the Gabriel River. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2186 by Byron Cook (R-‐Corsicana) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) requires school district employees

to receive training in youth SUICIDE PREVENTION once annually and allows the training to be satisfied through independent review and be offered online. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2205 by Myra Crownover (R-‐Denton) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) makes several changes to educator certification.

State Board of Educator Certification: It requires the State Board of Educator Certification to add one non-‐ voting member (bringing the total membership to 15) with experience and knowledge regarding ALTERNATIVE EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS and who is not affiliated with an institution of higher education. Educator Preparation Programs: It deletes provisions allowing exceptions to the 2.75 grade point average minimum for persons admitted to educator preparation programs and requires the overall GPA of each incoming class admitted by an educator preparation program, including an alternative preparation program,

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to be at least 3 on a 4-‐point scale or the equivalent, or a higher overall GPA prescribed by the State Board of Educator Certification. It requires SBEC to establish standards to govern the approval or renewal of educator preparation programs and the certification fields they are authorized to offer; establish a process for a candidate for teacher certification to direct a complaint against an educator preparation program to the Texas Education Agency; and limit candidates retaking certification exams to four times or less. Career & Technology Certification: It allows a school board to issue a school district teaching permit to a person who will teach courses only in career and technical education based on qualifications certified by the superintendent. A school district must require that employee to obtain at least 20 hours of classroom management training and to comply with continuing education requirements as determined by the school board.

It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2251 by Rafael Anchia (D-‐Dallas) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) prescribes the schedule of

payments from the foundation school fund to OPEN-‐ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS to allow a higher percentage of annual entitlements to be paid to charter schools with 10 percent growth in enrollment compared to the prior year. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2349 by Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) allows a student to earn a

PERFORMANCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ON THE STUDENT’S DIPLOMA AND TRANSCRIPT by passing an established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-‐referenced preliminary college preparation assessment instrument used to measure a student’s progress toward readiness for college and the workplace or on an established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-‐reference assessment instrument used by colleges and universities as part of their undergraduate admissions process or for earning a state recognized or nationally or internationally recognized business or industry certification or license. It allows the Texas Education Agency to defer releasing assessment instrument questions and answer keys to the extent necessary to develop additional assessment instruments. It requires TEA to adopt procedures to ensure that the results of the assessment instruments administered to students who transfer from a school district in another state are reported to each school district separately from the results of assessment instruments administered to other students. It clarifies that students in the foundation high school program are administered an end-‐of-‐course assessment instrument only for courses in which the student is enrolled and for which an end-‐of-‐course assessment instrument is required. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2398 by James White (R-‐Hilliser) and John Whitmire (D-‐Houston) DECRIMINALIZES TRUANCY and requires

school districts to implement truancy prevention measures. It requires the expungement of all documents and records of a truancy conviction. It creates a new civil process for truancy matters. It requires Texas Education Agency to adopt rules regarding standards and best practices for truancy prevention measures and for sanctions if a school district fails to comply. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2593 by Four Price (R-‐Amarillo) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) includes in the sparsity adjustment STUDENTS THE TEXHOMA ISD even if the average daily attendance declines to less than 90 but more than 75. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2610 by Ken King (R-‐Canadian) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) requires school districts to provide at least

75,600 MINUTES OF INSTRUCTION, including intermissions and recesses, for students in a school year (instead of 180 days of instruction). It allows the Commissioner of Education to approve reduced instruction time and allows a district to add additional minutes to the end of the normal school hours as necessary to compensate for minutes lost due to closure. It defines a day of instruction as 420 minutes. It prohibits a school district from scheduling the last day of school for students for a school year before May 15th. A district that does not offer each grade level and that has prospective or former students who generally attend school in another state for the

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grade levels the district does not offer could schedule the last day on any day on any date permitted by Texas law or the law of the other state. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2660 by Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) and Kirk Watson requires Foundation School Program funding for

STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AN OPTIONAL FLEXIBLE SCHOOL DAY PROGRAM be based on the same instructional hour requirements of the regular program rather than a full-‐time equivalent student basis that requires six hours of student contact time to qualify for a full day of attendance. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 2684 by Helen Giddings (D-‐Dallas) and John Whitmire (D-‐Houston) requires a school district with an enrollment of 30,000 or more students that commissions a school district peace officer or at which a school resource officer provides law enforcement to adopt a policy requiring the officer to complete an education and training program approved by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement of at least 16 hours within 120 days of the officer’s commission. It requires the commission to create, adopt and distribute a model TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PEACE OFFICERS and school resource officers incorporating learning objectives regarding: child and adolescent development and psychology; positive behavioral interventions and supports, conflict resolution techniques, and restorative justice techniques; de-‐escalation techniques and techniques for limiting the use of force, including the use of physical, mechanical, and chemical restraints; the mental and behavioral health needs of children with disabilities or special needs; and mental health crisis intervention.

It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 2804 by Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) and Larry Taylor makes several changes to the PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM including: Quality of Learning & Achievement Indicators: It requires the indicators adopted by the Commissioner of Education to measure and evaluate school districts and campuses with respect to: improving student preparedness for success in subsequent grade levels and entering the workforce the military or postsecondary education; reducing, with the goal of eliminating, student academic achievement differentials among students from different racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds; and informing parents and the community regarding campus and district performance. Domains of Indicators: It requires school districts and campuses to be evaluated based on five domains of indicators: The first domain includes the results of student performance on assessment instruments aggregated across grade levels by subject area. The second domain includes the percentage of students who met the standard for annual improvement on the assessment instruments or other method for measuring annual improvement aggregated across grade levels by subject area. The third domain includes student academic achievement differentials among students from different racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. The fourth domain includes evaluating campuses and districts that include high school campuses by dropout rates, graduation rates, completion of curriculum requirements for endorsements,

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completion of a coherent sequence of career and technical courses, number of students who satisfy the Texas Success Initiative college readiness benchmarks, completion of dual credit courses, percentage of students who enlist in the U.S. armed forces, and the percentage of students who earn an industry certification. The fifth domain includes categories of performance related to community and student engagement locally selected and evaluated. It requires 55 percent of the performance rating to be from the first, second, and third domain achievement indicators. For middle and junior high school and elementary campuses, 35 percent of the performance evaluation must be from achievement indicators in the fourth domain; for high school campuses, 10 percent of the performance evaluation must be the high school graduation rate and 25 percent to the remaining applicable achievement indicators in the fourth domain. 10 percent of the performance evaluation must be from locally selected and evaluated achievement indicators in the fifth domain. A-‐F Rating System: It requires the commissioner to adopt rules to evaluate school district and campus performance and assign each district and campus an overall performance rating of A, B, C, D, or F with A reflecting exemplary performance; B reflecting recognized performance, C reflecting acceptable performance and D or F reflecting unacceptable performance. It prohibits a school district from receiving a performance rating of A if the district includes any campus with a performance rating of D or F. Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments & Accountability: It establishes the Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability to develop and make recommendations for new systems of student assessment and public school accountability. The commission is composed of 15 members including four appointed by the governor, three by the lieutenant governor, three by the speaker, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senate Higher Education Committee, House Public Education Committee, House Higher Education Committee (or the chair’s designees), and a member of the State Board of Education designated by the chair. It requires the appointees of the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker to be coordinated to include a parent of a public school student, an educator in the public school system, an educator in a Texas High Performance Schools Consortium school district, a member of the business community, a member of the civic community, a leader in student assessment development, and a leader in research concerning student assessment and education outcomes. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect (except Section 3 takes effect on September 1, 2015; Section 4 takes effect on September 1, 2016; and Section 5 takes effect on September 1, 2017).

