SRC-BWC H.B. 2853 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 2853
77R8469 SRC-DBy: Bosse (Cain)
Administration
5/4/2001
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

During the interim between the 76th and 77th legislative sessions, the
House Select Committee on Judicial Interpretations of Law (committee),
aided by the legal division of the Texas Legislative Council (council),
conducted a study on the decisions of Texas appellate courts over the
preceding five years to identify decisions that, in the opinion of the
committee, signaled problems with the implementation of legislative intent,
identified statutes as unconstitutional, expressly suggested legislative
action, found statutes to be conflicting, or found statutes to be
ambiguous. In the committee's report to the 77th Legislature, the committee
recommended that the council undertake a similar study each interim and
report to the legislature. The 76th Legislature passed legislation
providing for the collection and analysis by the council of statistical and
demographic information and requiring state agencies to cooperate in the
gathering of information and the production of reports. The legislation
authorized council staff to obtain access for this purpose to information
that is confidential under other law, including studentidentifiable
information subject to federal law governing student records. However, the
attorney general issued an opinion stating that federal law does not permit
access for this purpose.  H.B. 2853 requires the council to conduct a
continuing study of judicial decisions during each interim and conforms
council access to student records to those uses authorized by federal law.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 323, Government Code, by adding Section 323.013,
as follows: 

Sec. 323.013.  REVIEW OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS INTERPRETING STATUTES. Requires
the Texas Legislative Council to conduct a continuing study of judicial
decisions and, before each legislative session, prepare and deliver to the
appropriate standing committees of each house of the legislature a report
identifying recent decisions in which courts have: 

 _clearly failed to implement legislative purposes;

 _found two or more statutes to be in conflict; 

 _held a statute unconstitutional;

 _expressly found a statute to be ambiguous;

 _expressly suggested legislative action; or 

 _changed a common law doctrine.

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 323.019(c), Government Code, to provide that for
the purposes of  evaluating federally and state-supported education
programs, or other appropriate purposes as authorized by, rather than the
limited purpose of collecting and matching data subject to, 20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g or other federal law governing education records, employees
of the council are considered state school officials. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: upon passage or the 91st day after the last day
of the legislative session.