HBA-JRA C.S.H.B. 2631 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2631 By: Turner, Sylvester Agriculture & Livestock 4/5/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Some public schools include the study of agriculture in their curriculum. Demonstrations and handson participation may be an effective supplement to textbooks and lectures in teaching public school children about agriculture. C.S.H.B. 2631 requires the Texas Department of Agriculture to develop a program to award grants to large urban public elementary schools to establish demonstration agricultural projects. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Agriculture in SECTION 1 (Section 46.001, Agriculture Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Title 3, Agriculture Code, by adding Chapter 46, as follows: CHAPTER 46. AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS IN CERTAIN URBAN SCHOOLS Sec. 46.001. CREATION. Requires the Department of Agriculture (department), by rule, to develop a program to award grants to public elementary schools located in large urban school districts for the purpose of establishing demonstration agricultural projects. Sec. 46.002. ELIGIBILITY. Provides that a public elementary school is eligible to receive a grant if it is in a school district with an enrollment of at least 49,000 students, and timely submits a proposal for a demonstration agricultural project that includes a description of the project, a schedule of projected costs, and a statement of the educational benefits of the project, including how the project will improve understanding of agriculture. Sec. 46.003. LIMIT. Prohibits the department from awarding more than $2,500 to a school in a school year or to more than one school in the same school district in a school year. Sec. 46.004. REPORT. Provides that a school that receives a grant under this chapter must report the results of the project to the department in a manner determined by the department. Sec. 46.005. FUNDS. Authorizes the department to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and other donations from any source to carry out this chapter. SECTION 2.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 by changing proposed Section 46.001 to provide that the grant program established by this chapter is for public elementary schools, rather than public schools. The substitute modifies the grant eligibility requirements in proposed Section 46.002 by deleting the requirement that a school be located in a municipality with a population of at least one million and requiring that it be in school district with an enrollment of at least 49,000, rather than 60,000, students. Additionally, the substitute adds a new Subsection (b) to proposed Section 46.003, to prohibit the department from awarding a grant to more than one school within the same school district in a school year and makes nonsubstantive changes.