HB 2812 by Drew Springer (R-‐Muenster) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) repeals Section 130.008(f) of the Education code which limits junior college courses that a high school student my enroll in for DUAL CREDIT to three if the student does not reside in the junior college territory. It requires time a student participates in an approved off-‐ campus instructional program to be counted as part of the minimum number of instructional hours required for a student to be considered a full-‐time student in average daily attendance. And, it allows the Commissioner of Education to approve instructional programs provided off campus by an entity other than a school district or open-‐enrollment charter school as a program in which participation by a student of a district or charter school can be counted for average daily attendance purposes. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect. HB 3062 by Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas), which allows the Texas Workforce

Commission to award grants to independent school districts from the JOBS & EDUCATION FOR TEXANS (JET) GRANT PROGRAM for development of new career and technical education if the school district has entered into a

partnership with a public junior college or technical institute for the purpose of promoting career and technical education to the district’s students; or offering dual credit courses to the district’s students. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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HB 3106 by Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) and Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) allows the Commissioner of Education to extend the APPOINTMENT OF A BOARD OF MANAGERS for a school district an additional two years if the commissioner determines that insufficient progress has been made toward improving the academic or financial performance of the school district, subject to local feedback. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3562 by Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) requires a school that allows

students to use PREPAID MEAL CARDS OR ACCOUNTS to purchase school meals to adopt a grace period policy regarding the use of the cards or accounts to ensure that a student would still be able to eat meals while accumulating a negative balance until parents are notified and payment is make. It allows school districts to establish a payment schedule with parents. It was signed by the governor on June 18, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3748 by Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) requires the Texas Education Agency to

designate at least one agency employee to act as a liaison officer regarding education issues of STUDENTS IN THE CONSERVATORSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES; and requires the Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board and each institution of higher education to designate at least one employee of the board and institution to act as a liaison officer for current and incoming students at institutions of higher education who were formerly in the conservatorship of DFPS. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 3987 by Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) allows school districts and charter

schools to establish a SCHOOL-‐BASED SAVINGS PROGRAM to be offered in conjunction with the required personal financial literacy courses. It requires school districts or schools that elect to implement a savings program to partner with appropriate institutions able to offer savings accounts. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 66 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Myra Crownover (R-‐Denton) allows school districts and open-‐ enrollment charter schools to adopt a policy on the maintenance, administration, and disposal of EPINEPHRINE AUTO-‐INJECTORS (EpiPens) at each campus and requires the policies to provide that authorized and trained school personnel and volunteers can administer an EpiPen to a person who is reasonably believed to be experiencing anaphylaxis on a school campus. The policies may provide for administration at an off-‐campus school event or while in transit to or from a school event. It requires a school district that adopts a policy to provide written notice to the parent or guardian of each student enrolled in the school district. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 107 by John Whitmire (D-‐Houston) and Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) requires the designation of an

administrator on each campus as a CAMPUS BEHAVIOR COORDINATOR who is responsible for maintaining student discipline, implementing progressive discipline management techniques as appropriate, and promptly notifying parents of major sanctions such as suspension, disciplinary alternative education placement or expulsion. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 133 by Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) and Garnet Coleman (D-‐Houston) adds school district employees

(including secretaries, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers) and school resource officers to the MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING and reporting requirements in the Health and Safety Code. It limits grants provided by the Department

of State Health Services for mental health first aid training to the lesser of $70,000 or three percent of the total amount appropriated to the department for making grants for mental health first aid training. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 149 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble), which establishes an INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION COMMITTEE for each student who is not on track to graduate due to failing to pass two end-‐of-‐course assessments. The committee, composed of the student’s parent, the principal, the teacher of the course and the

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department chair of the subject, will determine if the student graduates. It was signed by the governor on May 11, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 168 by Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) and Joe Farias (D-‐San Antonio) allows the Commissioner of Education to waive the SUPERINTENDENT CERTIFICATION requirement if requested by a district and prohibits a person who is not certified to be employed before the person has received a waiver. However, it allows a designated person to act as temporary or interim superintendent without certification or waiver. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 265 by Rodney Ellis (D-‐Houston) and Sarah Davis (R-‐Houston) allows students to possess and use an over-‐the-‐ counter TOPICAL SUNSCREEN PRODUCT while on school property or at a school-‐related event. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 382 by Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) and Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) requires the State Board of Educator Certification to adopt rules allowing an educator to receive continuing education credit for completing a COURSE ON THE USE OF AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 455 by Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) and Mike Schofield (R-‐Katy) authorizes the Attorney General to petition

the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court to appoint a special 3-‐member Court to hear SCHOOL FINANCE (AND REDISTRICTING) CASES. The panel would include the judge to whom the case was assigned; a district judge from another judicial district; and an appeals court justice from a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction in which the case was filed. Currently, school finance cases are filed in district court in Travis County. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 507 by Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) and Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) requires a school district or open-‐enrollment charter school to provide video equipment to each school in which a student receiving SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES in a self-‐contained classroom is enrolled upon the request of a parent of a student in that classroom. It allows school districts to solicit gifts, grants, and donations from any person for use in placing the video cameras. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 674 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Garnet Coleman (D-‐Houston) requires TEACHER CERTIFICATION

programs with a bachelor’s degree requirement to include instruction regarding MENTAL HEALTH, substance abuse, and youth suicide. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 810 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and John Smithee (R-‐Amarillo) allows a school district and a municipality

located wholly or partly in the boundaries of a county in which the school district is located to contract for the district to contribute resources to pay a portion of the costs or the design, improvement, or construction of an INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITY, STADIUM, OR OTHER ATHLETIC FACILITY owned by the municipality if there is a written agreement allowing the district to use the facility. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 925 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) requires the Commissioner of

Education to develop and make available LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMIES for teachers who provide instruction to students at the kindergarten or first-‐ through third-‐grade level. It was signed by the governor on May 21, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 934 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) requires the Commissioner of

