BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1496

By: VanDeaver

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that there is some confusion regarding statutory requirements relating to required public disclosures of management fees associated with a cooperative contract with school districts in excess of $25,000. While the intent of the statute was to bring transparency to contract and management fees paid by a school district to cooperatives, the statute has been interpreted in dramatically different ways, resulting in confusion and inconsistencies. H.B. 1496 seeks to address this issue by providing clarity regarding documentation requirements for certain fees paid by or to a public school district.

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

H.B. 1496 amends the Education Code to specify that the requirement for a public school district to document any fee, including a management fee, related to an applicable purchasing contract applies to a fee paid by or to the district. An applicable contract is a purchasing contract valued at $25,000 or more that the district enters into under a cooperative purchasing program authorized for districts by law or, if the contract is for construction services, under certain contracting and delivery procedures for public works projects.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.