Amend HB 597 as follows:
      (1)  In SECTION 1 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, line 19), at the end of added Section 44.042(a), Education
Code, strike "acceptable to the school district." and substitute
"equal.".
      (2)  In SECTION 1 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, lines 21-22), in added Section 44.042(b), Education Code,
strike "not acceptable to the school district in quality," and
substitute "quality to other products,".
      (3)  In SECTION 1 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, lines 25-26), at the end of added Section 44.042(b),
Education Code, strike "acceptable to the school district." and
substitute "equal.".
      (4)  In SECTION 1 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, line 30), at the end of added Section 44.042(c), Education
Code, strike "acceptable to the school district." and substitute
"not inferior.".
      (5)  In SECTION 1 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, between lines 30 and 31), in added Section 44.042,
Education Code, add the following new Subsection (d) and renumber
the subsequent subsections of the section appropriately:
      (d)  The agency shall conduct an analysis of purchases by
school districts to determine the effectiveness of this section and
shall report the results of its analysis to the governor,
lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year.
      (6)  Strike SECTION 2 of the bill (Senate committee printing,
page 1, lines 44-49) and substitute the following:
      SECTION 2.  Section 2155.444, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
      Sec. 2155.444.  PREFERENCE TO TEXAS AND UNITED STATES
PRODUCTS. (a)  The commission and all state agencies making
purchases of goods, including agricultural products, shall give
preference to those produced, processed, or grown in this state or
offered by Texas bidders as follows:
            (1)  goods produced in this state or offered by Texas
bidders shall equally be given preference if the cost to the state
and quality are equal; and
            (2)  agricultural products processed or grown in this
state shall be given first preference and agricultural products
offered by Texas bidders shall be given second preference, if the
cost to the state and quality are equal.
      (b)  If goods, including agricultural products, produced,
processed, or grown in this state or offered by Texas bidders are
not equal in cost and quality to other products, then goods,
including agricultural products, produced, processed, or grown in
other states of the United States shall be given preference over
foreign products if the cost to the state and quality are equal.
      (c)  <In this section, "agricultural products" includes
textiles and other similar products.>
      <(d)>  The commission and all state agencies making purchase
of vegetation for landscaping purposes, including plants, shall
give preference to Texas vegetation <native to the region> if the
cost to the state is not greater and the quality is not inferior.
      (d)  The comptroller shall conduct an analysis of purchases
by the commission and state agencies to determine the effectiveness
of this section and shall report the results of the analysis to the
governor, lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives not later than December 31 of each even-numbered
year.
      (e)  In the implementation of this section, a state agency
may receive assistance from and use the resources of the Texas
Department of Agriculture, including information on availability of
agricultural products.
      (f)  A state agency may not adopt product purchasing
specifications that unnecessarily exclude goods produced,
processed, or grown in this state.
      (g)  In this section:
            (1)  "Agricultural products" includes textiles and
other similar products.
            (2)  "Processed" means canning, freezing, drying,
juicing, preserving, or any other act that changes the form of an
agricultural product from its natural state to another form.