By: Culberson H.B. No. 526
73R2759 CAE-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the office of inspector general for education.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Title 1, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-5 Chapter 3 to read as follows:
1-6 CHAPTER 3. INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EDUCATION
1-7 Sec. 3.01. Creation. (a) The office of inspector general
1-8 for education is created.
1-9 (b) The office of inspector general for education is within
1-10 the office of the governor.
1-11 Sec. 3.02. Appointment; Qualifications; Term. (a) The
1-12 governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint
1-13 a person to serve as inspector general.
1-14 (b) The inspector general must be a person of integrity and
1-15 of demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial
1-16 analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or
1-17 investigations.
1-18 (c) The office of inspector general is an office of the
1-19 public school system for purposes of Article VII, Section 16, of
1-20 the Texas Constitution, and the inspector general shall serve for a
1-21 term of office of five years expiring February 1 of the applicable
1-22 year.
1-23 Sec. 3.03. ASSISTANT INSPECTORS GENERAL. (a) The inspector
1-24 general shall appoint an assistant inspector general for auditing
2-1 who shall supervise the audits performed under this chapter.
2-2 (b) The inspector general shall appoint an assistant
2-3 inspector general for investigations who shall supervise
2-4 investigations performed under this chapter.
2-5 Sec. 3.04. Staff. The staff of the inspector general shall
2-6 be that provided for by the General Appropriations Act.
2-7 Sec. 3.05. Purposes. The purposes of the office of
2-8 inspector general are to:
2-9 (1) conduct management audits of, and review and
2-10 analyze the effectiveness of, the use of resources allocated to
2-11 public education, recognizing that those resources constitute an
2-12 investment in the quality of life and the economic prosperity of
2-13 future generations of Texans;
2-14 (2) advocate resources for the support of the state's
2-15 public institutions of education, including state, federal, and
2-16 private resources;
2-17 (3) provide current information to the commissioner of
2-18 education and the legislature about fraud, abuse, deficiencies, and
2-19 other problems in the administration of public education, recommend
2-20 corrective action, and report on the progress of corrective action;
2-21 (4) review existing and proposed legislation or rules
2-22 relating to public education to determine the impact of the
2-23 legislation or rules on the economy and efficiency in the
2-24 administration of public education or on the prevention and
2-25 detection of fraud or abuse in the administration of public
2-26 education;
2-27 (5) recommend policies for school districts and for
3-1 the Central Education Agency for the promotion of economy and
3-2 efficiency in the administration of public education and in the
3-3 prevention and detection of fraud and abuse in the administration
3-4 of public education; and
3-5 (6) recommend policies for the coordination of
3-6 relationships between the Central Education Agency and federal
3-7 agencies, other state agencies, school districts, and
3-8 nongovernmental entities regarding:
3-9 (A) the promotion of economy and efficiency in
3-10 the administration of public education;
3-11 (B) the prevention and detection of fraud and
3-12 abuse in the administration of public education; and
3-13 (C) the identification and prosecution of
3-14 participants in any detected fraud or abuse.
3-15 Sec. 3.06. Audits. (a) In order to assure that the state
3-16 gains maximum results from its investment in education, the
3-17 inspector general shall carry out management audits under
3-18 Subsections (b) and (c) of this section of the programs implemented
3-19 by the Central Education Agency, the State Board of Education, and
3-20 the state's public schools.
3-21 (b) The inspector general shall conduct economy and
3-22 efficiency audits to determine:
3-23 (1) whether the audited entity is managing or using
3-24 its resources, including state funds, personnel, property,
3-25 equipment, and space, in an economical and efficient manner;
3-26 (2) the causes of inefficiencies or uneconomical
3-27 practices, including inadequacies in management information
4-1 systems, internal and administrative procedures, organizational
4-2 structure, use of resources, allocation of personnel, purchasing,
4-3 policies, and equipment; and
4-4 (3) whether financial, program, and statistical
4-5 reports of the audited entity contain useful data and are fairly
4-6 presented.
4-7 (c) The inspector general shall conduct effectiveness audits
4-8 to determine, according to established or designated program
4-9 objectives, responsibilities or duties, statutes and regulations,
4-10 program performance criteria, or program evaluation standards:
4-11 (1) whether the objectives and intended benefits of a
4-12 program are being achieved efficiently and effectively; and
4-13 (2) whether a program duplicates, overlaps, or
4-14 conflicts with another program.
4-15 (d) The inspector general may conduct an audit on the
4-16 inspector general's own initiative and shall conduct an audit in a
4-17 school district on the request of the board of trustees of the
4-18 school district or of a member of the legislature whose legislative
4-19 district includes all or part of the school district.
4-20 Sec. 3.07. Programs. (a) In cooperation with the State
4-21 Board of Education and the boards of trustees of school districts,
4-22 the inspector general shall develop and encourage the development
4-23 of programs that will ensure that all public schools achieve their
4-24 maximum potential.
