| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to the establishment of a public law school in the Rio |
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| 9 | 9 | | Grande Valley. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is |
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| 12 | 12 | | amended by adding Section 61.0905 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 61.0905. RIO GRANDE VALLEY SCHOOL OF LAW. (a) The |
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| 14 | 14 | | governing board of a university system may establish and operate, |
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| 15 | 15 | | as a professional school of the system, a school of law in Cameron |
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| 16 | 16 | | County or Hidalgo County as the governing board considers |
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| 17 | 17 | | appropriate. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (b) In administering the law school, the governing board may |
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| 19 | 19 | | prescribe courses leading to customary degrees offered at other |
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| 20 | 20 | | leading American schools of law and may award those degrees. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (c) The governing board may assign responsibility for the |
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| 22 | 22 | | management of the law school to a general academic teaching |
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| 23 | 23 | | institution in the university system. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (d) The governing board may accept and administer gifts and |
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| 25 | 25 | | grants from any public or private person or entity for the use and |
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| 26 | 26 | | benefit of the law school. Notwithstanding any other provision of |
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| 27 | 27 | | this section, establishment of a law school under this section is |
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| 28 | 28 | | subject to the availability of funding, either through |
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| 29 | 29 | | appropriation or from another source. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (e) The governing board of a university system that intends |
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| 31 | 31 | | to establish a law school under this section shall notify the Texas |
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| 32 | 32 | | Higher Education Coordinating Board. If the coordinating board |
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| 33 | 33 | | receives notification under this subsection from more than one |
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| 34 | 34 | | governing board, the coordinating board shall determine which of |
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| 35 | 35 | | those governing boards may establish a law school under this |
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| 36 | 36 | | section. The coordinating board must base the determination on the |
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| 37 | 37 | | need for a law school in a geographic area, potential student |
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| 38 | 38 | | demand, available system resources, the feasibility of the specific |
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| 39 | 39 | | proposal of each system, and other criteria the coordinating board |
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| 40 | 40 | | considers appropriate. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (f) Before the governing board establishes a law school |
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| 42 | 42 | | under this section, the governing board shall request the |
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| 43 | 43 | | coordinating board to prepare a feasibility study to determine the |
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| 44 | 44 | | actions the system must take to obtain accreditation of the law |
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| 45 | 45 | | school. The coordinating board shall deliver a copy of the study to |
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| 46 | 46 | | the governing board and to the chair of each legislative standing |
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| 47 | 47 | | committee with jurisdiction over higher education. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 2. For the purposes of Section 61.0905, Education |
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| 49 | 49 | | Code, as added by this Act, no state funds may be appropriated for a |
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| 50 | 50 | | state fiscal biennium ending on or before August 31, 2027. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 52 | 52 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 53 | 53 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 54 | 54 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 55 | 55 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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