83R1621 KEL-D
By: Dukes H.B. No. 1229
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address
sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private
institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter Y-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Y-1. TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sec. 51.881. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "task force"
means the statewide task force established under this subchapter to
address sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and
private institutions of higher education.
Sec. 51.882. TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) The task force
consists of:
(1) two members appointed by the governor as follows:
(A) one member from the office of the governor;
and
(B) one member from the Crime Victims' Institute
at Sam Houston State University;
(2) 16 members appointed by the presiding officer of
the task force as follows:
(A) one member from the office of student affairs
at a public or private institution of higher education;
(B) one member who is the Title IX coordinator
for a public or private institution of higher education;
(C) one member from the athletics department of a
public or private institution of higher education;
(D) one member who provides services to students
as a counselor or therapist at a public or private institution of
higher education;
(E) one member who is the director of a campus
health center at a public or private institution of higher
education;
(F) one member who is the director of a women's
center at a public or private institution of higher education;
(G) one member from the campus police department
of a public or private institution of higher education;
(H) one member from a department having authority
over student resident life at a public or private institution of
higher education;
(I) one member who is the survivor of a sexual
assault committed on the campus of a public or private institution
of higher education;
(J) one member from a rape crisis center who has a
background in issues relating to family violence, as defined by
Section 71.004, Family Code;
(K) one member who is a counselor or therapist at
a rape crisis center;
(L) one member who is a victim advocate at a rape
crisis center;
(M) one member who is the executive director of a
rape crisis center;
(N) one member who is an attorney representing
the state in the prosecution of sexual assaults and other similar
offenses;
(O) one member who is a sexual assault nurse
examiner; and
(P) one member from a statewide sexual assault
advocacy coalition; and
(3) any other member whom the presiding officer
determines to be appropriate and who consents to serve on the task
force, including a person who works for a federal agency such as the
United States Department of Education.
(b) Initial appointments to the task force must be made not
later than January 1, 2014.
(c) The presiding officer of the task force is the member
who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State
University.
(d) Before appointing members of the task force under
Subsection (a)(2) or (3), the presiding officer shall solicit and
obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations the names of
recommended persons who are available and willing to serve on the
task force.
(e) A vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment.
Sec. 51.883. MEETINGS; EXPENSES. (a) The task force shall
meet at the call of the presiding officer.
(b) A member of the task force is not entitled to
compensation for service on the task force but, from money
available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is
entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by
Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 51.884. GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. The task force
shall:
(1) review federal laws regarding campus sexual
assault, including, as applicable:
(A) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
(B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and
(C) the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section
1092(f));
(2) solicit and receive reports and testimony from
campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide
support services to campus sexual assault survivors;
(3) analyze appropriate reports, literature, and
statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence of sexual
violence on the campuses of public or private institutions of
higher education, including:
(A) the United States Department of Justice's
report "The Sexual Victimization of College Women"; and
(B) the United States Department of Justice's
report "Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities
Are Doing About It"; and
(4) develop policy guidelines for public and private
institutions of higher education with respect to campus sexual
assault, including:
(A) recommended definitions of prohibited
behavior and sanctions for violations;
(B) a recommended model protocol for responding
to reports of campus sexual assault; and
(C) recommended coordinated victim support
services using campus-based or community-based resources.
Sec. 51.885. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives a report that includes:
(1) a description of the activities of the task force;
(2) the findings of the task force on the current state
of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on:
(A) statistics reviewed by the task force
regarding sexual violence;
(B) testimony provided by campus sexual assault
survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus
sexual assault survivors; and
(C) thorough discussion by the task force;
(3) recommendations on best practices for higher
education policies and protocols for responding to reports of
sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to
sexual assault survivors; and
(4) any other matter that the task force considers
appropriate.
Sec. 51.886. COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task
force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of
this state, including public institutions of higher education.
Sec. 51.887. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished
and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2019.
SECTION 2. 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, 2013.