Bill Text: TX SB1455 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to certain required reports, plans, and other documents prepared by state agencies and institutions of higher education.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-19 - Effective on 9/1/15 [SB1455 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB1455-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1455
(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2015; March 19, 2015, read
first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
April 9, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 9, 2015,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1455 By: Watson

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain required reports, plans, and other documents
prepared by state agencies and institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.034(e), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) The board of directors shall:
(1) employ a director for the center; and
(2) establish priorities for the center's activities[;
and
[(3) report annually on the operation, projects, and
fiscal affairs of the center to the State Board of Education and the
membership of the center].
SECTION 2. Section 39.263(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The commissioner shall select annually schools and
districts qualified to receive successful school awards for their
performance [and report the selections to the governor and the
State Board of Education].
SECTION 3. Section 51.752(h), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(h) If the legislature fails to appropriate funds for the
operation of the Educational Economic Policy Center, the
Legislative Budget Board shall perform the duties of the committee
under this subchapter. [The board shall make the annual reports
required by Subsection (g) to the presiding officers of the
standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives
with primary jurisdiction over the public school system.]
SECTION 4. Section 61.0762(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) To [implement the college readiness and success
strategic action plan adopted under Section 61.0761 and to] enhance
the success of students at institutions of higher education, the
board by rule shall:
(1) develop higher education bridge programs in the
subject areas of mathematics, science, social science, or English
language arts to increase student success by reducing the need for
developmental education;
(2) develop incentive programs for institutions of
higher education that implement research-based, innovative
developmental education initiatives;
(3) develop a pilot program to award grants to
institutions of higher education for intensive programs designed to
address the needs of students at risk of dropping out of college;
(4) develop professional development programs for
faculty of institutions of higher education on college readiness
standards and the implications of such standards on instruction;
and
(5) develop other programs as determined by the board
that support the participation and success goals in "Closing the
Gaps," the state's master plan for higher education.
SECTION 5. Section 88.526(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The director shall prepare an annual report on equine
research funded under this subchapter. The director shall
distribute the report to [the Texas Racing Commission and] members
of the Texas horse racing industry. The director shall make copies
of the report available to interested parties.
SECTION 6. Section 72.084, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 72.084. COURT OF APPEALS. Each month, a [A] court of
appeals shall [annually] report to the office:
(1) the number of cases filed with the court during the
reporting month [year];
(2) the number of cases disposed of by the court during
the reporting month [year];
(3) for active cases on the docket of the court on the
reporting date, the average number of days from the date of
submission of the case to the court until the reporting date; and
(4) for each case disposed of during the reporting
month [year] by the court, the number of days from the date of
submission of the case to the court until the date of disposition of
the case by the court.
SECTION 7. Section 531.02111(e), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commission shall submit the report to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
the presiding officer of each standing committee of the senate and
house of representatives having jurisdiction over health and human
services issues, and the state auditor[, and the comptroller].
SECTION 8. Section 531.02112(c), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The commission shall submit the report to the governor,
legislature, and state auditor[, and comptroller].
SECTION 9. Section 531.055(a), Government Code, as amended
by S.B. 219, Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each health and human services agency, the Texas
Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental
Impairments, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs, [the Texas Education
Agency,] the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall enter into a joint memorandum of
understanding to promote a system of local-level interagency
staffing groups to coordinate services for persons needing
multiagency services.
SECTION 10. Section 614.072(f), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) The director shall prepare an annual written report on
the activity, status, and effectiveness of the fund and shall
submit the report to the lieutenant governor and[,] the speaker of
the house of representatives[, and the comptroller] before
September 1 of each year.
SECTION 11. Section 772.009, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (g-1) to read as
follows:
(g) Each state agency other than an institution of higher
education shall file an annual report with the grant writing team
concerning the agency's efforts to acquire [in acquiring] available
discretionary federal funds during the preceding state fiscal year.
The grant writing team shall establish guidelines for information
included in the annual report required by this subsection
[section].
(g-1) The grant writing team shall:
(1) evaluate the effectiveness of each agency in
acquiring discretionary federal funds during the preceding state
fiscal year;
(2) [and shall] report the findings of the evaluation
to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board; and
(3) publish the report on the office of the governor's
Internet website.
SECTION 12. Section 2056.002(d), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A state agency shall send two copies of each plan to both
the Legislative Reference Library and the state publications
clearinghouse of the Texas State Library and one copy each to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the Legislative Budget Board;
(5) the Sunset Advisory Commission;
(6) the state auditor; and
(7) [the comptroller; and
[(8)] the Department of Information Resources.
