By Puente                                              H.B. No. 210

      75R1054 CAS-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to competitive bidding on certain school district

 1-3     contracts; providing a criminal penalty.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 44.031, Education Code, is amended by

 1-6     adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:

 1-7           (m)  A contract proposed to be made by the board of trustees

 1-8     of a school district for insurance must be submitted to competitive

 1-9     bidding if the contract is valued at more than $5,000.

1-10           SECTION 2.  Sections 44.032(b) and (c), Education Code, are

1-11     amended to read as follows:

1-12           (b)  An officer, employee, or agent of a school district

1-13     commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence makes or

1-14     authorizes separate, sequential, or component purchases to avoid

1-15     the requirements of Section 44.031(a), [or] (b), (l), or (m).  An

1-16     offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor and is an

1-17     offense involving moral turpitude.

1-18           (c)  An officer, employee, or agent of a school district

1-19     commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence violates

1-20     Section 44.031(a), [or] (b), (l), or (m) other than by conduct

1-21     described by Subsection (b).  An offense under this subsection is a

1-22     Class B misdemeanor and is an offense involving moral turpitude.

1-23           SECTION 3.  (a)  Section 44.031(m), Education Code, as added

1-24     by this Act, applies only to a contract for insurance the board of

 2-1     trustees of a school district enters into on or after the effective

 2-2     date of this Act.

 2-3           (b)  The change in law made by Section 2 of this Act

 2-4     affecting Section 44.031(l), Education  Code, applies only to an

 2-5     offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For

 2-6     purposes of this subsection, an offense is committed before the

 2-7     effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

 2-8     before that date.  An offense committed before the effective date

 2-9     of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was

2-10     committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

2-11     purpose.

2-12           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-13           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.