Education to develop and make available MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMIES for teachers who provide mathematics instruction to students at the kindergarten or first, second, or third grade level. The academy must include training in effective and systematic instructional practices in mathematics, including problem solving, the

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place value system, whole number operations, and fractions. It requires the commissioner to adopt criteria for selecting teachers who may attend the academy that includes granting priority to teachers employed at a campus where 50 percent or more of the students are educationally disadvantaged and give second priority to a teacher whose school district pays the cost of the teacher’s attendance. Upon request by the commissioner, regional education service centers are required to assist with training and other activities relating to the development and operation of the academies. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 935 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Joe Deshotel (D-‐Beaumont) requires the Commissioner of Education

to establish and make available a pilot program under which READING EXCELLENCE TEAMS can assist school campuses rated academically unacceptable on the basis of student performance on the reading assessment instrument administered to grade 3 students. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 955 by Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) and Rick Miller (R-‐Sugar Land) removes the requirement that an open-‐enrollment CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATED BY AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION or a public junior college to be in the same county in which the campus of the university or junior college is located. It requires the Commissioner of Education in evaluating an application for a charter outside the campus or county where the college or university is located to consider: The location of existing open-‐enrollment charter schools, as appropriate, to avoid duplication of services in the area in which the applicant proposed to operate the school; and The need of the community in that area to have an additional charter school.

It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 968 by Royce West (D-‐Dallas) and Elliott Naishtat (D-‐Austin) requires the State Board of Education to adopt essential knowledge and skills that address the dangers, causes, consequences, signs, symptoms, and treatment of NONMEDICAL USE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS when adopting TEKS for health curriculum. It requires Texas Education Agency to compile a list of evidence-‐based prescription drug misuse awareness programs from which a school district shall choose a program to use in the district. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 972 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Joe Deshotel (D-‐Beaumont) requires the Commissioner of Education

to create READING-‐TO-‐LEARN ACADEMIES for teachers who provide reading comprehension instruction to students in the fourth and fifth grades. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 996 by Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) and Jason Villalba (R-‐Dallas) requires a school district or open-‐enrollment charter school to provide parents with written notice indicating whether any school employee is currently appointed as a SCHOOL MARSHAL if the parent or guardian inquires in writing. It prohibits the notice from disclosing confidential information. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 1004 by Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) and Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) allows a public JUNIOR COLLEGE IN HARRIS COUNTY or an adjacent county to enter into an agreement with any school district located in Harris County to allow students to take courses for JOINT HIGH SCHOOL & JUNIOR COLLEGE CREDIT; and allows the governing board of a public junior college to contract to provide remedial programs with a school board. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1259 by Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) and Alma Allen (D-‐Houston) requires the committee developing a SPECIAL ED STUDENT’S INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN to include a regular education teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the student’s individualized education program. It allows each member of the committee who disagrees with the individualized education program developed by the committee to include a statement of disagreement in the written statement of the program. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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SB 1309 by Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) and Joe Deshotel (D-‐Beaumont) requires the State Board of

Educator Certification to establish a JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS INSTRUCTOR teaching certification to provide Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instruction. In order to be eligible for the certificate, a person must hold a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education that is accredited or approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; satisfy the eligibility and testing requirements for certification as a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor established by the branch of service in which the person served, and complete an approved educator preparation program. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1455 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Gary Elkins (R-‐Houston) streamlines STATE AGENCY REPORTING requirements including:

removing the requirement that the board of directors of the Center for Educational Technology report annually on the operation, projects, and fiscal affairs of the center to the State Board of Education; removing the requirement that the Commissioner of Education report to the governor and the State Board of Education the schools and districts qualified to receive successful school awards for their performance; repealing the statute establishing the P-‐16 College Readiness and Success Strategic Action Plan.

It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1494 by Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) and Chris Turner (D-‐Arlington) requires the Texas Education Agency to

assist HOMELESS STUDENTS transitioning from one school to another and clarifies that an 11th of 12th grade homeless student that transfers to a different school district from which the student is not eligible to graduate to receive a diploma from the district from which the student transferred if the student meets the graduation requirements of the district from which the student transferred. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1776 by Jose Menendez (D-‐San Antonio) and Ryan Guillen (D-‐Rio Grande City), which exempts students from

ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS of the Texas Success Initiative who have successfully completed a college

preparatory course covering the same content. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1867 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) requires the Commissioner of Education

to exclude students who are at least 18 years of age and have satisfied the credit requirements for high school graduation, have not completed their individualized education program and who are receiving individualized education program services from the computation of DROPOUT & COMPLETION RATES. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 2062 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) allows charter schools that operate both

an adult education program and a DROPOUT RECOVERY SCHOOL to place students in both programs in the same classroom. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

VETOED BILLS -‐ PUBLIC EDUCATION SB 313 by Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) and Jimmie Don Aycock (R-‐Killeen) requires the State Board of Education to

conduct a review of the TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS requirements of each foundation curriculum subject (except the recently adopted math standards), with the intent of narrowing the content and scope of standards and skills for the subject at each grade level. It front loads the INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ALLOTMENT money in the first year of the biennium (same as HB 1474); and it prohibits the State Board of Education from adopting a proclamation in which the total cost of materials exceeds 75 percent of the total amount used to fund the IMA.

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VETO MESSAGE “While SB 313 is intended to provide additional flexibility to school districts when purchasing classroom instructional materials, the bill potentially restricts the ability of the State Board of Education to address the needs of Texas classrooms. Portions of SB 313 may have merit, but serious concerns were raised about other parts of the bill. I look forward to working with the Legislature and other stakeholders to ensure this issue is vigorously evaluated before next Session.”

SB 496 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) requires Foundation School Program funding for

STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AN OPTIONAL FLEXIBLE SCHOOL DAY PROGRAM to be based on the same two-‐hour and four-‐hour instructional hour requirements of the calculation of half-‐day and full-‐day regular program attendance rather than a full-‐time equivalent student basis that requires six hours of student contact time to qualify for a full day of attendance. It requires the Commissioner of Education to include a leaver code of pregnancy in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). It expands eligibility for the Optional Flexible School Day Program by allowing school districts to provide a flexible school day program for a campus or campuses that would benefit from the program. VETO MESSAGE “Currently, a school district can apply to the Texas Education Agency and request permission to offer a flexible school day program for the district's at-‐risk students. As filed, SB 496 addressed the financing of these programs. I am supportive of the original intent of the legislation; therefore, I have signed the bill's companion legislation, HB 2660. Unfortunately, an objectionable piece of legislation that did not ultimately pass on its own merit was added to SB 496 and significantly changed the bill's focus. SB 496 was amended to allow a school district to establish a flexible school day for entire campuses without approval from the Texas Education Agency. Allowing districts to drastically change the school calendar without TEA approval could cause unanticipated and untenable problems.”

