HBA-JRA C.S.H.B. 2631 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2631
By: Turner, Sylvester
Agriculture & Livestock
4/5/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Some public schools include the study of agriculture in their curriculum.
Demonstrations and handson participation may be an effective supplement to
textbooks and lectures in teaching public school children about
agriculture.  C.S.H.B. 2631 requires the Texas Department of Agriculture to
develop a program to award grants to large urban public elementary schools
to establish demonstration agricultural projects. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Agriculture in
SECTION 1 (Section 46.001, Agriculture Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Title 3, Agriculture Code, by adding Chapter 46, as
follows: 

CHAPTER 46.  AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS IN CERTAIN URBAN SCHOOLS

Sec. 46.001.  CREATION.  Requires the Department of Agriculture
(department), by rule, to develop a program to award grants to public
elementary schools located in large urban school districts for the purpose
of establishing demonstration agricultural projects. 

Sec. 46.002.  ELIGIBILITY.  Provides that a public elementary school is
eligible to receive a grant if it is in a school district with an
enrollment of at least 49,000 students, and timely submits a proposal for a
demonstration agricultural project that includes a description of the
project, a schedule of projected costs, and a statement of the educational
benefits of the project, including how the project will improve
understanding of agriculture. 

Sec. 46.003.  LIMIT.  Prohibits the department from awarding more than
$2,500 to a school in a school year or to more than one school in the same
school district in a school year.  

Sec. 46.004.  REPORT.  Provides that a school that receives a grant under
this chapter must report the results of the project to the department in a
manner determined by the department. 

Sec. 46.005.  FUNDS.  Authorizes the department to solicit and accept
gifts, grants, and other donations from any source to carry out this
chapter. 

SECTION 2.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 by changing proposed
Section 46.001 to provide that the grant program established by this
chapter is for public elementary schools, rather than public schools.  The
substitute modifies the grant eligibility requirements in proposed Section
46.002 by deleting the requirement that a school be located in a
municipality with a population of at least one million and requiring that
it be in school district with an enrollment of at least 49,000, rather than
60,000, students.  Additionally, the substitute adds a new Subsection (b)
to proposed Section 46.003, to prohibit the department from awarding a
grant to more than one school within the same school district in a school
year and makes nonsubstantive changes.