SECTION 13. Section 2056.009(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The state plan shall be sent to the governor, lieutenant
governor, [comptroller,] and each member of the legislature not
later than the seventh working day of each regular session of the
legislature.
SECTION 14. Section 2165.055, Government Code, as amended
by Chapters 1153 (S.B. 211) and 1312 (S.B. 59), Acts of the 83rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2165.055. REPORT ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS. Not
later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the commission
[on July 1 of each even-numbered year] shall [electronically submit
a] report to the governor[, lieutenant governor, speaker of the
house of representatives, comptroller, and Legislative Budget
Board on]:
(1) all improvements and repairs that have been made,
with an itemized account of receipts and expenditures; and
(2) the condition of all property under its control,
with an estimate of needed improvements and repairs.
SECTION 15. Section 2165.1061(h), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (f), [not
later than July 1 of each even-numbered year,] the commission shall
complete a study on the amount of each state agency's
administrative office space in Travis County to identify locations
that exceed the space limitations prescribed by Section 2165.104(c)
and include the findings of the study in the commission's master
facilities plan required under Section 2166.102. The findings
shall include:
(1) the location of office space that exceeds the
space limitations prescribed by Section 2165.104(c);
(2) the amount of excess space;
(3) the cost of the excess space;
(4) the expiration dates of any leases covering the
excess space;
(5) the amount of exempt and nonexempt space under
Section 2165.104(c); and
(6) recommendations for the most cost-effective
method by which a state agency could comply with the requirements of
Section 2165.104(c), including recommendations that identify the
amount and cost of office space that could be reduced or eliminated,
state the moving costs and expenses associated with reductions in
space, and state the earliest date by which the space reductions
could be feasibly achieved.
SECTION 16. Section 2166.101(d), Government Code, as
amended by Chapters 1153 (S.B. 211) and 1312 (S.B. 59), Acts of the
83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(d) The commission shall summarize its findings on the
status of state-owned buildings and current information on
construction costs and include the summary in the commission's
master facilities plan required under Section 2166.102 [in an
electronically submitted report to the governor, lieutenant
governor, speaker of the house of representatives, comptroller, and
Legislative Budget Board not later than July 1 of each
even-numbered year].
SECTION 17. Section 2166.102(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission shall maintain a six-year capital
planning cycle and shall electronically submit a master facilities
plan with the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house
of representatives, Legislative Budget Board, and comptroller not
later than December 1 [before July 1] of each even-numbered year.
SECTION 18. Section 2166.103(b), Government Code, as
amended by Chapters 1153 (S.B. 211) and 1312 (S.B. 59), Acts of the
83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(b) The [Not later than July 1 of each even-numbered year,]
commission shall identify [electronically submit to the governor,
the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, the comptroller, and the Legislative Budget Board
a report identifying] counties in which more than 50,000 square
feet of usable office space is needed and make recommendations for
meeting that need. The commission may recommend leasing or
purchasing and renovating one or more existing buildings or
constructing one or more buildings. The commission shall include
the commission's findings and recommendations in the commission's
master facilities plan required under Section 2166.102.
SECTION 19. Section 2205.041, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2205.041. AIRCRAFT USE FORM. (a) The Texas
Department of Transportation [Legislative Budget Board, in
cooperation with the board,] shall prescribe:
(1) an annual aircraft use form for gathering
information about the use of state-operated aircraft, including the
extent to which and the methods by which the goal provided by
Section 2205.031(b) is being met; and
(2) procedures for each state agency that operates an
aircraft for sending the form to the department [board and the
Legislative Budget Board].
(b) The aircraft use form must request the following
information about each aircraft a state agency operates:
(1) a description of the aircraft;
(2) the date purchased or leased and the purchase
price or lease cost;
(3) the number of annual hours flown;
(4) the annual operating costs;
(5) the number of flights and the destinations;
(6) the travel logs prepared under Section 2205.039;
and
(7) any other information the Texas Department of
Transportation [Legislative Budget Board] requires to document the
proper or cost-efficient use of the aircraft.
SECTION 20. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 51.752(g), Education Code;
(2) Section 61.0761, Education Code;
(3) Section 109.75(c), Education Code;
(4) Section 761.005, Government Code;
(5) Section 2166.409, Government Code;
(6) Section 372.004, Health and Safety Code;
(7) Section 101.0252, Human Resources Code; and
(8) Section 162.501(c), Tax Code.
SECTION 21. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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