Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB255 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R2610 MTB-D
2	2	By: Blanco H.B. No. 255
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to efforts to encourage full participation in the 2020
8	8	federal decennial census by the residents of this state, including
9	9	the establishment of the Complete Count Commission.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Every
12	12	Texan Counts Act.
13	13	SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Complete Count Commission
15	15	created by this Act.
16	16	(2) "Local government" means a municipality or county.
17	17	(3) "Member" means a member of the commission.
18	18	(4) "State agency" means a board, commission,
19	19	department, office, or other agency that is in the executive branch
20	20	of state government and was created by the constitution or a statute
21	21	of this state.
22	22	SECTION 3. COMMISSION. (a) The commission is composed of
23	23	the following members:
24	24	(1) seven persons appointed by the governor;
25	25	(2) one person appointed by the governor from a list
26	26	submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives;
27	27	(3) one person appointed by the lieutenant governor;
28	28	(4) one person from each of the 10 most populous
29	29	counties in this state, nominated by the county's respective county
30	30	judge;
31	31	(5) seven members from business, faith, and nonprofit
32	32	community-based organizations, appointed by the governor, to
33	33	represent the demographic, economic, and linguistic diversity of
34	34	this state;
35	35	(6) five members appointed by the secretary of state
36	36	to represent traditionally hard-to-count populations, three of
37	37	whom must be from counties located on the Texas-Mexico border;
38	38	(7) if a local government has created a local complete
39	39	count commission, members designated by the local commission; and
40	40	(8) the secretary of state, who serves as the chair of
41	41	the commission.
42	42	(b) A member serves at the pleasure of the member's
43	43	appointing official and vacancies shall be filled in the same
44	44	manner as the initial appointment. The commission shall meet not
45	45	later than the 30th day after the date initial appointments are made
46	46	under Subsections (a)(1)-(6) of this section. The commission shall
47	47	meet regularly as necessary at the call of the chair.
48	48	(c) A member may not receive compensation for service on the
49	49	commission, but is entitled to reimbursement for actual and
50	50	necessary expenses incurred in performing commission duties. The
51	51	commission may accept gifts, grants, and donations to pay for those
52	52	expenses.
53	53	(d) The commission may employ a director and assistant
54	54	director on a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the
55	55	commission. The director and assistant director may be compensated
56	56	from money appropriated or available for that purpose.
57	57	SECTION 4. CENSUS OUTREACH STRATEGY. (a) The commission
58	58	shall develop, recommend, and assist in the administration of a
59	59	census outreach strategy to encourage full participation in the
60	60	2020 federal decennial census of population required by 13 U.S.C.
61	61	Section 141.
62	62	(b) The census outreach strategy must include:
63	63	(1) state agency initiatives to encourage
64	64	participation in the 2020 federal decennial census;
65	65	(2) the establishment and support of school-based
66	66	outreach programs;
67	67	(3) partnerships with nonprofit community-based
68	68	organizations; and
69	69	(4) a multilingual, multimedia campaign designed to
70	70	ensure an accurate and complete count of this state's population.
71	71	(c) To assist in carrying out its duties, the commission may
72	72	create and appoint subcommittees as appropriate and shall solicit
73	73	participation from relevant experts and practitioners involved in
74	74	census issues.
75	75	(d) The secretary of state shall:
76	76	(1) coordinate the census outreach strategy;
77	77	(2) provide administrative support to the commission;
78	78	and
79	79	(3) coordinate with all state agencies and
80	80	constitutional officers, as well as local governments, to identify
81	81	effective methods of outreach to residents of this state and to
82	82	provide resources to ensure the outreach program is successful and
83	83	that all residents of this state are counted.
84	84	(e) A state agency shall inform the secretary of state of
85	85	the agency's designated census coordinator and cooperate with and
86	86	provide support to the commission. Other state governmental
87	87	entities and local governments shall cooperate and provide all
88	88	reasonable assistance to the commission.
89	89	(f) Not later than December 31, 2019, the commission shall
90	90	submit a written report to the governor, lieutenant governor,
91	91	speaker of the house of representatives, and members of the
92	92	legislature with its recommendations and findings, including a
93	93	recommended outreach strategy for implementation for the 2020
94	94	federal decennial census.
95	95	SECTION 5. GRANT PROGRAM. (a) Using available funds or
96	96	private donations, the governor shall establish and administer a
97	97	grant program to award grants to local governments for their
98	98	outreach efforts to encourage full participation in the 2020
99	99	federal decennial census of population required by 13 U.S.C.
100	100	Section 141.
101	101	(b) The governor shall adopt rules to implement and
102	102	administer the grant program created under this section, including
103	103	rules regarding applications by and eligibility of local
104	104	governments for grants under the program. Eligibility rules must
105	105	prioritize a local government that has:
106	106	(1) established census outreach efforts; and
107	107	(2) census tracts with traditionally hard-to-count
108	108	populations within its boundaries.
109	109	(c) The governor may accept gifts, grants, and donations for
110	110	the grant program created under this section.
111	111	SECTION 6. INITIAL APPOINTMENTS. As soon as practicable
112	112	after the effective date of this Act, the appointing officials
113	113	shall appoint members to the commission as provided by Section 3(a)
114	114	of this Act.
115	115	SECTION 7. ABOLISHMENT AND EXPIRATION. The commission and
116	116	the grant program created under this Act are abolished and this Act
117	117	expires on September 1, 2021.
118	118	SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
119	119	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
120	120	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
121	121	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
122	122	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.