BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 3287
88R12756 JTZ-F	By: Anderson; Morales, Eddie (LaMantia)
	Education
	5/9/2023
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) currently operates ten locations across the state of Texas: Brown County, Cameron County, Ellis County, Fort Bend County, Harrison County, McLennan County, Nolan County, Stephens County, Taylor County, and East Williamson County.

Most of TSTC's locations are authorized only to operate in a particular city within each of the counties listed above. For example, Section 135.02(a)(5), Education Code, authorizes TSTC's Waco campus to operate only "in the city of Waco in McLennan County." This specificity presents a barrier to campus growth for campuses like Waco, which find themselves very near the boundaries of the cities they are authorized to operate in. Oftentimes, the nearest available property suitable for a proposed new TSTC facility is just outside city limits.

H.B. 3287 affords TSTC the flexibility to grow each of its campuses across the state and to respond to requests from schools and business leadership in certain cities. In addition, this bill authorizes TSTC to operate anywhere in the counties where its campuses are located, and to operate one or more locations in Ellis County under the North Texas campus administration.

H.B. 3287 amends current law relating to the locations of the campuses of the Texas State Technical College System.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 135.02(a), Education Code, as follows:

(a) Provides that the Texas State Technical College System is composed of:

(1) makes no changes to this subdivision;

(2) a campus located in Cameron County, rather than in the city of Harlingen in Cameron County;

(3) a campus serving West Texas that operates as a collective unit of strategically positioned permanent locations in Nolan County, Taylor County, Brown County, and Stephens County, rather than in the city of Sweetwater in Nolan County, the city of Abilene in Taylor County, the city of Brownwood in Brown County, and the city of Breckenridge in Stephens County;

(4) a campus located in Harrison County, rather than in the city of Marshall in Harrison County;

(5) a campus located in McLennan County, rather than in the city of Waco in McLennan County;

(6) makes no changes to this subdivision;

(7) a campus that operates as a collective of one or more locations in Ellis County, rather than a campus located in the city of Red Oak in Ellis County; and

(8) makes no changes to this subdivision.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2023.