79(R) SB 1617 - Senate Committee Report version


                                                                                


By:  Ogden                                                        S.B. No. 1617
	(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2005; March 23, 2005, read 
first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 25, 2005, 
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the 
following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0, 1 present not voting; 
April 25, 2005, sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1617                                   By:  Ogden


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to the powers, duties, and functions of the Legislative 
Budget Board.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Article 60.03, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Art. 60.03.  INTERAGENCY COOPERATION; CONFIDENTIALITY.  
(a)  Criminal justice agencies, the Legislative Budget Board, and 
the council are entitled to access to the data bases of the 
Department of Public Safety, the Texas Juvenile Probation 
Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Texas Department of 
Criminal Justice in accordance with applicable state or federal law 
or regulations. The access granted by this subsection does not 
grant an agency, the Legislative Budget Board, or the council the 
right to add, delete, or alter data maintained by another agency.
	(b)  The council or the Legislative Budget Board may submit 
to the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Juvenile Probation 
Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Texas Department of 
Criminal Justice an annual request for a data file containing data 
elements from the departments' systems.  The Department of Public 
Safety, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth 
Commission, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall 
provide the council and the Legislative Budget Board with that data 
file for the period requested, in accordance with state and federal 
law and regulations.  If the council submits data file requests 
other than the annual data file request, the director of the agency 
maintaining the requested records must approve the request.  The 
Legislative Budget Board may submit data file requests other than 
the annual data file request without the approval of the director of 
the agency maintaining the requested records.
	(c)  Neither a criminal justice agency, [nor] the council, 
nor the Legislative Budget Board may disclose to the public 
information in an individual's criminal history record if the 
record is protected by state or federal law or regulation.
	SECTION 2.  Subsection (a), Section 42.007, Education Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The Legislative Budget Board shall adopt rules, subject 
to appropriate notice and opportunity for public comment, for the 
calculation for each year of a biennium of the qualified funding 
elements[, in accordance with Subsection (c),] necessary to achieve 
the state policy under Section 42.001.
	SECTION 3.  Subsections (d) and (e), Section 322.003, 
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(d)  As an exception to Chapter 551 and other law, if a
meeting is located in Austin and the joint chairs of the board are 
physically present at the [a] meeting, then any number of the other 
members of the board may attend the [a] meeting [of the board] by 
use of telephone conference call, video conference call, or other 
similar telecommunication device.  This subsection applies for 
purposes of constituting a quorum, for purposes of voting, and for 
any other purpose allowing a member of the board to otherwise fully 
participate in any meeting of the board.  This subsection applies 
without exception with regard to the subject of the meeting or 
topics considered by the members.
	(e)  A meeting held by use of telephone conference call, 
video conference call, or other similar telecommunication device:
		(1)  is subject to the notice requirements applicable 
to other meetings;    
		(2)  must specify in the notice of the meeting the 
location in Austin of the meeting at which the joint chairs will be 
physically present;
		(3)  must be open to the public and shall be audible to 
the public at the location in Austin specified in the notice of the 
meeting as the location of the meeting at which the joint chairs 
will be physically present; and
		(4)  must provide two-way audio communication between 
all members of the board attending the meeting during the entire 
meeting, and if the two-way audio communication link with any 
member attending the meeting is disrupted at any time, the meeting 
may not continue until the two-way audio communication link is 
reestablished.
	SECTION 4.  Section 322.005, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	Sec. 322.005.  PERSONNEL.  (a)  The director[, with the 
approval of the board,] may employ [necessary clerical and 
stenographic] personnel as necessary to perform the functions of 
the board.
	(b)  The director [board] shall set the salaries of the 
personnel employed by the director.
	SECTION 5.  Section 322.016, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d)  Until the board has filed a report showing the results 
of a review under this section, all information, documentary or 
otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting the review or 
preparing the review report, including intra-agency and 
interagency communications and drafts of the review report or 
portions of those drafts, is excepted from required public 
disclosure as audit working papers under Section 552.116.  This 
subsection does not affect whether information described by this 
subsection is confidential or excepted from required public 
