| 1 | 1 | | 89R10067 BCH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Metcalf H.B. No. 3373 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the provision by school districts of certain records |
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| 10 | 10 | | and financial information to the public. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 44, Education Code, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Section 44.906 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 44.906. TRANSPARENCY OF PUBLIC INFORMATION; ONLINE |
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| 15 | 15 | | PORTAL. (a) For the purpose of streamlining and minimizing |
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| 16 | 16 | | requests for public information and reducing the associated costs |
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| 17 | 17 | | of fulfilling those requests, a school district shall establish, |
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| 18 | 18 | | maintain, and update regularly on the district's Internet website a |
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| 19 | 19 | | publicly accessible online portal developed in a user-friendly |
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| 20 | 20 | | format that allows a person to access a repository of critical |
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| 21 | 21 | | documents relating to the district's operations in real time |
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| 22 | 22 | | through interactive dashboards and data visualization tools. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b) The online portal must be searchable and allow a person |
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| 24 | 24 | | to specify the records sought, including by keywords, date ranges, |
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| 25 | 25 | | and document types. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (c) The repository of critical documents must include: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) a copy of each contract and consulting agreement |
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| 28 | 28 | | entered into by the district, including: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (A) procurement records required by state law; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (B) the total value of the contract; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (C) change orders; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (D) payment applications; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (E) project timelines; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (F) conflict of interest disclosures; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (G) information regarding the selection process |
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| 36 | 36 | | for the contractor or consultant, as applicable; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (H) any other key construction documents; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) a disclosure of the district's investment |
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| 39 | 39 | | policies, including information regarding: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (A) investment objectives; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (B) risk tolerance; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (C) diversification strategies; and |
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| 43 | 43 | | (D) fee structures; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) regular performance reports on the district's |
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| 45 | 45 | | investment portfolio, including information regarding: |
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| 46 | 46 | | (A) returns; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (B) fees paid; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (C) benchmark comparisons; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (D) any company that employs a person involved in |
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| 50 | 50 | | buying, selling, or trading district bonds; |
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| 51 | 51 | | (4) the minutes, certified agenda, or recording, as |
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| 52 | 52 | | applicable, of each regular or special meeting of the district's |
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| 53 | 53 | | board of trustees, including a document in a portable document |
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| 54 | 54 | | format (PDF) of each agenda item, if available; and |
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| 55 | 55 | | (5) the district's financial reports. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (d) Not later than 30 days after the date a school district |
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| 57 | 57 | | creates, receives, or modifies a document described by Subsection |
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| 58 | 58 | | (c), the district shall update the repository of critical documents |
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| 59 | 59 | | accordingly. |
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| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 61 | 61 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 62 | 62 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 63 | 63 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 64 | 64 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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