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AN ACT
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relating to the social studies curriculum in public schools. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsections (h-2), (h-3), (h-4), and (h-5) to read as |
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follows: |
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(h-2) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for the |
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social studies curriculum, the State Board of Education shall adopt |
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essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic |
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knowledge, including an understanding of: |
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(1) the fundamental moral, political, and |
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intellectual foundations of the American experiment in |
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self-government; |
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(2) the history, qualities, traditions, and features |
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of civic engagement in the United States; |
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(3) the history of Native Americans; |
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(4) the structure, function, and processes of |
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government institutions at the federal, state, and local levels; |
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(5) the founding documents of the United States, |
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including: |
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(A) the Declaration of Independence; |
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(B) the United States Constitution; |
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(C) the Federalist Papers; |
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(D) the transcript of the first Lincoln-Douglas |
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debate; |
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(E) the writings of and about the founding |
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fathers and mothers and other founding persons of the United |
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States, including the writings of: |
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(i) George Washington; |
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(ii) Ona Judge; |
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(iii) Thomas Jefferson; |
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(iv) Sally Hemings; and |
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(v) any other founding persons of the |
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United States; |
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(F) writings from Frederick Douglass's |
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newspaper, the North Star; |
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(G) the Book of Negroes; |
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(H) the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850; |
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(I) the Indian Removal Act; |
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(J) Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury |
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Baptists; and |
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(K) William Still's Underground Railroad |
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Records; |
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(6) historical documents related to the civic |
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accomplishments of marginalized populations, including documents |
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related to: |
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(A) the Chicano movement; |
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(B) women's suffrage and equal rights; |
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(C) the civil rights movement; |
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(D) the Snyder Act of 1924; and |
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(E) the American labor movement; |
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(7) the history of white supremacy, including but not |
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limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and |
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the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong; |
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(8) the history and importance of the civil rights |
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movement, including the following documents: |
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(A) Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a |
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Birmingham Jail" and "I Have a Dream" speech; |
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(B) the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 |
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U.S.C. Section 2000a et seq.); |
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(C) the United States Supreme Court's decision in |
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Brown v. Board of Education;; |
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(D) the Emancipation Proclamation; |
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(E) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; |
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(F) the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth |
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Amendments to the United States Constitution; |
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(G) the United States Court of Appeals for the |
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Ninth Circuit decision in Mendez v. Westminster; |
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(H) Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of |
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Frederick Douglass, an American Slave;; |
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(I) the life and work of Cesar Chavez; and |
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(J) the life and work of Dolores Huerta; |
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(9) the history and importance of the women's suffrage |
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movement, including the following documents: |
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(A) the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 |
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U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq.); |
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(B) the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth |
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Amendments to the United States Constitution; |
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(C) Abigail Adams's letter "Remember the |
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Ladies"; |
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(D) the works of Susan B. Anthony; and |
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(E) the Declaration of Sentiments; |
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(10) the life and works of Dr. Hector P. Garcia; |
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(11) the American GI Forum; |
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(12) the League of United Latin American Citizens; and |
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(13) Hernandez v. Texas (1954). |
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(h-3) For any social studies course in the required |
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curriculum: |
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(1) a teacher may not be compelled to discuss a |
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particular current event or widely debated and currently |
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controversial issue of public policy or social affairs; |
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(2) a teacher who chooses to discuss a topic described |
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by Subdivision (1) shall, to the best of the teacher's ability, |
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strive to explore the topic from diverse and contending |
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perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective; |
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(3) a school district, open-enrollment charter |
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school, or teacher may not require, make part of a course, or award |
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a grade or course credit, including extra credit, for a student's: |
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(A) political activism, lobbying, or efforts to |
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persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the |
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federal, state, or local level to take specific actions by direct |
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communication; or |
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(B) participation in any internship, practicum, |
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or similar activity involving social or public policy advocacy; and |
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(4) a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a |
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state agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school |
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may not: |
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(A) be required to engage in training, |
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orientation, or therapy that presents any form of race or sex |
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stereotyping or blame on the basis of race or sex; |
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(B) require or make part of a course the concept |
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that: |
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(i) one race or sex is inherently superior |
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to another race or sex; |
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(ii) an individual, by virtue of the |
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individual's race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or |
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oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; |
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(iii) an individual should be discriminated |
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against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of |
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the individual's race; |
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(iv) members of one race or sex cannot and |
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should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex; |
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(v) an individual's moral character, |
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standing, or worth is necessarily determined by the individual's |
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race or sex; |
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(vi) an individual, by virtue of the |
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individual's race or sex, bears responsibility for actions |
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committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex; |
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(vii) an individual should feel discomfort, |
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guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on |
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account of the individual's race or sex; |
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(viii) meritocracy or traits such as a hard |
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work ethic are racist or sexist or were created by members of a |
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particular race to oppress members of another race; |
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(ix) the advent of slavery in the territory |
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that is now the United States constituted the true founding of the |
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United States; or |
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(x) with respect to their relationship to |
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American values, slavery and racism are anything other than |
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deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the |
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authentic founding principles of the United States, which include |
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liberty and equality; and |
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(C) require an understanding of The 1619 Project. |
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(h-4) A state agency, school district, or open-enrollment |
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charter school may not accept private funding for the purpose of |
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developing a curriculum, purchasing or selecting curriculum |
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materials, or providing teacher training or professional |
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development for a course described by Subsection (h-3)(3). |
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(h-5) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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may not implement, interpret, or enforce any rules or student code |
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of conduct in a manner that would result in the punishment of a |
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student for discussing, or have a chilling effect on student |
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discussion of, the concepts described by Subsection (h-3)(4). |
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SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of |
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this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school |
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year. |
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(b) Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by this |
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Act, applies beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. |
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SECTION 3. Not later than December 31, 2022, the State Board |
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of Education shall review and revise, as needed, the essential |
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knowledge and skills of the social studies curriculum as required |
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by Section 28.002(h-2), Education Code, as added by this Act. |
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SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act or its application |
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to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does |
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not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be |
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given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to |
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this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.B. No. 3979 was passed by the House on May |
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11, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 79, Nays 65, 2 present, not |
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voting. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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I certify that H.B. No. 3979 was passed by the Senate, with |
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amendments, on May 22, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 18, Nays |
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13; and that the Senate adopted a motion to recede from amendments |
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to H.B. No. 3979 on May 28, 2021, and declared H.B. No. 3979 to have |
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passed the Senate in the same form in which it was received from the |
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House by the following vote: Yeas 18, Nays 13. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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APPROVED: _____________________ |
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Date |
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_____________________ |
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Governor |