H.B. 1146 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


H.B. 1146
By: Dutton
Public Education
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND

Under current law, there is no limit to the number of charter school
audits initiated and/or conducted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The
timing, extensiveness, and frequency of audits performed has put an undue
burden on the resources and the administrators of the charter schools to
meet such imposed deadlines. There have been instances of repeat program
and financial audits conducted within a fiscal year at charter schools
selected by the TEA without specific cause or reasonable justification. 
 

PURPOSE 

House Bill 1146 is intended to limit the number of audits performed at
charter schools to one financial audit and one administrative records
audit in any fiscal year, unless the commissioner of education has
specific cause to conduct an additional audit. 


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 


ANALYSIS

House Bill 1146 amends the Education Code by prohibiting the commissioner
of education from conducting more than one financial and administrative
records audit of an open-enrollment charter school in any fiscal year,
unless the commissioner has specific cause to conduct additional audits.
For purposes of this bill, an audit of a charter holder or management
company is not considered an audit of the school.  


EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.