BILL ANALYSIS
By: Callegari
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
State law contains myriad provisions and programs that are either redundant, antiquated, or offer little by way of policy value. This bill streamlines state government and state law by eliminating redundant programs and reporting requirements and abolishing unnecessary state agencies.
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
The bill amends the Government Code to require that the Texas State Library and Archive Commission prepare a report on all statutorily required reports by January 1, 2009. The bill expands the list of recipients of the Texas State Library and Archive Commission’s Grant in Aid Program Report to include the Legislative Budget Board until September 1, 2015
The bill strikes the requirement that the Office of State-Federal Relations prepare a report on funds received and disbursed by the office. The bill repeals other provisions requiring the funds received and disbursed report, which has been replaced by the annual financial report required in Government Code.
The bill requires that all state agencies report their equal employment opportunity policies to the Texas Workforce Commission, and makes conforming changes by repealing equal employment opportunity report requirements throughout statute. The bill also requires that the commission include information from the Report on Minority Hiring Practices with the Equal Employment Opportunity Report, and that the report include a list of all state agencies that have not reported their equal employment opportunity policies. The bill eliminates the Report on Minority Hiring Practices as a separate report. These requirements expire on September 1, 2015. The bill deletes a reporting requirement to the Joint Committee Monitoring Goals for Historically Underutilized Businesses, which no longer exists.
The bill repeals the Report on Minority and Female-Owned Business Policies of the Department of Agriculture, which is already contained in the Historically Underutilized Business report. The bill repeals chapters of code establishing the Interagency Work Group on Unfunded Mandates, the Texas Integrated Enrollment Services Legislative Oversight Committee, and the Greater South Texas Cultural Basin Commission, which no longer exist. The bill also eliminates a report by the State Preservation Board on alcoholic beverages in the Capitol.
The bill updates the eminent domain authority of the board of regents of the University of Texas System, striking language authorizing the system to condemn property for a super-conducting super collider accelerator project. The bill abolishes the Texas National Research Laboratory Commission and makes conforming changes. The bill also abolishes the Texas Deepwater Port Authority and the Ogallala Water Import Authority. The bill repeals the authority of the authority of the Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations to condemn property for the state's centennial celebration.
The bill abolishes the office of vehicle fleet management at the Texas Building and Procurement Commission, and transfers its functions to the comptroller. The comptroller shall devise and implement a statewide system of state agency vehicle fleet management, including a transition plan for the transfer of vehicles from certain state agencies to the comptroller.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The substitute differs from the original by adding new provisions requiring that the Library and Archive Commission prepare a report on all statutorily required reports. The substitute also includes a provisions that requires all agencies to report their equal employment opportunity policies to the Texas Workforce Commission civil rights division. The substitute also strikes several redundant or obsolete reporting requirements, including the funds received and disbursed report for certain agencies, the equal employment opportunity report for certain agencies, the Report on Minority and Female-Owned Business Policies of the Department of Agriculture, and the Report on Minority Hiring Practices as a separate report.
The substitute also include the repeals of the Interagency Work Group on Unfunded Mandates, the Texas Integrated Enrollment Services Legislative Oversight Committee, and the Greater South Texas Cultural Basin Commission, which no longer exist. The substitute also eliminates a report by the State Preservation Board on alcoholic beverages in the Capitol.
The original bill requires the Department of Information Resources to assess the progress made toward accomplishing the goals of the plan for a state telecommunications network and eliminates the telecommunications planning and oversight council and transfers its functions to the Department of Information Resources. The substitute does not include this language
The substitute includes provisions abolishing the office of vehicle fleet management at the Texas Building and Procurement Commission, and transferring its functions to the comptroller. The original bill does not have this language.