79R5015 MCK-D


By:  Chavez                                                       H.B. No. 925



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating an interagency work group on border issues.              
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Section 772.011 to read as follows:
	Sec. 772.011.  INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP ON BORDER ISSUES.  (a)  
An interagency work group is created to:
		(1)  develop or update a process to allow agencies to 
work together on issues that face border communities;
		(2)  discuss and coordinate programs and services 
offered to border communities and residents of border communities; 
and
		(3)  develop regulatory and legislative 
recommendations to eliminate duplication and combine program 
services.
	(b)  The work group is composed of the heads of the following 
agencies or their designees:
		(1)  the Office of Rural Community Affairs;                            
		(2)  the Texas Department of Housing and Community 
Affairs;          
		(3)  the Texas Water Development Board;                                
		(4)  the Texas Department of Transportation;                           
		(5)  the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;                    
		(6)  the Texas Workforce Commission;                                   
		(7)  the Department of State Health Services;                          
		(8)  the Health and Human Services Commission;                         
		(9)  the General Land Office;                                          
		(10)  the Texas Education Agency;                                      
		(11)  the Texas Economic Development and Tourism 
Office;             
		(12)  the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations;                     
		(13)  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;                   
		(14)  the attorney general's office; and                               
		(15)  the secretary of state's office.                                 
	(c)  The work group shall meet at least once each year in 
Austin to discuss border issues and to provide information showing 
the impact each agency has on border communities for use in 
developing border policy.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.                           


COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
	Amend House Bill 925 as follows:                                               
	(1)  On page 2, replace lines 9 and 10 with the following:                     
	(14)  the attorney general's office;                                    
	(15)  the secretary of state's office;                                  
	(16)  the Department of Public Safety; and                              
	(17)  the Railroad Commission.                                          
	(2)  On page 2, line 11 replace "once each year" with 
"quarterly".
	(3)  On page 2, line 14 after subsection (c) by inserting a 
new appropriately named subsection as follows:
	In this section, "border region" means the portion of this 
state located within 100 kilometers of this state's international 
border.
	(4)  On page 2, line 14 after subsection (c) by inserting a 
new appropriately named subsection as follows:
	In fulfilling its duties, the work group shall consider the 
effect of policies instituted by the federal government impacting 
the border region.

                                                                        Chavez

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2
	Amend House Bill 925 on page 2, line 15 by inserting a new 
SECTION 2 and renumbering the following SECTIONS accordingly.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 6, Water Code, is amended 
by adding Section 6.112 to read as follows:
	Sec. 6.112.  BORDER PROJECTS WEBSITE.  (a)  In this section, 
"border region" means the portion of this state located within 100 
kilometers of this state's international border.
	(b)  The board may maintain and update an Internet-based 
directory of border projects, also known as the Border Activity 
Tracker, containing information about projects in the border region 
in which a state agency is involved.  The board shall establish 
guidelines as to which projects and information are to be included 
in the directory.
	(c)  Each state agency involved in a project in the border 
region may electronically submit to the board any information 
required under this section to be on the Internet-based directory 
of border projects.  Each state agency shall update the information 
promptly, not less often than quarterly.

                                                                        Chavez