HBA-KMH H.B. 1106 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1106
By: Rangel
Higher Education
3/1/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In Hopwood vs. The State of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that "for the admissions scheme to pass constitutional muster, the State of
Texas, through its legislature, would have to find that past segregation
has present effects; it would have to determine the magnitude of those
present effects; and it would need to limit carefully the "plus" given to
applicants to remedy that harm." Attorney General Dan Morales, in Letter
Opinion No. 97-001, interpreted the decision thusly, "Hopwood proscribes
the use of race or ethnicity, in the absence of a factual showing by an
institution or the legislature which establishes: (1) either that the
institution has discriminated in the not too distant past against the
racial group benefited by the preference or that the institution has been a
passive participant in acts of private discrimination by specific private
actors against the benefited racial group; (2) that there exist present
effects of the past discrimination that are not due to general societal
discrimination; and, (3) that the scholarship is narrowly tailored to
remedy those present effects. Unless or until these facts can be
established, the consideration of race or ethnicity is expressly
prohibited." 

H.B. 1106 sets forth legislative findings that past segregation by this
state and its political subdivisions and public institutions has present
effects, that those present effects are of sufficient magnitude to warrant
remedial action, and that the remedies provided by this subchapter are
narrowly tailored to eliminate the present effects of that past
segregation.  This bill also authorizes institutions of higher education
offering graduate and professional programs, as well as general academic
institutions, to use African-American race and Mexican-American national
origin as a basis for admitting undergraduate students, granting
scholarships, loans, and fellowships to undergraduate, graduate, and
professional students (students), recruiting and retaining students, and
administering private and governmental programs relating to students. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 51, Education Code, by adding Subchapter V, as
follows: 

SUBCHAPTER V.  POLICIES
TO PROMOTE FULL PARTICIPATION
IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Sec.  51.821.  PURPOSE.  Sets forth the purpose of this subchapter.

Sec. 51.822.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "general academic teaching institution"
and "institution of higher education" as assigned by Section 61.003. 

Sec.  51.823.  LEGISLATIVE FINDING.  Sets forth the legislative findings
for this subchapter. 

Sec.  51.824.  UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS.  Authorizes each general academic
teaching institution to consider African-American race and Mexican-American
national origin as a factor in admitting undergraduate students, granting
scholarships, loans, and fellowships to undergraduate students, recruiting
and retaining undergraduate students, and administering private and
governmental programs relating to undergraduate students. 

Sec.  51.825.  GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS.  Authorizes each
institution of higher education that offers a graduate or professional
degree program to consider African-American race and Mexican-American
national origin as a factor in admitting students to those programs,
granting scholarships, loans, and fellowships to students enrolled in those
programs, recruiting and retaining students in those programs, and
administering private and governmental programs relating those programs. 

Sec.  51.826.  ANNUAL REVIEW AND REPORTS.  Requires each institution of
higher education that uses race or national origin in accordance with this
subchapter to apply the same criteria to all students, using the same
committees and same waiting lists, and requires the graduate school to
minimize harm to any third parties.  Requires each institution of higher
education to which this subchapter applies, to annually evaluate its
programs developed under this subchapter to determine their effectiveness,
the availability of equally or more effective alternatives, and the harm,
if any, to third parties, and requires them to report on these matters to
the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, the chair of the legislative committee of each house of
the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher education, and
appropriate state agencies. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.