| 1 | 1 | | By: Parker S.B. No. 17 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed June 7, 2023; June 8, 2023, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; |
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| 4 | 4 | | June 15, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, |
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| 5 | 5 | | Nays 0; June 15, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to the right of a public school employee to engage in |
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| 12 | 12 | | religious speech or prayer while on duty. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Education Code, is |
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| 15 | 15 | | amended by adding Section 22.012 to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | Sec. 22.012. RELIGIOUS SPEECH OR PRAYER. The right of an |
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| 17 | 17 | | employee of a school district or open-enrollment charter school to |
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| 18 | 18 | | engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty may not be |
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| 19 | 19 | | infringed on by the district or school or another state |
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| 20 | 20 | | governmental entity, unless the infringement is: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) necessary to further a compelling state interest; |
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| 22 | 22 | | and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) narrowly tailored using the least restrictive |
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| 24 | 24 | | means to achieve that compelling state interest. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 26 | 26 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 27 | 27 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 28 | 28 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 29 | 29 | | Act takes effect October 1, 2023. |
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| 30 | 30 | | * * * * * |
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