AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, Texas law limits the number of Texas Legislative Medals of Honor that may be awarded in a single legislative session to two, with one citation prior to 1955 and one after. The federal equivalent and most prestigious military honor in the United States is the Congressional Medal of Honor. There is no limit to the number of these medals that the United States Congress may award. S.B. 1824 creates parity with its federal equivalent by removing the limit of Texas Legislative Medals of Honor that may be awarded during a single regular legislative session, while maintaining the rigorous selection process already in place.
S.B. 1824 amends current law relating to a study and report on the awarding of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. (a) Requires the standing committees of both houses of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over military and veterans affairs to conduct a joint study on the nomination and selection process for the award of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor. Requires that the study evaluate:
(1) the military tradition for a medal of honor and methods to ensure that the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor upholds that military tradition;
(2) how a service member is nominated and methods to ensure that the service member is nominated based only on the merit of the service performed by the service member; and
(3) a process by which the adjutant general may evaluate the qualifications of nominees for the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
(b) Requires the standing committees of both houses of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over military and veterans affairs, not later than December 1, 2016, to jointly submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the legislature a written report that summarizes the findings of the study conducted under Subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2015.