Civic Engagement Blog - News

Legislative Session Ends

Sun, 31 May 2009 22:34:00 -0600

The following is a list of House Bills (HB) and Senate Bills (SB) that have made it through both the House and Senate and must be signed by the Governor by June 21st to become a law. A more comprehensive list will follow when all the updates come in. As for now, here are some Bills that made it through:

HB 103- Relating to the operation of certain health benefit plans through student health centers of certain institutions of higher education.

HB 269- Relating to the awarding of course credit for military service

HB 1096-Relating to the provision of notice regarding the availability of higher education textbooks through multiple retailers.

HB 3353- Charging an Environmental Service Fee at Higher education institutes

**Updates to follow***

Concealed Handgun Carry on Campus (HB 1893)

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:49:00 -0600

^{Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is}

^{amended by adding Section 411.2031:}

^[…]

^{(b) A license holder may carry a concealed handgun on or}

^{about the license holder's person while the license holder is on the}

^{campus of an institution of higher education or private or}

^{independent institution of higher education in this state.}

Read full text here.

Texas HB 1893 would allow Concealed Handgun Licensees to carry concealed handguns on the campuses of Texas institutions of higher education. This includes public and private universities. The bill also states an institution of higher education cannot prohibit CHL’s from carrying on campus, although they can regulate handgun storage in dorms. The language of its Senate companion bill (SB 1164) is identical. If passed, HB 1893 becomes effective September 1^st, 2009.

The bill has bipartisan support and passed the House Committee on Public Safety last Wednesday. It will be debated next in the House (date pending), although it will go through several additional stages before becoming law.

Is this bill good for the university? For example, how would it impact enrollment rates, crime or violence, the number of students having or obtaining a CHL, etc? Should UTPA (and other institutions of higher education) be compelled to allow the carrying of a concealed handgun on campus? Should private universities also have to comply?

And don't forget to let your representatives know what you think!

Textbook Availability (HB 1096)

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:47:00 -0600

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall prescribe procedures by which each institution of higher education shall provide to each student enrolled at the institution written notice regarding the availability of required or recommended textbooks through retailers other than university-affiliated bookstores.

In other words, Bookstores (both on and off campus) that do not have the recommended text available will be required to inform the student of alternate locations of the book, including online retaliers.

Sound good?

The Bill is up for discussion this week, so drop a comment, and Let your representatives know what you think

SB 690 (Thought this was interesting)

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:25:00 -0600

Maybe a little late, but here's a repost from an email I received this morning:

Oppose SB 690
This bill would stifle public participation when the public is more excited than ever about engaging in the political process.
SB 690 would increase the number of signatures citizens would be required to gather to place a charter amendment on the local ballot in home rule cities – from 5% to 10%.
Problem: This bill is anti-democratic. More people than ever before are actively engaging in our democratic process in Texas at the local, state and national level. This bill would reverse that trend and ensure that the hurdle is too high for citizens to be able to place an item on the local ballot in home rule cities.

· The current 5% requirement is not too low. Many groups fail to collect enough signatures because private property owners refuse to allow petition gatherers on their property and public property managers relegate signature gatherers to parts of the property where there is no pedestrian traffic.

· The current system does not result in costly special elections because, if successful, the new ballot item is placed on the ballot in the next regularly scheduled election.

· Popular local ballot initiatives in Texas have included local anti-smoking laws and campaign finance limits. Even when citizen-led initiatives fail at the ballot box, they benefit the public by highlighting important issues and often result in new local policies.

It shouldn’t be more difficult to get on a local ballot than a statewide or federal ballot in Texas:

· It only takes 500 signatures for a person in Texas to get on the ballot to run for Congress.

· It only takes 1% of the presidential voters in Texas to get statewide ballot access for an independent candidate (about 60,000 signatures).

· It only takes 1% of the gubernatorial voters in Texas for a new political party to get ballot access (about 45,000 signatures).

Please protect Texans’ right to participate in the democratic process. Vote “NO” on SB 690.

For more information contact: Linda Curtis, 512-535-0989

Thanks,
Mark Allen

HB 255: Undocumented Students

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:41:00 -0600

"Notwithstanding any other law, an institution of higher education may not admit an applicant for admission to the institution....unless the applicant submits to the institution the documentation required by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rule verifying that the applicant is authorized by law to be present in the United States."

You can read the full text Here

In essence, this bill, Submitted by Rep. Leo Berman, calls for Texas Public Universities to refuse entry to students who cannot show proof of documentation relating to citizenship. This would mean any student who is here illegally can no longer enroll in a Texas University.

Like many, the Bill is still in its first stage. However, if approved by a 2/3 majority, the law will be effective immediately.

So upon hearing this, is this bill good for Texas Universities and/or students? What are the pros and cons? Discuss.

Also, if you would like to contact the Texas House about the issue, feel free to respectfully share your opinion with The Author Himself

^{Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is}
	^{amended by adding Section 411.2031:} ^[…]
^{(b) A license holder may carry a concealed handgun on or}
^{about the license holder's person while the license holder is on the}
^{campus of an institution of higher education or private or}
^{independent institution of higher education in this state.}