BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 230

By: Seliger

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The requirement for a county commissioner to complete continuing education instruction in a physical classroom setting is burdensome for some commissioners because sponsoring agencies do not provide the instruction in every county, making it necessary for some commissioners to travel out of county to fulfill the requirement. Online completion of the instruction would solve this issue, as was recently shown by a temporary waiver during the pandemic. C.S.S.B. 230 seeks to authorize county commissioners to complete this continuing education online.

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.S.B. 230 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the continuing education instruction required for a county commissioner to be completed online with the approval of the commissioners court, except that the bill requires a commissioner to complete the instruction in person in the first 12-month period of the commissioner's first term.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.S.B. 230 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute conditions the engrossed's authorization to complete the instruction online on the approval of the commissioners court to do so.