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Tax Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Tax Bills HB 275 by Trent Ashby (R-‐Lufkin) and Robert Nichols (R-‐Jacksonville) adds EGGS TO THE LIST OF EXEMPT PRODUCTS

defined as being in the hands of the producer for purposes of property tax, regardless of whether the eggs are packaged. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 394 by Ruth Jones McClendon (D-‐San Antonio) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) prohibits appraisal districts from

posting information in the APPRAISAL DISTRICT’S RECORDS on the Internet that indicates the age of a property owner, including information indicating that a property owner is 65 years of age or older. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 706 by Jessica Farrar (D-‐Houston) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) prohibits the chief appraiser from requiring

a person to re-‐apply for an exemption if property on which a SOLAR OR WIND-‐POWERED ENERGY DEVICE is installed or constructed has already qualified for an exemption unless the property changes ownership or the person’s qualification for the exemption changes. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 992 by Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) extends the DISABLED VETERANS’ HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION for a surviving spouse to a widow whose disabled veteran spouse had died before the

exemption went into effect. (This is the enabling bill for HJR 75.) It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2016 (contingent on voter approval of HJR 75).

HB 994 by Rafael Anchia (D-‐Dallas) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) makes permanent the property tax exemption for

property used to collect, process, and deliver LANDFILL-‐GENERATED GAS. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 1022 by Joe Moody (D-‐El Paso) and Jose Rodriguez (D-‐El Paso) expands the definition of a RESIDENCE

HOMESTEAD to include a life estate held by the surviving spouse of the property owner. It was signed by the

governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 1463 by Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) prohibits a chief appraiser from cancelling a PREVIOUSLY ALLOWED HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION for an individual who is 65 years or older but who failed to file a new application without first providing notice of the cancellation. The notice must contain a form on which the individual can indicate whether he/she qualifies to receive the exemption and a self-‐addressed postage prepaid envelope with instructions for returning the form to the chief appraiser. If the owner fails to respond within 60 days, the chief appraiser is required to make a reasonable effort to locate the owner and determine whether the owner remains entitled to a homestead exemption before making a determination that the property no longer qualifies for the exemption. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. HB 1464 by Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) and Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) requires a chief appraiser to provide

written notice to a property owner 65 years of age or older if the owner’s LAND IS APPRAISED AS AGRICULTURAL OR OPEN-‐SPACE LAND if the chief appraiser believes the land is no longer eligible for special appraisal. The notice must include a form on which the owner may indicate that the owner remains entitled to have the land designated for agricultural use and a self-‐addressed postage prepaid envelope with instructions for returning the form to the chief appraiser. If the owner does not respond within 60 days, the chief appraiser is required to make a reasonable effort to locate the owner before deciding that the land has been diverted for another use. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1933 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) requires the second, third, and

fourth INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS OF PROPERTY TAXES on residential homesteads to be made before the first day of the second, fourth, and sixth months after the delinquency date. It requires a taxpayer who wants to pay in four equal installments to make the first payment and provide the required notice before the first day of the first

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month after the delinquency date. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1953 by Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) extends the September 1 deadline for a city or county to publish NOTICE OF its PROPOSED TAX RATE to the later of September 1, or the 30th day after the date the certified appraisal roll is received by a taxing unit. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016. HB 2083 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) provides that appeals to the

Appraisal Review Board or to court based on the selection of COMPARABLE PROPERTIES and the application of appropriate adjustments be based on the application of generally accepted appraisal methods and techniques. It allows a property owner representing him/herself to present argument and evidence related to the market and appraised value or the inequality of appraised value of his/her property. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 2293 by Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) and Royce West (D-‐Dallas) allows the comptroller, the Texas Education

Agency, and the Legislative Budget Board to enter into an interagency memorandum of understanding under which the comptroller would certify the final TAXABLE VALUE FOR EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT to the commissioner of education according to terms decided by the agencies. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 3623 by Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) exempts from ad valorem

taxation property owned by the NATIONAL HISPANIC INSTITUTE. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 3951 by Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) and Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) allows the commissioners court of a

county to require an individual to register as a bidder in order to be eligible to bid at a SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN AN AD VALOREM SALE. It requires the county tax /assessor-‐collector to issue a written registration statement to a

person who has registered as a bidder. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HJR 75 by Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) proposes a constitutional amendment to extend the DISABLED VETERANS’ HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION for a surviving spouse to a widow whose disabled veteran spouse had died before the exemption went into effect. (The enabling bill is HB 992.) It will be submitted to the voters on November 3, 2015. SB 1 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) increases the mandatory residential

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION for school district taxes from $15,000 to $25,000 effective in the tax year beginning

January 1, 2015. (This is the enabling bill for SJR 1 and is contingent on voter approval of SJR 1 on November 3, 2015.) It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect upon voter approval of SJR 1; Section 18 takes effect September 1, 2017.

SB 46 by Judith Zaffirini (D-‐Laredo) and Richard Raymond (D-‐Laredo) requires appraisal districts to maintain

confidentiality of photographs depicting the INTERIOR OF A PROPERTY IMPROVEMENT. It allows the photograph to be used as evidence in a protest or appeal if it is relevant, but remains otherwise confidential. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 833 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Susan King (R-‐Abilene) allows an owner of a residential homestead to continue a HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION if the owner’s temporary absence is caused by MILITARY SERVICE inside the United States. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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SB 918 by Robert Nichols (R-‐Jacksonville) and John Otto (R-‐Dayton) clarifies the procedure for claiming an ad valorem tax exemption on the PROPERTY OF A VETERAN’S ORGANIZATION. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016. SB 593 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) allows a property owner or an appraisal district

that is a party to an AD VALOREM TAX APPEAL to request in writing and prior to trial that the parties engage in settlement discussions, including through an informal settlement conference or a form of alternative dispute resolution. It requires the court, on motion of either party, to enter orders specifying the form that the settlement discussions must take or changing a deadline to designate experts. It requires the settlement discussions to be held within 120 days of the written request and requires the parties to make a good faith effort to resolve the matter under appeal. The deadline for a party seeking affirmative relief to designate experts for the appeal is 60 days before the date of trial and the deadline for all other experts to be designated is 30 days before the trial date. It prohibits an appraisal district from requesting or requiring a property owner to waive a right as a condition of attending a settlement discussion. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 849 by Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) and Gary Elkins (R-‐Houston) allows the owner of property valued at $3 million or less (rather than $1 million or less) to go to BINDING ARBITRATION in connection with an appeal of an APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD ORDER. It sets the deposit at: $450 for homesteads under $500,000 $500 for homesteads over $500,000

$800 for non-‐homesteads between $1 and $1 million

$1,050 for non-‐homestead properties between $2 and $3 million It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. $500 for non-‐homesteads up to $1 million

