Bill Text: TX HB2232 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of higher education.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-20 - Referred to Higher Education [HB2232 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB2232-Introduced.html

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85R12362 MM-D
By: Dukes H.B. No. 2232

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address
sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private
institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter W-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER W-1. TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sec. 51.861. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Institution of higher education" and "private or
independent institution of higher education" have the meanings
assigned those terms by Section 61.003.
(2) "Task force" means the statewide task force
established under this subchapter to address sexual assault
occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of
higher education.
Sec. 51.862. TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) The task force
consists of:
(1) two members appointed by the governor as follows:
(A) one member from the office of the governor;
and
(B) one member from the Crime Victims' Institute
at Sam Houston State University;
(2) eight members evenly selected from positions held
at institutions of higher education and private or independent
institutions of higher education and appointed by the presiding
officer of the task force as follows:
(A) one member from an office of student affairs;
(B) one member who is a Title IX coordinator;
(C) one member from an athletics department;
(D) one member who provides services to students
as a counselor or therapist;
(E) one member who is the director of a campus
health center;
(F) one member who is the director of a women's
center;
(G) one member from a campus police department;
and
(H) one member from a department having authority
over student resident life;
(3) one member from the general counsel's office of an
institution of higher education and one member from the general
counsel's office of a private or independent institution of higher
education, each appointed by the presiding officer of the task
force;
(4) eight members having a specialized interest in
issues related to sexual assault, appointed by the presiding
officer of the task force as follows:
(A) one member who is the survivor of a sexual
assault committed on the campus of an institution of higher
education or a private or independent institution of higher
education;
(B) one member from a rape crisis center who has a
background in issues relating to family violence, as defined by
Section 71.004, Family Code;
(C) one member who is a counselor or therapist at
a rape crisis center;
(D) one member who is a victim advocate at a rape
crisis center;
(E) one member who is the executive director of a
rape crisis center;
(F) one member who is an attorney representing
the state in the prosecution of sexual assaults and other similar
offenses;
(G) one member who is a sexual assault nurse
examiner; and
(H) one member from a statewide sexual assault
advocacy coalition; and
(5) any other member whom the presiding officer
determines to be appropriate and who consents to serve on the task
force, including a person who works for a federal agency such as the
United States Department of Education.
(b) Initial appointments to the task force must be made not
later than January 1, 2018.
(c) The presiding officer of the task force is the member
who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State
University.
(d) Before appointing members of the task force under
Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5), the presiding officer shall
solicit and obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations
the names of recommended persons who are available and willing to
serve on the task force.
(e) Appointed members of the task force serve at the will of
the appointing authority. A vacancy on the task force shall be
filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
Sec. 51.863. MEETINGS; EXPENSES. (a) The task force shall
meet at the call of the presiding officer.
(b) A member of the task force is not entitled to
compensation for service on the task force but, from money
available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is
entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by
Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 51.864. GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. (a) The task
force shall:
(1) review federal laws regarding campus sexual
assault, including, as applicable:
(A) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
(B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and
(C) the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section
1092(f));
(2) solicit and receive reports and testimony from
campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide
support services to campus sexual assault survivors; and
(3) develop policy guidelines for institutions of
higher education and private or independent institutions of higher
education with respect to campus sexual assault, including:
(A) recommended definitions of prohibited
behavior and sanctions for violations;
(B) a recommended model protocol for responding
to reports of campus sexual assault; and
(C) recommended coordinated victim support
services using campus-based or community-based resources.
(b) In developing policy guidelines under Subsection
(a)(3), the task force shall analyze appropriate reports,
literature, and statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence
of sexual violence on the campuses of institutions of higher
education and private or independent institutions of higher
education, including:
(1) the United States Department of Justice's report
"The Sexual Victimization of College Women";
(2) the United States Department of Justice's report
"Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing
About It"; and
(3) "Not Alone: the First Report of the White House
Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault".
Sec. 51.865. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives a report that includes:
(1) a description of the activities of the task force;
(2) the findings of the task force on the current state
of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on:
(A) statistics reviewed by the task force
regarding sexual violence;
(B) testimony provided by campus sexual assault
survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus
sexual assault survivors; and
(C) thorough discussion by the task force;
(3) recommendations on best practices for higher
education policies and protocols for responding to reports of
sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to
sexual assault survivors; and
(4) any other matter that the task force considers
appropriate.
Sec. 51.866. COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task
force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of
this state, including institutions of higher education.
Sec. 51.867. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished
and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.