BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2509

By: Gutierrez

State Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that some state agencies fail to procure products or services from a community rehabilitation program when all requirements concerning such a procurement are met. C.S.H.B. 2509 seeks to address this issue by enhancing state agency purchasing oversight to improve compliance with this program.

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

C.S.H.B. 2509 amends the Human Resources Code to authorize the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to monitor the procurement practices of a state agency to determine compliance with provisions relating to purchasing from people with disabilities. The bill requires the TWC to notify the state auditor's office if the TWC determines the following:

· a state agency procured a product or service from a vendor other than a community rehabilitation program;

· a suitable product or service that met the state agency's specifications was available within the time specified by the agency from such a program on the date the procurement was made; and

· the procurement of the product or service from such a program was not exempted under statutory provisions excepting products from specifications adopted by the comptroller of public accounts or because the product or service fails to meet state specifications for quantity, quality, delivery, and life cycle costs.   

The bill authorizes the TWC to request that the state auditor's office conduct an audit of such a state agency to determine the agency's compliance with provisions relating to purchasing from people with disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2509 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute does not include provisions relating to creating a criminal offense for the failure to procure goods or services from a community rehabilitation program.

The substitute includes provisions relating to monitoring a state agency's compliance with the requirement to purchase certain goods and services from a community rehabilitation program.