| 1 | 1 | | 88R6999 MM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Ortega H.B. No. 1997 |
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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 a study regarding establishing a public law school as a |
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| 8 | 8 | | professional school of The University of Texas at El Paso. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. FEASIBILITY STUDY. (a) The president of The |
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| 11 | 11 | | University of Texas at El Paso shall designate a department or |
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| 12 | 12 | | entity at the university to conduct a study to examine the need for |
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| 13 | 13 | | and feasibility of establishing a school of law as a professional |
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| 14 | 14 | | school of The University of Texas at El Paso. The department or |
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| 15 | 15 | | entity may seek the assistance of outside experts or consultants, |
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| 16 | 16 | | as necessary. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) The study must: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) assess the need for establishing an institution |
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| 19 | 19 | | described by Subsection (a) of this section; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) include a financial plan for establishing an |
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| 21 | 21 | | institution described by Subsection (a) of this section, including |
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| 22 | 22 | | the cost associated with establishing the institution; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (3) examine the feasibility of establishing an |
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| 24 | 24 | | institution described by Subsection (a) of this section, including |
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| 25 | 25 | | the projected timeline for accreditation of the institution. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 2. REPORT. (a) The department or entity at The |
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| 27 | 27 | | University of Texas at El Paso designated to conduct the study under |
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| 28 | 28 | | Section 1 of this Act shall prepare a written report summarizing the |
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| 29 | 29 | | results of the study. The report must also: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) identify the challenges related to establishing a |
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| 31 | 31 | | school of law as a professional school of The University of Texas at |
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| 32 | 32 | | El Paso; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) include recommendations for legislative or other |
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| 34 | 34 | | action; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (3) include any other matter the department or entity |
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| 36 | 36 | | considers appropriate. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) Not later than September 1, 2024, the department or |
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| 38 | 38 | | entity described by Subsection (a) of this section shall submit the |
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| 39 | 39 | | report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. FUNDING. The department or entity at The |
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| 41 | 41 | | University of Texas at El Paso designated to conduct the study under |
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| 42 | 42 | | Section 1 of this Act may use money appropriated by the legislature |
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| 43 | 43 | | or otherwise available for the purpose to pay for any costs |
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| 44 | 44 | | associated with conducting the study and with preparing the report |
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| 45 | 45 | | required by Section 2 of this Act. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. This Act expires December 1, 2024. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September |
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| 48 | 48 | | 1, 2023. |
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