1-1     By:  Flores, McReynolds, et al.                        H.B. No. 597
 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Lucio)
 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 16, 1999;
 1-4     April 19, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-5     Education; May 12, 1999, rereferred to Committee on Natural
 1-6     Resources; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-7     Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to preference to Texas and United States products in
1-11     purchasing by school districts.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Education Code, is
1-14     amended by adding Section 44.042 to read as follows:
1-15           Sec. 44.042.  PREFERENCE TO TEXAS AND UNITED STATES PRODUCTS.
1-16     (a)  A school district that purchases agricultural products shall
1-17     give preference to those produced, processed, or grown in this
1-18     state if the cost to the school district is equal and the quality
1-19     is acceptable to the school district.
1-20           (b)  If agricultural products produced, processed, or grown
1-21     in this state are not equal in cost and not acceptable to the
1-22     school district in quality, the school district shall give
1-23     preference to agricultural products produced, processed, or grown
1-24     in other states of the United States over foreign products if the
1-25     cost to the school district is equal and the quality is acceptable
1-26     to the school district.
1-27           (c)  A school district that purchases vegetation for
1-28     landscaping purposes, including plants, shall give preference to
1-29     Texas vegetation if the cost to the school district is equal and
1-30     the quality is acceptable to the school district.
1-31           (d)  In the implementation of this section, a school district
1-32     may receive assistance from and use the resources of the Texas
1-33     Department of Agriculture, including information on availability of
1-34     agricultural products.
1-35           (e)  A school district may not adopt product purchasing
1-36     specifications that unnecessarily exclude agricultural products
1-37     produced, processed, or grown in this state.
1-38           (f)  In this section:
1-39                 (1)  "Agricultural products" includes textiles and
1-40     other similar products.
1-41                 (2)  "Processed" means canning, freezing, drying,
1-42     juicing, preserving, or any other act that changes the form of a
1-43     good from its natural state to another form.
1-44           SECTION 2.  The Texas Education Agency shall conduct an
1-45     analysis of purchases by school districts to determine the
1-46     effectiveness of Section 44.042, Education Code, as added by this
1-47     Act, and shall report the results of its analysis to the governor,
1-48     lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
1-49     not later than January 1, 2001.
1-50           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-51           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-52     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-53     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-54     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-55     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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