By Turner of Harris                                   H.B. No. 1788
       74R6114 DWS-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to a requirement that a utility make an effort to award
    1-3  contracts to historically underutilized businesses.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Article VI, Public Utility Regulatory Act
    1-6  (Article 1446c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
    1-7  adding Section 42A to read as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 42A.  (a) The commission by rule shall require each
    1-9  utility to make a good faith effort to award to historically
   1-10  underutilized businesses not less than 15 percent of the total
   1-11  value of all contracts that the utility awards.
   1-12        (b)  In this section:
   1-13              (1)  "Historically underutilized business" means a
   1-14  business entity at least 51 percent of which is owned by minority
   1-15  group members, or in the case of a corporation, at least 51 percent
   1-16  of the shares of which are owned, managed, and controlled by
   1-17  minority group members.
   1-18              (2)  "Minority group members" include:
   1-19                    (A)  African Americans;
   1-20                    (B)  American Indians;
   1-21                    (C)  Asian Americans;
   1-22                    (D)  Mexican Americans and other Americans of
   1-23  Hispanic origin; and
   1-24                    (E)  women.
    2-1        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
    2-2  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    2-3  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    2-4  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    2-5  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    2-6  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
    2-7  passage, and it is so enacted.