1-1 By: Alexander (Senate Sponsor - Ratliff) H.B. No. 2491 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 1997; 1-3 May 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Education; May 18, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable 1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; 1-6 May 18, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2491 By: Bivins 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to participation by community colleges in the state 1-11 employee charitable contribution program. 1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-13 SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 659, Government Code, as 1-14 added by Chapter 76, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1-15 1995, is amended by adding Section 659.1311 to read as follows: 1-16 Sec. 659.1311. PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGES. (a) For purposes of 1-17 this subchapter, a public junior college is considered to be an 1-18 institution of higher education and employees of the public junior 1-19 college are considered to be state employees during a state fiscal 1-20 year unless an affirmative decision not to participate under this 1-21 subchapter is made by the governing board of the public junior 1-22 college not later than April 1 of the preceding state fiscal year. 1-23 (b) An employee of a public junior college that elects not 1-24 to participate in the state employee charitable contribution 1-25 program may authorize a deduction from the employee's salary or 1-26 wage payment for a charitable contribution as provided by the 1-27 policy of the governing board of the public junior college. 1-28 (c) Participation by an employee of a public junior college 1-29 under this section is voluntary. 1-30 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 1-31 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-32 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-33 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-34 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-35 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 1-36 * * * * *