| 1 | 1 | | 86R1391 SCL-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Wu H.B. No. 761 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the establishment of the Texas Pay Equity Task Force. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. (a) In this section, "task force" means the |
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| 10 | 10 | | Texas Pay Equity Task Force. |
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| 11 | 11 | | (b) The Texas Pay Equity Task Force is established to assess |
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| 12 | 12 | | whether a disparity exists on the basis of gender or race in |
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| 13 | 13 | | compensation paid to employees of state agencies, counties, and |
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| 14 | 14 | | municipalities. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (c) The task force is composed of nine members appointed as |
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| 16 | 16 | | follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) two representatives of state agencies and one |
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| 18 | 18 | | representative of a nonprofit organization engaged in race or |
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| 19 | 19 | | gender pay equity issues, appointed by the governor; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) one representative of a county, one representative |
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| 21 | 21 | | of a municipality, and one representative of a nonprofit |
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| 22 | 22 | | organization engaged in race or gender pay equity issues, appointed |
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| 23 | 23 | | by the lieutenant governor; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) one representative of a county, one representative |
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| 25 | 25 | | of a municipality, and one representative of a nonprofit |
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| 26 | 26 | | organization engaged in race or gender pay equity issues, appointed |
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| 27 | 27 | | by the speaker of the house of representatives. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (d) A task force member is not entitled to compensation for |
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| 29 | 29 | | service on the task force but is entitled to reimbursement for |
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| 30 | 30 | | actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing task force |
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| 31 | 31 | | duties. The task force may accept gifts, grants, and donations to |
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| 32 | 32 | | pay for those expenses. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (e) The members of the task force shall elect a presiding |
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| 34 | 34 | | officer from among the membership. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (f) The task force shall meet at least quarterly at the call |
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| 36 | 36 | | of the presiding officer. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (g) Notwithstanding Chapter 551, Government Code, or any |
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| 38 | 38 | | other law, the task force may meet by telephone conference call, |
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| 39 | 39 | | videoconference, or other similar telecommunication method. A |
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| 40 | 40 | | meeting held by telephone conference call, videoconference, or |
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| 41 | 41 | | other similar telecommunication method is subject to the |
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| 42 | 42 | | requirements of Sections 551.125(c), (d), (e), and (f), Government |
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| 43 | 43 | | Code. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (h) The task force shall conduct a study to determine |
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| 45 | 45 | | whether a disparity exists on the basis of gender or race in |
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| 46 | 46 | | compensation paid to employees of state agencies, counties, and |
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| 47 | 47 | | municipalities. The task force may request payroll information, |
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| 48 | 48 | | including the gender and race of each employee, from a state agency, |
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| 49 | 49 | | county, or municipality, and the state agency, county, or |
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| 50 | 50 | | municipality shall comply with the request. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (i) If the task force determines that a pay disparity |
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| 52 | 52 | | exists, the task force shall develop recommendations to eliminate |
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| 53 | 53 | | the disparity. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (j) The task force shall develop and submit a written report |
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| 55 | 55 | | on the study and recommendations developed by the task force to the |
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| 56 | 56 | | governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
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| 57 | 57 | | representatives, and each member of the legislature not later than |
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| 58 | 58 | | November 1, 2020. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (k) The task force is abolished and this Act expires June 1, |
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| 60 | 60 | | 2021. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 62 | 62 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 63 | 63 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 64 | 64 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 65 | 65 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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