MMA C.S.H.B. 385 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS HIGHER EDUCATION C.S.H.B. 385 By: Krusee 4-2-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, the Williamson County school districts of Hutto and Thrall are in the Austin Community College (ACC) service area. These communities are 40 to 70 miles from the nearest ACC campus, and because they are not in the ACC taxing district, are subject to higher, out-ofdistrict tuition rates and fees. PURPOSE C.S.H.B. 385 would allow the school districts of Hutto and Thrall to be located in the Temple Community College service area instead of the Austin Community College Service Area. 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. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 130.166 and 130.202, Education Code, by excluding Hutto and Thrall Independent School Districts from the Austin Community College District Service Area (Sec. 130.166) and including them under the Temple Junior College District Service Area (Sec. 130.202). SECTION 2. States that the change in law applies to the 1997 fall semester. Creates an exemption for the 1997-1998 academic year which allows Austin Community College to continue to treat the areas as if they had not been removed for the purpose of avoiding unreasonable interruptions of services to the area. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE H.B. 385 allowed for a territory in a service area to be served by more than one junior college district and added Georgetown, Hutto and Thrall Independent School Districts to the Temple Junior College District Service Area. However, C.S.H.B. 385 does not include language regarding overlapping service areas. Instead, C.S.H.B. 385 moves Hutto and Thrall Independent School Districts from the Austin Community College District Service Area to the Temple Junior College District Service Area. C.S.H.B. 385 also includes language that allows a junior college district to continue serving a removed area for the next academic year to avoid unreasonable interruptions of services.