By Wilson                                               H.B. No. 57
       74R530 DRH-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the requirement that a sports facility district
    1-3  establish a plan to increase its usage of historically
    1-4  underutilized businesses.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 325, Local Government Code,
    1-7  is amended by adding Section 325.048 to read as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 325.048.  HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES.  (a)  A
    1-9  district shall attempt to stimulate the growth of historically
   1-10  underutilized businesses inside its boundaries by encouraging the
   1-11  full participation of historically underutilized businesses in all
   1-12  phases of its procurement activities and affording those
   1-13  historically underutilized businesses a full and fair opportunity
   1-14  to compete for district contracts.
   1-15        (b)  A district shall establish one or more programs designed
   1-16  to increase participation by historically underutilized businesses
   1-17  in its contract awards.  Each program shall be structured to
   1-18  further remedial goals and shall be established to eradicate the
   1-19  effects of any prior discrimination.
   1-20        (c)  The board shall review each of its historically
   1-21  underutilized business programs on an annual basis to determine if
   1-22  each program is the most effective method for remedying historical
   1-23  discriminatory actions.  The board's review shall determine whether
   1-24  statistically significant disparities exist between the
    2-1  historically underutilized businesses in the relevant market that
    2-2  are qualified to undertake district work and the percentage of
    2-3  total district funds that are awarded to historically underutilized
    2-4  businesses.
    2-5        (d)  A program established by a district under this section
    2-6  must attempt to remedy any statistically significant disparities
    2-7  that are found to exist, and, because a program is remedial in
    2-8  nature, it continues only until its purposes and objectives are met
    2-9  as determined by the regular periodic review.
   2-10        (e)  The district shall prepare an annual report for each
   2-11  fiscal year documenting progress under each of its historically
   2-12  underutilized business programs.  The district shall file the
   2-13  report with each appointing authority under Section 325.011 not
   2-14  later than December 31 of each year.
   2-15        (f)  In this section, "historically underutilized business"
   2-16  means:
   2-17              (1)  a corporation formed for the purpose of making a
   2-18  profit in which at least 51 percent of all classes of the shares of
   2-19  stock or other equitable securities are owned by one or more
   2-20  persons who are socially disadvantaged because of their
   2-21  identification as members of certain groups that have suffered the
   2-22  effects of discriminatory practices or similar insidious
   2-23  circumstances over which they have no control, including black
   2-24  Americans, Hispanic Americans, women, Asian Pacific Americans, and
   2-25  American Indians;
   2-26              (2)  a sole proprietorship formed for the purpose of
   2-27  making a profit that is owned, operated, and controlled exclusively
    3-1  by one or more persons described by Subdivision (1);
    3-2              (3)  a partnership that is formed for the purpose of
    3-3  making a profit in which at least 51 percent of the assets and
    3-4  interest in the partnership is owned by one or more persons
    3-5  described by Subdivision (1) who have a proportionate interest in
    3-6  the control, operation, and management of the partnership affairs;
    3-7              (4)  a joint venture in which each entity in the joint
    3-8  venture is a historically underutilized business under this
    3-9  subsection; or
   3-10              (5)  a supplier contract between persons described in
   3-11  Subdivision (1) and a prime contractor in which the historically
   3-12  underutilized business is directly involved in the manufacture or
   3-13  distribution of the supplies or materials or otherwise warehouses
   3-14  and ships the supplies.
   3-15        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   3-16        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-17  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-18  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-19  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-20  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.