SB 1007 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) adds the TEXAS APPRAISER LICENSING AND

CERTIFICATION BOARD to the Sunset review schedule for fiscal year 2019. It requires an applicant for a real estate

appraiser certificate or license or renewal of an unexpired certificate or license to submit a complete and legible set of fingerprints for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information for the Department of Public Safety or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It authorizes DPS to collect a fee to cover the costs incurred in conducting the criminal history background check. It authorizes an APPRAISER CERTIFIED BY A JURISDICTION OTHER THAN TEXAS to perform an appraisal review of an appraisal performed on real property in Texas if the appraiser does not offer an opinion of value as part of the appraisal review. It requires training for appraisal review board members. It sets the terms for members of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board at six-‐year (rather than two-‐year) terms and requires the governor to appoint a person to fill an unexpired term if a vacancy occurs during a member’s term. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 1394 by Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) requires the appraisal office, if the chief appraiser uses audiovisual equipment at a hearing on a protest, to provide AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT AT A PROTEST HEARING for use during the hearing by the property owner or the owner’s agency. It extends the requirement that the chief appraiser and the property owner share each other’s materials to include information preserved on a portable device designed to maintain an electronic, magnetic, or digital reproduction of a document or image. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016. SB 1420 by Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) requires the APPRAISAL NOTICE to

include an exemption or partial exemption approved for the property in the preceding year that was canceled or reduced for the current year. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

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SB 1452 by Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) and Dan Huberty (R-‐Humble) authorizes counties to authorize the officer in charge of an AD VALOREM TAX SALE of real property to conduct a public auction using online bidding and sale. It was signed by the governor on May 15, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 1468 by Kirk Watson (D-‐Austin) and Donna Howard (D-‐Austin) allows ex-‐parte communication between

appraisal district representatives and property owners with the local administrative district judge related to grounds for REMOVAL OF AN APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD MEMBER. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1725 by Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) and Tan Parker (R-‐Flower Mound) requires the clerk of the court to notify the attorney general of excess proceeds from a FORECLOSURE OF A TAX LIEN on a property. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1760 by Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) and Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) makes several changes to PROPERTY

TAX ADMINISTRATION including:

allowing a lessee designated by a property owner to designate an agent to act on behalf of the property owner; authorizing the use of electronic signatures on tax forms; requiring the comptroller to annually prepare a list that includes the total tax rate imposed by each taxing unit in the state, other than school districts, if the tax rate is reported to the comptroller, and requires the lists to be posted on the comptroller’s website in descending order; adding refunds to the list of documents, actions, and communications that a property owner can assign to an agent’s address for delivery; allowing an automatic refund to a homeowner whose homestead exemption application was approved late; requiring a 60 percent majority vote by a taxing unit to adopt a property tax rate above the effective rate; requiring a rollback election notice and the ballot language to include an explanation of the purpose of the tax increase; allowing the court to give preference to an appraisal district employee who is a licensed real estate appraiser in testimony to a district court case appealing a property value; and setting the refund interest rate at 9.5 percent (instead of Prime plus 2 percent).

It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016, except Section 9 takes effect January 1, 2020.

SB 1985 by Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) and Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) replaces obsolete references to a

report published by the ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION with those in current EIA reports and requires a short-‐term IEA forecast to be used if the administration’s Annual Energy Outlook report is not published by March 1st. It was signed by the governor on May 5, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SJR 1 by Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) and Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) proposes a constitutional amendment increasing mandatory HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION for school district taxes from $15,000 to $25,000 effective for the tax year beginning January 1, 2015. It also contains a provision prohibiting the legislature from enacting any law that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property. (The enabling bill is SB 1.) It will be submitted to the voters on November 3, 3015.

TAX – FRANCHISE

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HB 32 by Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) and Jane Nelson (R-‐Flower Mound) REDUCES THE FRANCHISE TAX RATE to 0.75 of taxable margin (a 25 percent reduction) and 0.375 for retail and wholesale businesses. It increases the revenue threshold for businesses to qualify for the EZ calculation from $10 million to $20 million and reduces the EZ rate from 0.575 to 0.331. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016. HB 2896 by Tan Parker (R-‐Flower Mound) and Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) allows a TAXABLE ENTITY THAT IS A BROADCASTER to apportion receipts arising from licensing income distributed to the broadcaster’s customers in

Texas. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2018.

HB 3230 by Justin Rodriguez (D-‐San Antonio) and Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) clarifies that a nonprofit

entity exempt from federal income tax can take a franchise tax credit for costs and expenses associated with REHABILITATION OF CERTIFIED HISTORIC STRUCTURES if the property is tax exempt. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 1049 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) institutes a franchise tax

exemption for NEW VETERAN-‐OWNED BUSINESSES for the first five years of operation. It applies to new veteran-‐ owned businesses that first begin doing business in Texas on or after January 1, 2016. It was signed by the governor on June 4, 2015 and it takes effect on January 1, 2020.

TAX – SALES HB 157 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) requires the SALES TAX RATE ADOPTED BY CITIES

(increases or decreases) to be in one-‐eighth of one percent increments; however it does not allow the combined rate of all local sales taxes to exceed the two percent cap. It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 158 by Lyle Larson (R-‐San Antonio) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) appropriates 100 percent of the sales taxes collected on SPORTING GOODS to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission. It was signed by the governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2313 by Dwayne Bohac (R-‐Houston) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) exempts sales of tangible personal

property sold through a VENDING MACHINE OPERATED BY A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION that qualifies for an exemption and is stocked and maintained by individuals with special needs as part of an independent life skills and education program operated by the nonprofit organization. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2507 by Kyle Kacal (R-‐College Station) and Kel Seliger (R-‐Amarillo) exempts EQUIPMENT USED FOR DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING from sales and use taxes if sold to a licensed digital audio broadcasting station. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2712 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) provides a temporary sales

tax exemption for five years for tangible personal property that is necessary and essential to the operation of a qualified new LARGE DATA CENTER PROJECT from sales taxes for the first 20 years of operation. To qualify, the data center must make a capital investment of at least $500 million and create at least 40 qualifying jobs in the county, not including jobs moved from one county in Texas to another Texas county. Tangible personal property includes: electricity

a data storage device

an electrical system

network connectivity equipment

an emergency generator

a rack, cabinet, and raised floor system a peripheral component or system software

hardware or a distributed mainframe computer or server

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a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing system that is necessary to operate any tangible personal property

any other item of equipment or system necessary to operate any tangible personal property including a fixture a component part of tangible personal property It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 755 by Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) and Angie Chen Button (R-‐Richardson) clarifies that SOFTWARE USED FOR WEB-‐ HOSTING should be taxed once, specifically during the transaction where the end-‐user purchases software as part of the hosting package. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 853 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Angie Chen Button (R-‐Richardson) allows an electronic signature to be used on an ELECTRONICALLY FILED SALES TAX PERMIT APPLICATION. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 904 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) institutes a sales tax holiday the last

