BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1775 |
By: Thompson, Ed |
Public Education |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
For more than fifty years, sports officials have independently contracted with Texas school districts to provide officiating services for high school sporting events throughout the state. Sports officials have never been employed by, paid by, or under the authority of the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It has been reported that the UIL recently sought to create a UIL sports officials department and to require Texas school districts to utilize only sports officials registered with and under the regulatory oversight of the new department and there is concern that, without legislative guidance, such an arrangement will interfere with the independent nature of the profession. C.S.H.B. 1775 seeks to provide guidelines for the UIL's regulation of certain sports officials.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the University Interscholastic League in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1775 amends the Education Code to authorize the University Interscholastic League (UIL) to require a sports official, as a condition of eligibility to officiate a contest sponsored by the UIL, to be registered with the UIL and comply with the bill's registration requirements, have completed initial and continuing education programs regarding UIL rules, be a member in good standing of a local chapter or association of sports officials recognized by the UIL for that purpose, and agree to abide by UIL rules, including fee schedules and travel reimbursement guidelines for payment by school districts or open-enrollment charter schools to a sports official.
C.S.H.B. 1775 requires a sports official, in registering with the UIL, to be required to provide directory information required by the UIL and submit to a criminal background check. The bill prohibits the UIL from charging a sports official who completes an initial or continuing education program regarding UIL rules a fee for more than one of those programs. The bill authorizes the UIL to charge and collect a registration fee only to defray the cost of registering sports officials and requires the UIL to post the amount of the fee on the UIL's Internet website and make the information available at other places the UIL determines appropriate. The bill limits the amount of the fee to the amount reasonably determined by the UIL to be necessary to cover the cost of administering registration.
C.S.H.B. 1775 authorizes the UIL to revoke or suspend UIL registration of a sports official determined by the UIL to have violated the provisions of the UIL constitution or contest rules governing sports officials or other UIL policy applicable to sports officials. The bill sets out procedures for such revocation or suspension. The bill requires the UIL to adopt rules to provide a sports official with the opportunity for an appeals process before the UIL revokes or suspends the sports official's registration. The bill requires the UIL, in adopting such rules, to make a determination of the actions and subsequent sanctions that would be considered sufficient.
C.S.H.B. 1775 prohibits the UIL from sponsoring or organizing or attempting to sponsor or organize any association of sports officials in which the majority of the membership is composed of sports officials who officiate team sports. The bill authorizes the UIL to set rates or fee schedules payable by a school district or open-enrollment charter school to a sports official. The bill requires the UIL, before the UIL may take any action that amends rules related to the activities of sports officials, other than a revocation or suspension action against an individual sports official, to submit the proposed action for public review and comment and specifies the manner in which notice of the proposed action must be given.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1775 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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