disclosure under a law other than Section 552.116.
	SECTION 6.  Section 322.0165, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
	(g)  Until the board has filed a report showing the results 
of a review under this section, all information, documentary or 
otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting the review or 
preparing the review report, including intra-agency and 
interagency communications and drafts of the review report or 
portions of those drafts, is excepted from required public 
disclosure as audit working papers under Section 552.116.  This 
subsection does not affect whether information described by this 
subsection is confidential or excepted from required public 
disclosure under a law other than Section 552.116.
	SECTION 7.  Section 322.017, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  Until the board has reported the findings of a review 
and analysis under this section, all information, documentary or 
otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting the review and 
analysis or preparing the review report, including intra-agency and 
interagency communications and drafts of the review report or 
portions of those drafts, is excepted from required public 
disclosure as audit working papers under Section 552.116.  This 
subsection does not affect whether information described by this 
subsection is confidential or excepted from required public 
disclosure under a law other than Section 552.116.
	SECTION 8.  Chapter 322, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Sections 322.019, 322.020, 322.0205, and 322.021 to read as 
follows:
	Sec. 322.019.  CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS.  
Communications, including conversations, correspondence, and 
electronic communications, between a member of the legislature or 
the lieutenant governor and an assistant or employee of the board 
that relate to a request by the official for information, advice, or 
opinions from an assistant or employee of the board are 
confidential.  Information, advice, and opinions given privately by 
an assistant or employee of the board to a member of the 
legislature, or the lieutenant governor, acting in the person's 
official capacity, are confidential.  However, the member or 
lieutenant governor may choose to disclose all or a part of the 
communications, information, advice, or opinions to which this 
section applies, and such a disclosure does not violate the law of 
this state.
	Sec. 322.020.  BUDGET HEARINGS.  (a)  In this section, 
"state agency" means a board, commission, department, or other 
agency in the executive or judicial branch of state government.
	(b)  The board may hold one or more public hearings 
concerning the appropriation request of any state agency.  The 
board may delegate the authority to hold a hearing to a committee of 
the board or to board staff.
	(c)  The head of a state agency that is seeking 
appropriations is entitled to speak at a hearing under this section 
at which the appropriation request is considered.  The board may 
require the head or any employee of a state agency seeking 
appropriations to appear at the hearing and present information 
about the appropriations.  A taxpayer is entitled to participate in 
the discussion at a hearing under this section of any item proposed 
to be included in the budget under consideration.
	Sec. 322.0205.  COOPERATION WITH OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR.  
(a)  The Legislative Budget Board and the office of the governor 
may cooperate, exchange information, and hold joint public hearings 
on the biennial appropriation budget.
	(b)  At a joint hearing under this section, the governor 
shall preside, or, if the governor is unable to preside:
		(1)  the lieutenant governor shall preside; or                         
		(2)  a person appointed by the governor and the 
lieutenant governor shall preside.
	Sec. 322.021.  CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY ANALYSIS.  (a)  The 
board may develop and perform functions to promote a more effective 
and cohesive state criminal justice system.
	(b)  The board may serve as the statistical analysis center 
for the state and as the liaison for the state to the United States 
Department of Justice on criminal justice issues of interest to the 
state and federal government relating to data, information systems, 
and research, if the Criminal Justice Policy Council is unable to 
perform those functions.
	(c)  The director may consult the lieutenant governor, the 
speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer 
of each standing committee of the senate and house of 
representatives having primary jurisdiction over matters relating 
to criminal justice and state finance or appropriations from the 
state treasury.
	(d)  The Department of Public Safety, the Texas Department of 
Criminal Justice, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and the 
Texas Youth Commission shall provide the board with data relating 
to a criminal justice policy analysis under this section in the 
manner requested.
	SECTION 9.  (a)  Section 109.0015, Civil Practice and 
Remedies Code, is repealed.
	(b)  Subsections (c) and (d), Section 42.007, Education 
Code, are repealed.  
	(c)  The subchapter headings to Subchapter B, Chapter 319, 
Government Code, and to Subchapter A, Chapter 322, Government Code, 
are repealed.
	(d)  Subchapter A, Chapter 319, Government Code, is 
repealed.                
	(e)  Sections 322.006, 656.105, 668.002, and 2152.064, 
Government Code, are repealed.
	SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect immediately if it 
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each 
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate 
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.



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