weekend in April for EMERGENCY PREPARATION ITEMS. It exempts portable generators under $3,000; window protectors made specifically to prevent storm damage and emergency or rescue ladders under $300; and the following items under $75: reusable or artificial ice products

ground anchor systems or tie-‐down kits

portable, self-‐powered light sources gasoline or diesel fuel containers

mobile telephone batteries or battery chargers

AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt, or 9 volt batteries, or packages containing more than one battery, other than an automobile or boat battery

portable self-‐powered radios, including two-‐ way or weather band radios fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide detectors

nonelectric coolers or ice chests for food storage

hatchets or axes;

tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting

nonelectric can openers

self-‐contained first aid kits

It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1356 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and Drew Darby (R-‐San Angelo) adds certified WATERSENSE PRODUCTS to the Memorial Day Weekend energy efficient products sales tax holiday. It was

signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on October 1, 2015.

SB 1366 by Lois Kolkhorst (R-‐Brenham) and Larry Gonzales (R-‐Round Rock) allocates sales tax revenue from the SALE OF SPORTING GOODS to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in an amount not to exceed the amount of the tax proceeds specified in the appropriations bill during the then-‐current biennium plus the amount necessary to fund the cost of state contributions for benefits of department employees whose salaries or wages are paid from the account. It was signed by the governor on May 22, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1396 by Royce West (D-‐Dallas) and Chris Paddie (R-‐Marshall) includes in the definition of “SALE FOR RESALE” AN AIRCRAFT purchased for the purpose of leasing, renting, or reselling to another person in the

United States of Mexico in the form in which it was acquired. Leasing or renting the aircraft includes the transfer of operational control pursuant to a written lease in exchange for some consideration. The purchase of an aircraft qualifies as a sale for resale, regardless of whether the purchaser uses the aircraft, if more than 50 percent of the aircraft’s departures are made under the operational control of

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one or more lessee pursuant to a written lease. It specifies conditions under which an aircraft brought to, stored, or used in Texas is not subject to sales taxes including an aircraft: brought to Texas for the purpose of being completed, repaired, remodeled, or restored; brought to Texas by a person who had not acquired it directly from a seller by means of a purchase; and that made more than half of its departures from locations outside the state for a year after either the acquisition of the aircraft or its first flight containing passengers or property, whichever date is later.

It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

TAX – GENERAL/OTHER HB 991 by Dwayne Bohac (R-‐Houston) and Don Huffines (R-‐Dallas) requires anyone SELLING MOTOR FUEL

AT A RETAIL establishment to display on each pump a notice of the current rates of the federal and state motor fuel taxes. The notice must display the rate of each tax in cents per gallon for each type of fuel, be displayed on each face of the pump on which the price of the fuel is displayed, and be displayed in a clear, conspicuous, and prominent manner. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 1261 by Susan King (R-‐Abilene) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) directs the comptroller to issue a

BIENNIAL EXEMPTIONS & EXCLUSIONS REPORT and requires the comptroller to use available statistical data

to estimate the impact of an exemption, discount, exclusion, special valuation, special accounting treatment, special rate, or special method of reporting related to a tax if no actual data is available. It was signed by the governor on June 10, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1841 by Greg Bonnen (R-‐Friendswood) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) removes services provided by

a PUBLIC INSURANCE ADJUSTER from services subject to the sales tax. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on October 1, 2015.

HB 1905 by Drew Springer (R-‐Muenster) and Larry Taylor (R-‐Friendswood) makes SEVERAL TAX CHANGES including:

repealing alcoholic beverage taxes on drinks served on airplanes and trains; repealing the tax on controlled substances; repealing the bingo hall rental tax; exempting the property of open-‐enrollment charter schools from ad valorem taxes (although the proposed constitutional amendment did not pass, so this provision cannot take effect until a constitutional amendment passes and is approved by the voters); changing definition of “snack items” for sales tax purposes to exempt pine nuts from the sales tax but include in the sales tax pork rinds, corn nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, ice pops, juice pops, and other frozen fruit items sold in individual portions; including short-‐term residential rentals in local hotel tax provisions; exempting emergency medical services vehicles from motor fuels taxes; and

August 7, 2015 | Tax Bills

exempting metropolitan transit authority vehicles from the tax on compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.

It was signed by the governor on June 20, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015 (except Section 19 has no effect and Section 20 takes effect January 1, 2016.

HB 2154 by Harold Dutton (D-‐Houston) and Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) is the sunset bill for the STATE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS. It continues the office until 2027. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2891 by John Otto (R-‐Dayton) and Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) requires corporations, limited liability

companies, limited partnerships, and professional associations subject to the franchise tax (regardless of whether the entity is required to pay any tax) to file a REPORT WITH THE COMPTROLLER containing the name of each person or entity that owns a ten percent or greater interest in the entity, and the name, title and mailing address of each person who is an officer, director, or general partner of the entity. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

SB 724 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) exempts from the motor vehicle

sales and use tax the sale of a vehicle for use by a public agency or a commercial transportation company to provide TRANSPORTATION SERVICES under a contract with a board of county school trustees, a SCHOOL DISTRICT board of trustees, or the governing body of an open-‐enrollment charter school.

SB 752 by Paul Bettencourt (R-‐Houston) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) repeals the state INHERITANCE

TAX. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 757 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Drew Springer (R-‐Muenster) repeals the TAX ON SULPHUR and

repeals the three-‐sixteenths of one cent per barrel PRODUCTION TAX ON CRUDE PETROLEUM. The 4.6 percent tax on oil production remains in effect. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 761 by Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) and Jim Murphy (R-‐Houston) repeals Chapter 161 of the Tax

Code that assesses an additional two percent surtax on FIREWORKS. It adds a provision providing an amount equal to the revenue derived from the two percent surtax on fireworks to be deposited in the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Insurance account (approximately $1.4 million per year). It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

VETOED BILL -‐ TAX HB 2282 by Ryan Guillen (D-‐Rio Grande City) and Carlos Uresti (D-‐San Antonio) allows a property owner

in Atascosa County to bring an APPEAL OF AN APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD order in a justice court if the amount of taxes due on the disputed value is $5,000 or less. VETO MESSAGE “The Texas Tax Code allows all property owners in Texas to bring an appeal in district court to challenge an appraisal district decision regarding their property. These appeals are important matters for property owners, who deserve a fair and predictable process by which to challenge the actions of appraisal districts. HB 2282 departs from the uniform, statewide rules governing appraisal appeals by allowing property owners in just one of the State's 254 counties to file their appeals with a justice of the peace instead of a district court. Unlike district courts, justices

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of the peace generally do not serve an entire county; instead they serve a particular geographic district within the county. Yet HB 2282 would allow property owners to choose any justice of the peace in the county to hear their appeal. This would invite forum shopping and would allow a justice of the peace to make rulings about property in a part of the county he or she does not represent.”

