BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 601

By: Campbell

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties suggest that there is confusion as to whether the exemption for public school districts from certain municipal drainage requirements applies to charter schools. S.B. 601 seeks to clarify this matter by expressly including certain open-enrollment charter schools in the exemption.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

S.B. 601 amends the Local Government Code to extend the applicability of the exemption for a public school district from the Municipal Drainage Utility Systems Act and all ordinances, resolutions, and rules adopted under that act to open-enrollment charter schools, which the bill defines as including a charter school operated by a public college, university, or junior college. The bill requires such an exemption, if granted, to be granted to both school districts and charter schools and automatically extends an exemption granted to a school district under applicable law, as that law existed before the bill's effective date, to all open-enrollment charter schools located in the municipality after the bill's effective date unless the municipality repeals the exemption before the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.