Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2232 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R12362 MM-D
2	2	By: Dukes H.B. No. 2232
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address
8	8	sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private
9	9	institutions of higher education.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subchapter W-1 to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER W-1. TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT
14	14	Sec. 51.861. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
15	15	(1) "Institution of higher education" and "private or
16	16	independent institution of higher education" have the meanings
17	17	assigned those terms by Section 61.003.
18	18	(2) "Task force" means the statewide task force
19	19	established under this subchapter to address sexual assault
20	20	occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of
21	21	higher education.
22	22	Sec. 51.862. TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) The task force
23	23	consists of:
24	24	(1) two members appointed by the governor as follows:
25	25	(A) one member from the office of the governor;
26	26	and
27	27	(B) one member from the Crime Victims' Institute
28	28	at Sam Houston State University;
29	29	(2) eight members evenly selected from positions held
30	30	at institutions of higher education and private or independent
31	31	institutions of higher education and appointed by the presiding
32	32	officer of the task force as follows:
33	33	(A) one member from an office of student affairs;
34	34	(B) one member who is a Title IX coordinator;
35	35	(C) one member from an athletics department;
36	36	(D) one member who provides services to students
37	37	as a counselor or therapist;
38	38	(E) one member who is the director of a campus
39	39	health center;
40	40	(F) one member who is the director of a women's
41	41	center;
42	42	(G) one member from a campus police department;
43	43	and
44	44	(H) one member from a department having authority
45	45	over student resident life;
46	46	(3) one member from the general counsel's office of an
47	47	institution of higher education and one member from the general
48	48	counsel's office of a private or independent institution of higher
49	49	education, each appointed by the presiding officer of the task
50	50	force;
51	51	(4) eight members having a specialized interest in
52	52	issues related to sexual assault, appointed by the presiding
53	53	officer of the task force as follows:
54	54	(A) one member who is the survivor of a sexual
55	55	assault committed on the campus of an institution of higher
56	56	education or a private or independent institution of higher
57	57	education;
58	58	(B) one member from a rape crisis center who has a
59	59	background in issues relating to family violence, as defined by
60	60	Section 71.004, Family Code;
61	61	(C) one member who is a counselor or therapist at
62	62	a rape crisis center;
63	63	(D) one member who is a victim advocate at a rape
64	64	crisis center;
65	65	(E) one member who is the executive director of a
66	66	rape crisis center;
67	67	(F) one member who is an attorney representing
68	68	the state in the prosecution of sexual assaults and other similar
69	69	offenses;
70	70	(G) one member who is a sexual assault nurse
71	71	examiner; and
72	72	(H) one member from a statewide sexual assault
73	73	advocacy coalition; and
74	74	(5) any other member whom the presiding officer
75	75	determines to be appropriate and who consents to serve on the task
76	76	force, including a person who works for a federal agency such as the
77	77	United States Department of Education.
78	78	(b) Initial appointments to the task force must be made not
79	79	later than January 1, 2018.
80	80	(c) The presiding officer of the task force is the member
81	81	who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State
82	82	University.
83	83	(d) Before appointing members of the task force under
84	84	Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5), the presiding officer shall
85	85	solicit and obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations
86	86	the names of recommended persons who are available and willing to
87	87	serve on the task force.
88	88	(e) Appointed members of the task force serve at the will of
89	89	the appointing authority. A vacancy on the task force shall be
90	90	filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
91	91	Sec. 51.863. MEETINGS; EXPENSES. (a) The task force shall
92	92	meet at the call of the presiding officer.
93	93	(b) A member of the task force is not entitled to
94	94	compensation for service on the task force but, from money
95	95	available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is
96	96	entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by
97	97	Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
98	98	Sec. 51.864. GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. (a) The task
99	99	force shall:
100	100	(1) review federal laws regarding campus sexual
101	101	assault, including, as applicable:
102	102	(A) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
103	103	of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
104	104	(B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
105	105	(20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and
106	106	(C) the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
107	107	Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section
108	108	1092(f));
109	109	(2) solicit and receive reports and testimony from
110	110	campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide
111	111	support services to campus sexual assault survivors; and
112	112	(3) develop policy guidelines for institutions of
113	113	higher education and private or independent institutions of higher
114	114	education with respect to campus sexual assault, including:
115	115	(A) recommended definitions of prohibited
116	116	behavior and sanctions for violations;
117	117	(B) a recommended model protocol for responding
118	118	to reports of campus sexual assault; and
119	119	(C) recommended coordinated victim support
120	120	services using campus-based or community-based resources.
121	121	(b) In developing policy guidelines under Subsection
122	122	(a)(3), the task force shall analyze appropriate reports,
123	123	literature, and statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence
124	124	of sexual violence on the campuses of institutions of higher
125	125	education and private or independent institutions of higher
126	126	education, including:
127	127	(1) the United States Department of Justice's report
128	128	"The Sexual Victimization of College Women";
129	129	(2) the United States Department of Justice's report
130	130	"Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing
131	131	About It"; and
132	132	(3) "Not Alone: the First Report of the White House
133	133	Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault".
134	134	Sec. 51.865. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
135	135	even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the
136	136	governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
137	137	representatives a report that includes:
138	138	(1) a description of the activities of the task force;
139	139	(2) the findings of the task force on the current state
140	140	of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on:
141	141	(A) statistics reviewed by the task force
142	142	regarding sexual violence;
143	143	(B) testimony provided by campus sexual assault
144	144	survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus
145	145	sexual assault survivors; and
146	146	(C) thorough discussion by the task force;
147	147	(3) recommendations on best practices for higher
148	148	education policies and protocols for responding to reports of
149	149	sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to
150	150	sexual assault survivors; and
151	151	(4) any other matter that the task force considers
152	152	appropriate.
153	153	Sec. 51.866. COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task
154	154	force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of
155	155	this state, including institutions of higher education.
156	156	Sec. 51.867. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished
157	157	and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2023.
158	158	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
159	159	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
160	160	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
161	161	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
162	162	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.