August 7, 2015 | Tax Bills

Tech-Telecom Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Tech-‐Telecom Bills HB 855 by Scott Sanford (R-‐McKinney) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) requires the Department of

Information Resources (DIR) to identify the three most commonly used INTERNET BROWSERS and post a list (updated biennially) containing those browsers in a conspicuous location on the departments Internet website; and would requires state agencies that maintain a generally accessible Internet website to ensure that the website is compatible with a wireless communication device and the most recent version of each Internet browser on DIR’s list. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 140 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Tom Craddick (R-‐Midland) institutes a sales tax exemption for TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES exclusively provided for the navigation of machinery and equipment exclusively used or employed on a farm or ranch in the building or maintaining of roads or water facilities or in the production of food for human consumption, grass, feed for animal life, or other agricultural products. It was signed by the governor on May 29, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 788 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Chris Paddie (R-‐Marshall) require business service users that own or lease a telephone system or an equivalent system that uses Internet Protocol enabled service, and provides outbound dialing capacity or access to configure the system to allow a person initiating a 9-‐1-‐1 call to access 9-‐1-‐1 SERVICE by dialing the digits 9-‐1-‐1 without an additional code, digit, prefix, postfix, or trunk-‐access code. It was signed by the governor on June 15, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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Tort Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Tort Bills HB 1040 by Chris Paddie (R-‐Marshall) and Kelly Hancock (R-‐North Richland Hills) provides that SPORTS OFFICIALS who are engaged in an athletic competition are not be liable for civil damages, including personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, or other loss related to an act, error, or omission that results from a risk inherent in the nature of the competitive activity unless the act, error, or omission constitutes gross negligence or wanton, willful, or intentional misconduct. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1050 by James White (R-‐Hillister) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) clarifies that PERSONS WHO DONATE

APPARENTLY WHOLESOME FOOD to a church, a not-‐for-‐profit organization or a nonprofit organization for distribution to the needy are exempt from civil or criminal liability if the food is apparently wholesome at the time of donation or distribution. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1492 by Doug Miller (R-‐New Braunfels) and Charles Schwertner (R-‐Georgetown) requires claimants

in ASBESTOS & SILICA LAWSUITS to file claims with each trust that may owe compensation to the plaintiff, unless it costs more to pursue the claim than the trust fund is likely to pay and requires claims to be filed in advance of trial and give notice to each defendant of each claim and the amount of compensation paid. It allows a defendant who receives information regarding the claimant’s exposure to move for a stay of trial in order for the claimant to seek recovery from a trust fund from which the claimant has not previously applied for compensation. Ant it deems trust claim information authentic, relevant, and discoverable and not privileged, regardless of the existence of a confidentiality agreement. It extends the deadline for the multi-‐district litigation court to dismiss inactive asbestos claims from August 31, 2015 to December 31, 2015. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1510 by Senfronia Thompson (D-‐Houston) and Sylvia Garcia (D-‐Houston) provides that a CAUSE OF

ACTION AGAINST A LANDLORD does not accrue solely on the basis that the landlord leases to a tenant,

based on evidence that the tenant has been convicted of or arrested or placed on deferred adjudication for, an offense. It does not preclude a suit for negligent leasing if the tenant was convicted of an offense for which a judge is prohibited from ordering community supervision; or has a reportable conviction or adjudication and the landlord knew or should have known of the conviction or adjudication. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

HB 1666 by Dennis Bonnen (R-‐Angleton) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) extends LIABILITY PROTECTION

RELATED TO FIRST RESPONDER PERFORMANCE in a training exercise to match the protections in place related to first responder performance of duties during an actual emergency. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1692 by Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) reforms the doctrine of FORUM

NON-‐ CONVENIENS. It allows a court to determine whether a non-‐resident plaintiff’s claim has a

significant connection to Texas, without regard to the person’s national origin or country of citizenship and clarifies that the definition of “plaintiff” does not include peripheral parties, such as representatives, guardians, next friends, or administrators. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

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HB 2303 by John Kuempel (R-‐Seguin) and Joan Huffman (R-‐Houston) provides LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR

PRIVATE LANDOWNERS for injuries incurred during recreational activities related of off-‐road vehicles. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 610 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and Andrew Murr (R-‐Junction) provides that an agritourism entity would not be liable for an agritourism participant injury or damages arising out of the agritourism participant injury if a warning was posted on or near any premises on which the agritourism activity was conducted or if the entity obtained a written agreement and warning statement from the participant. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect. SB 735 by Troy Fraser (R-‐Marble Falls) and Ken King (R-‐Canadian) requires a plaintiff to show a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits” in order to get DISCOVERY OF NET WORTH EVIDENCE for purposes of punitive damages. It defines “net worth” as total assets less total liabilities on a date the trial court deems appropriate. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015. SB 1457 by Robert Nichols (R-‐Jacksonville) and Travis Clardy (R-‐Nacogdoches) prohibits a person from

sending ten or more written communications per calendar year in which the person makes a bad faith CLAIM OF PATENT INFRINGEMENT against an end user located or doing business in Texas. It defines “end user” as a person that purchases, rents, leases, or otherwise obtains a product, service, or technology in the commercial market that is not for resale and that is, or later becomes, the subject of a patent infringement assertion due to the person’s use of the product, service, or technology. It specifies that a bad faith claim is a communication that includes a claim that the end user or a person affiliated with the end user has infringed a patent and is liable for that infringement and: 1. The communication falsely states that the sender has filed a lawsuit in connection with the claim; 2. The claim is objectively baseless because the sender or a person the sender represents does not have a current right to license the patent to or enforce the patent against the end user; the patent has been held invalid or unenforceable in a final judgment or administrative decision; or the infringing activity alleged in the communication occurred after the patent expired; or 3. The communication is likely to materially mislead a reasonable end user because the communication does not contain information sufficient to inform the end user of the identity of the person asserting the claim; the patent that is alleged to have been infringed; and at least one product, service, or technology obtained by the end user that is alleged to infringe the patent. It gives the attorney general to bring an action on behalf of the state and allows the court to order a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation, reimbursement to the state for the cost of investigating and prosecuting the violation, and restitution to the victim for legal and professional expenses related to the violation. It contains a provision specifying that this law does not create a private cause of action for a false claim of patent infringement. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

