By Kamel                                               H.B. No. 140

      75R421 KKA-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to standards for public school construction.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 42.352, Education Code, is amended to

 1-5     read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 42.352.  STANDARDS.  (a)  The State Board of Education

 1-7     shall establish standards for adequacy of school facilities.  The

 1-8     standards shall include requirements related to space, educational

 1-9     adequacy, and construction quality.  The standards for construction

1-10     quality shall require a school district to comply with the

1-11     district's choice of:

1-12                 (1)  the local building code applicable in the area; or

1-13                 (2)  the most current editions available on January 1,

1-14     1997, of:

1-15                       (A)  the Uniform Building Code, published by the

1-16     International Conference of Building Officials, or the Standard

1-17     Building Code, published by the Southern Building Code Congress

1-18     International, Inc.; and

1-19                       (B)  the National Electrical Code, published by

1-20     the National Fire Protection Association.

1-21           (b)  The State Board of Education may subsequently revise

1-22     construction quality standards to reflect changes to the Uniform

1-23     Building Code, the Standard Building Code, and the National

1-24     Electrical Code made after January 1, 1997.

 2-1           (c)  All facilities constructed after September 1, 1992, must

 2-2     meet the standards established under Subsection (a) in order to be

 2-3     financed with state or local tax funds.

 2-4           SECTION 2.  This Act does not apply to construction of a

 2-5     project on which working drawings were begun before the effective

 2-6     date of standards adopted in compliance with this Act.  The State

 2-7     Board of Education shall adopt standards in compliance with this

 2-8     Act not later than December 1, 1997.

 2-9           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-10     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-11     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-12     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-13     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-14     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-15     passage, and it is so enacted.