By: Patrick S.B. No. 300
(In the Senate - Filed November 17, 2008; February 11, 2009,
read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
March 16, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; March 16, 2009,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 300 By: Williams
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eliminating or modifying certain mandates on school
districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.112, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
read as follows:
(d) On application of a school district, the commissioner
may except the district from the limit in Subsection (a) if the
commissioner finds the limit works an undue hardship on the
district. An exception expires at the end of the school year
[semester] for which it is granted[, and the commissioner may not
grant an exception for:
[(1) more than one semester at a time].
(e) A school district seeking an exception under Subsection
(d) shall notify the commissioner and apply for the exception not
later than the later of:
(1) October 1; or
(2) the 30th day after the first school day the
district exceeds the limit in Subsection (a).
(f) If a school district repeatedly fails to comply with
this section, the commissioner may take any appropriate action
authorized to be taken by the commissioner under Section 39.131.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2011, the agency shall report
to the legislature the number of applications for exceptions under
Subsection (d) submitted by each school district and for each
application indicate whether the application was granted or denied.
This subsection expires February 1, 2011.
SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 34.0021, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) A school district shall conduct the school bus emergency
evacuation training at least once [twice] each school year. The
training may be conducted by video[, with one training session
occurring in the fall and one training session occurring in the
spring. A portion of the training session must occur on a school
bus and the training session must last for at least one hour].
SECTION 3. Section 44.902, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 44.902. LONG-RANGE ENERGY PLAN [GOAL] TO REDUCE
CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRIC ENERGY. The board of trustees of a school
district shall establish a long-range energy plan [goal] to reduce
the [school] district's annual electric consumption by five percent
beginning with the 2008 [each] state fiscal year and consume
electricity in subsequent fiscal years in accordance with the
district's energy plan [for six years beginning September 1, 2007].
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 44.903, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) A school district is encouraged to [shall] purchase for
use in each type of light fixture in an instructional facility the
commercially available model of light bulb that:
(1) uses the fewest watts for the necessary luminous
flux or light output;
(2) is compatible with the light fixture; and
(3) is the most cost-effective, considering the
factors described by Subdivisions (1) and (2).
SECTION 5. Subsection (b), Section 44.901, Education Code,
is repealed.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
school year.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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