August 7, 2015 | Tort Bills

Worker's Compensation Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Worker’s Comp Bills HB 796 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) allows the TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM to purchase property, casualty, or liability insurance without approval from the risk management board. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1094 by Charlie Geren (R-‐Fort Worth) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) allows SPOUSES OF FIRST RESPONDERS

killed in the line of duty to continue receiving death income benefits (DIBs) for life even after remarriage. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 1170 by Marsha Farney (R-‐Georgetown) and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-‐Brownsville) treats an OPEN-‐ ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL as a governmental unit and allows an open-‐enrollment charter school to

elect to extend workers' compensation benefits to employees of the school through any method available to a political subdivision under Labor Code, Chapter 504. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

HB 1403 by Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) and Craig Estes (R-‐Wichita Falls) excludes suits brought against

non-‐subscribing employers and suits brought against employers following a WORK-‐RELATED DEATH from being labeled health care liability claims which are claims brought against health care providers following injury or death. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2771 by Armando “Mando” Martinez (D-‐Weslaco) would clarify that activities of a FIREFIGHTER OR

EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL in response to an emergency call, including transportation to or from

the location of the emergency, are considered to be in the course and scope of the firefighter’s or emergency medical personnel’s employment. It was signed by the governor on June 9, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 653 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Rene Oliveira (D-‐Brownsville) increases a workers’ compensation carrier’s liability for DEATH BENEFITS from $6,000 to $10,000. It was signed by Governor on May 28, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 901 by Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) and Nicole Collier (D-‐Fort Worth) allows injured workers who make less

than $10 an hour to receive 75% of their AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES for the first 26 weeks after an injury. The current law allows 75% TIBs for the first 26 weeks to those making less than $8.50 an hour. It was signed by governor on May 21, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 907 by Charles Perry (R-‐Lubbock) and John Frullo (R-‐Lubbock) allows eligible employees of the TEXAS

TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM Administration and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso to participate in the workers’ compensation program for state employees. It was signed by the governor on June 19, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 978 by Brandon Creighton (R-‐Conroe) and Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) requires the Texas Department

of Insurance to annually produce to the public information concerning the department’s general process and METHODOLOGY FOR RATE REVIEW, including factors that contribute to the disapproval of a rate. It was signed by the governor on June 1, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

VETOED BILL – WORKER’S COMP

August 7, 2015 | Worker's Compensation Bills

HB 2466 by Nicole Collier (D-‐Fort Worth) and Kevin Eltife (R-‐Tyler) creates a SAFETY REIMBURSEMENT

PROGRAM for employers who participate in the workers’ compensation system. Eligible employers

could be reimbursed up to $5,000.

VETO MESSAGE “One way for government to grow is by the addition of large, high-‐profile new state programs. That kind of government growth is easy to spot and relatively simple to guard against. Perhaps more often, however, government growth takes place through the accumulation over time of many small additions to the bureaucratic state. Each one may seem like a benign, low-‐cost effort to address discrete problems thought to be facing society. But when viewed together, they amount to a massive expansion of the size, scope, and cost of government. Once in place, these programs tend only to get bigger and more costly. Many people come to rely on or become financially interested in the program's continued existence, which makes it difficult to reduce in size, much less eliminate. HB 2466 creates just such a program. Texas has been doing pretty well without a safety reimbursement program run by the Department of Insurance. To stay strong, we should resist the needless growth of government even in small ways.”

August 7, 2015 | Worker's Compensation Bills

Workforce Bills

84th Legislative Session Summary Public Policy Division Bills Passed Overview

August 2015

84th Legislative Summary-‐ Workforce Bills HB 1606 by Cindy Burkett (R-‐Sunnyvale) and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) is the sunset bill for the

TEXAS WORKFORCE INVESTMENT COUNCIL and the Skill Standards Board. It continues the council until September 1, 2027. It requires the council to provide advice to the governor and the legislature on the development of a statewide system of industry-‐defined and industry-‐recognized skill standards and credentials for all major skilled occupations that provide strong employment and earnings opportunities in the state and require less than a baccalaureate degree. It requires the council to:

Validate and recognize nationally established skill standards to guide curriculum development, training, assessment, and certification of workforce skills; Convene industry groups to develop skill standards and certification procedures for industries and occupations in which standards have not been established or adopted and recognize the skill standards and certification procedures; Review the standards developed by other states and foreign countries and enter into agreements for mutual recognition of standards and credentials to enhance portability of skills; and Promote the use of standards and credentials among employers. The council is required to provide annual reports to the governor and the legislature. It was signed by the governor on May 23, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

HB 2014 by Kenneth Sheets (R-‐Dallas) and Van Taylor (R-‐Plano) provides that a person who is a current

or former member of the United States armed services is considered to have satisfied the requirement of a person seeking TRADES AND INDUSTRIES EDUCATION CERTIFICATION for a specific trade to hold a license or professional credential if the person possess experience related to the trade that obtained through military service. It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and took immediate effect.

SB 208 by Donna Campbell (R-‐New Braunfels) and Cindy Burkett (R-‐Sunnyvale) is the sunset bill for the TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION.

Vocational Rehabilitation Programs: It transfers vocational rehabilitation programs from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services to the Workforce Commission. It extends the agency to September 1, 2027. It transfers vocational rehabilitation services from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services to the Workforce Commission and requires information technology systems, services, programs, obligations, contracts, property and records to be transferred by September 1, 2016, subject to federal approval; and all vocational rehabilitation programs must be integrated with the Workforce Commission by October 1, 2017. It also transfers the Rehabilitation Council to the Workforce Commission on September 1, 2016. Civil Rights Division: It abolishes the Human Rights Commission and transfers its duties to the Workforce Commission. It requires TWC to develop risk assessment criteria based on previous complaints and review findings to determine whether a state agency’s personnel policies and procedures should be audited more frequently than ever six years. Recovery of Unemployment Compensation Debt: It allows TWC to recover past due unemployment compensation debt through the federal treasury Offset Program and allows the collection of penalties and interest on past-‐due debt.

August 7, 2015 | Workforce Bills

Database of Trade Schools and Colleges: It requires TWC to include a list of any formal enforcement action taken by TWC against a school or college in its searchable directory of schools and colleges on its website.

It was signed by the governor on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015 (except Sections 4, 6, 7, 8, and 19 take effect September 1, 2016, and Section 26 has no effect).

SB 212 by Brian Birdwell (R-‐Granbury) and Cindy Burkett (R-‐Sunnyvale) abolishes the TEXAS COUNCIL ON PURCHASING FROM PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES and transfer its functions to the Texas Workforce

Commission. It was filed without the governor’s signature on June 17, 2015 and takes effect on September 1, 2015.

SB 1351 by Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-‐McAllen) and John Zerwas (R-‐Fulshear) transfers administration of the JOBS AND EDUCATION FOR TEXANS (JET) PROGRAM and fund from the comptroller to the Texas Workforce Commission. It was signed by the governor on June 16, 2015 and took immediate effect.

August 7, 2015 | Workforce Bills

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