By Lucio S.B. No. 690 76R6392 BDH-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to preference to Texas and United States products in 1-3 purchasing by state agencies, school districts, and certain charter 1-4 schools. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Education Code, is 1-7 amended by adding Section 44.042 to read as follows: 1-8 Sec. 44.042. PREFERENCE TO TEXAS AND UNITED STATES PRODUCTS. 1-9 (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that 1-10 purchases goods, including agricultural products, shall give 1-11 preference to those produced or grown in this state if the cost to 1-12 the school district or school and the quality are equal. 1-13 (b) If goods, including agricultural products, produced or 1-14 grown in this state are not equal in cost and quality to other 1-15 products, the school district or open-enrollment charter school 1-16 shall give preference to goods produced or grown in other states of 1-17 the United States over foreign products if the cost to the school 1-18 district or school and the quality are equal. 1-19 (c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that 1-20 purchases vegetation for landscaping purposes, including plants, 1-21 shall give preference to Texas vegetation native to the region if 1-22 the cost to the school district or school is not greater and the 1-23 quality is not inferior. 1-24 (d) The comptroller shall conduct an analysis of purchases 2-1 by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to 2-2 determine the effectiveness of this section and shall report the 2-3 analysis to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the 2-4 house of representatives not later than December 31 of each 2-5 even-numbered year. 2-6 (e) In this section, "agricultural products" includes 2-7 textiles and other similar products. 2-8 SECTION 2. Section 2155.444, Government Code, is amended by 2-9 adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: 2-10 (e) The comptroller shall conduct an analysis of purchases 2-11 by the commission and state agencies to determine the effectiveness 2-12 of this section and shall report the analysis to the governor, 2-13 lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives 2-14 not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year. 2-15 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 2-16 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.