By Alexander                                          H.B. No. 2491

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to participation by community colleges in the state

 1-3     employee charitable contribution program.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter H, Chapter 659, Government Code, as

 1-6     added by Chapter 76, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,

 1-7     1995, is amended by adding Section 659.1311 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 659.1311.  PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGES.  For purposes of this

 1-9     subchapter, a public junior college is considered to be an

1-10     institution of higher education and employees of the public junior

1-11     college are considered to be state employees during a state fiscal

1-12     year unless an affirmative decision not to participate under this

1-13     subchapter is made by the governing board of the public junior

1-14     college not later than April 1 of the previous state fiscal year.

1-15           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-16           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.