BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 281

By: Zaffirini

House Administration

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There have been calls for the periodic update of legislative drafting conventions to reflect the language used to refer to people in various communities in a way that is respectful, inclusive, and accepted by members of those communities. It has been suggested that certain terms used in statutory provisions referencing members of the deaf community no longer meet that standard. S.B. 281 seeks to address this issue by directing the state legislature and the Texas Legislative Council to avoid using certain terms in legislative documents.

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. 281 amends the Government Code to direct the legislature and the Texas Legislative Council to avoid using the phrases "hearing impaired," "auditory impairment," and "speech impaired" in reference to a deaf or hard of hearing person in any new statute or resolution and to replace those phrases when enacting or revising a statute or resolution with "deaf" and "hard of hearing," as appropriate.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.