Texas 2017 - 85th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB371 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85S11901 MM-D
2	2	By: Dukes H.B. No. 371
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) The presiding officer of the task force is the member
79	79	who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State
80	80	University.
81	81	(c) Before appointing members of the task force under
82	82	Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5), the presiding officer shall
83	83	solicit and obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations
84	84	the names of recommended persons who are available and willing to
85	85	serve on the task force.
86	86	(d) Appointed members of the task force serve at the will of
87	87	the appointing authority. A vacancy on the task force shall be
88	88	filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
89	89	Sec. 51.863. MEETINGS; EXPENSES. (a) The task force shall
90	90	meet at the call of the presiding officer.
91	91	(b) A member of the task force is not entitled to
92	92	compensation for service on the task force but, from money
93	93	available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is
94	94	entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by
95	95	Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
96	96	Sec. 51.864. GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. (a) The task
97	97	force shall:
98	98	(1) review federal laws regarding campus sexual
99	99	assault, including, as applicable:
100	100	(A) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
101	101	of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
102	102	(B) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
103	103	(20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and
104	104	(C) the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
105	105	Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section
106	106	1092(f));
107	107	(2) solicit and receive reports and testimony from
108	108	campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide
109	109	support services to campus sexual assault survivors; and
110	110	(3) develop policy guidelines for institutions of
111	111	higher education and private or independent institutions of higher
112	112	education with respect to campus sexual assault, including:
113	113	(A) recommended definitions of prohibited
114	114	behavior and sanctions for violations;
115	115	(B) a recommended model protocol for responding
116	116	to reports of campus sexual assault; and
117	117	(C) recommended coordinated victim support
118	118	services using campus-based or community-based resources.
119	119	(b) In developing policy guidelines under Subsection
120	120	(a)(3), the task force shall analyze appropriate reports,
121	121	literature, and statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence
122	122	of sexual violence on the campuses of institutions of higher
123	123	education and private or independent institutions of higher
124	124	education, including:
125	125	(1) the United States Department of Justice's report
126	126	"The Sexual Victimization of College Women";
127	127	(2) the United States Department of Justice's report
128	128	"Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing
129	129	About It"; and
130	130	(3) "Not Alone: the First Report of the White House
131	131	Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault".
132	132	Sec. 51.865. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
133	133	even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the
134	134	governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
135	135	representatives a report that includes:
136	136	(1) a description of the activities of the task force;
137	137	(2) the findings of the task force on the current state
138	138	of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on:
139	139	(A) statistics reviewed by the task force
140	140	regarding sexual violence;
141	141	(B) testimony provided by campus sexual assault
142	142	survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus
143	143	sexual assault survivors; and
144	144	(C) thorough discussion by the task force;
145	145	(3) recommendations on best practices for higher
146	146	education policies and protocols for responding to reports of
147	147	sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to
148	148	sexual assault survivors; and
149	149	(4) any other matter that the task force considers
150	150	appropriate.
151	151	Sec. 51.866. COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task
152	152	force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of
153	153	this state, including institutions of higher education.
154	154	Sec. 51.867. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished
155	155	and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2023.
156	156	SECTION 2. Initial appointments to the task force required
157	157	under Section 51.862, Education Code, as added by this Act, must be
158	158	made not later than:
159	159	(1) January 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect
160	160	immediately; or
161	161	(2) May 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect on the 91st
162	162	day after the last day of the legislative session.
163	163	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
164	164	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
165	165	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
166	166	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
167	167	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
168	168	legislative session.