BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3412

By: Miller

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Texas veterans county service officers play an important role for the state's veteran population, but counties are burdened with funding this vital service. In consideration of concerns addressed during numerous stakeholder meetings, C.S.H.B. 3412 seeks to establish the Texas Veterans County Service Officer Task Force to collect information on how to best leverage the services provided by these officers.

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. 3412 amends the Government Code to establish the Texas Veterans County Service Officer Task Force to study the impact and efficacy of veterans county service officers in Texas. The bill sets out the composition of the task force and provides for its co-chairs. The bill requires the task force to examine the role and duties of veterans county service officers in each county, identify the regions of Texas that are in need of officers, and determine types and levels of state support needed in order for officers to appropriately advocate for the veterans they serve. The bill requires the Texas Veterans Commission to prepare and submit, not later than December 1, 2020, a report based on the task force's recommendations regarding those issues to the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Border Security, and the House Committee on Defense and Veterans' Affairs. The bill requires the report and the recommendations to be approved by a majority vote of the task force members and establishes that each member has one vote. The bill's provisions expire January 1, 2021.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3412 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 revises the composition of the task force by including the chair of the Veterans County Service Officer Advisory Committee and certain officers representing a rural or urban county and includes definitions for "rural county" and "urban county." The substitute sets the composition at nine members, allots each member one vote, and provides for task force co‑chairs.

The substitute changes the preparer and submitter of the report from the task force to the Texas Veterans Commission and includes a requirement for the report and task force recommendations to be approved by a majority vote of the task force members.