BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3013

By: Biedermann

Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been argued that the Alamo is the most important symbol of Texas independence and represents what it means to be a Texan. However, there have been proposals to refocus the telling of Texas history and the Alamo complex. In 2014, the City of San Antonio began a process to revitalize and revise the city-owned Alamo Plaza under the Alamo Master Plan, with its statement of guiding principles, which aims to tell a much broader story of the site and the significance of the 1836 battle during the fight for Texas independence.

C.S.H.B. 3013 seeks to enact the Texas Heroes Act, which requires the General Land Office to ensure that the displays and exhibits located on the grounds of the Alamo complex, including displays and exhibits located in a museum, prominently feature certain information regarding the Battle of the Alamo and its heroes.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3013 amends the Natural Resources Code to require the General Land Office (GLO) to ensure that the displays and exhibits located on the grounds of the Alamo complex, including displays and exhibits located in a museum, prominently feature the following:

· the story of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo;

· the history of the Texians and Tejanos who fought in the 1836 Battle of the Alamo; and

· the grievances to the Mexican federal government listed in the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas dated March 2, 1836.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3013 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

While both the original and substitute relate to the GLO's duties regarding the Alamo complex, the substitute does not include the original's establishment of a general duty to ensure that the Alamo and Alamo complex, including present and future museums, focus on certain information but instead sets out a similar provision requiring specifically that the GLO ensure that historic displays and exhibits located on the grounds of the Alamo complex, including displays and exhibits located in a museum, prominently feature certain information as revised by the substitute.

With respect to the substitute's revision of that information, the original required the GLO to ensure the focus to be on the 1836 battle telling the history of why Texians and Tejanos fought in the Battle of the Alamo solely as described in the Texas Declaration of Independence dated March 2, 1836. The substitute instead also requires the following to be prominently featured:

· the history of the Texians and Tejanos who fought in the 1836 Battle of the Alamo; and

· the grievances to the Mexican federal government listed in the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas dated March 2, 1836.

The substitute includes a provision assigning a short title to the bill and the original did not assign a short title.