4-25 (b) The inspector general shall implement programs designed
4-26 to affect positively:
4-27 (1) the effective and efficient delivery of
5-1 educational services to students of public schools and the methods
5-2 used to assess the results of this service delivery;
5-3 (2) the quality of teaching and learning in public
5-4 schools;
5-5 (3) the development of the state's public schools as
5-6 an effective foundation for the production of the educated work
5-7 force essential to an economically diversified and
5-8 technology-intensive business-industrial complex; and
5-9 (4) the realization of the benefits of an educated
5-10 populace to the cultural, political, intellectual, and economic
5-11 quality of life in this state.
5-12 Sec. 3.08. ACCESS TO INFORMATION; ASSISTANCE. (a) The
5-13 inspector general is entitled to:
5-14 (1) have access to all records, reports, audits,
5-15 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other material
5-16 available to or in the custody of the Central Education Agency or a
5-17 school district, as applicable, that relate to the programs and
5-18 audits for which the inspector general has responsibilities under
5-19 this chapter; and
5-20 (2) have access to information in the custody of or
5-21 assistance from any state agency or local government that is
5-22 necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
5-23 (b) The inspector general may issue subpoenas to compel the
5-24 production of information, documents, reports, answers, records,
5-25 accounts, papers, or other data and documentary evidence necessary
5-26 to carry out the provisions of this chapter. A peace officer shall
5-27 serve the subpoena in the manner prescribed for service of a
6-1 district court subpoena. A district court shall enforce a subpoena
6-2 by attachment proceedings for contempt in the same manner the court
6-3 enforces a subpoena issued by that court.
6-4 Sec. 3.09. PERSONNEL COMPLAINTS; INFORMATION. (a) The
6-5 inspector general may receive and investigate complaints or
6-6 information from an employee of the Central Education Agency or of
6-7 a school district concerning the possible existence of:
6-8 (1) mismanagement;
6-9 (2) a gross waste of funds;
6-10 (3) an abuse of authority;
6-11 (4) a violation of law; or
6-12 (5) a substantial and specific danger to the public
6-13 health and safety.
6-14 (b) The inspector general may not disclose the identity of
6-15 the employee who makes the complaint or provides the information
6-16 without that employee's consent unless the disclosure is
6-17 unavoidable during the course of the investigation.
6-18 (c) An employee of the Central Education Agency or of a
6-19 school district who has authority to take, direct others to take,
6-20 recommend, or approve any personnel action may not take or threaten
6-21 to take any action against an employee for making a complaint or
6-22 disclosing information to the inspector general, unless the
6-23 employee made the complaint or disclosed the information with the
6-24 knowledge that it was false or with wilful disregard for its truth
6-25 or falsity.
6-26 Sec. 3.10. REPORT OF VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL LAW. The
6-27 inspector general shall report to the attorney general and to the
7-1 local district attorney if as the result of an audit or
7-2 investigation under this chapter the inspector general has
7-3 reasonable cause to believe that there has been a violation of
7-4 criminal law.
7-5 Sec. 3.11. AUDIT REPORT. (a) The inspector general shall
7-6 prepare and publish a report of each audit that the inspector
7-7 general conducts.
7-8 (b) The inspector general shall publish the report of an
7-9 audit of a school district in a newspaper with general circulation
7-10 in that district and shall post the report for at least 21
7-11 consecutive days in the building in which the board of trustees of
7-12 the district conducts its meetings.
7-13 (c) The inspector general shall publish the report of an
7-14 audit of the Central Education Agency in a newspaper with general
7-15 circulation in Travis County.
7-16 (d) A report published under this section is public
7-17 information subject to disclosure in accordance with the open
7-18 records law, Chapter 424, Acts of the 63rd Legislature, Regular
7-19 Session, 1973 (Article 6252-17a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
7-20 Sec. 3.12. ANNUAL REPORTS. (a) The inspector general shall
7-21 submit a written report not later than September 30 of each year
7-22 that summarizes the inspector general's activities in the 12-month
7-23 period ending the preceding August 31 to:
7-24 (1) the governor;
7-25 (2) the lieutenant governor;
7-26 (3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
7-27 (4) the chairman of the House Public Education
8-1 Committee; and
8-2 (5) the chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
8-3 (b) The report shall:
8-4 (1) describe significant problems, abuses, and
8-5 deficiencies relating to the administration of public education
8-6 disclosed by the inspector general during the reporting period;
8-7 (2) describe the recommendations made by the inspector
8-8 general during the reporting period for corrective action for the
8-9 problems, abuses, and deficiencies identified under Subdivision (1)
8-10 of this subsection;
8-11 (3) identify each significant recommendation described
8-12 in a previous annual report for which corrective action has not
8-13 been completed;
8-14 (4) summarize matters referred to a prosecuting
8-15 attorney or the attorney general and the prosecutions and
8-16 convictions that have resulted; and
8-17 (5) list each audit report completed by the inspector
8-18 general during the reporting period.
8-19 (c) The inspector general shall provide a copy of the report
8-20 to any member of the legislature on request.
8-21 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
8-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-26 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-27 passage, and it is so enacted.