HBA-JRA H.B. 839 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 839 By: Garcia Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE H.B. 839 establishes the public school ethics curriculum committee. This bill provides for the appointment and qualifications of the committee members and sets forth the responsibilities and procedures of the committee. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. (a) Establishes the public school ethics curriculum committee (committee). (b) Requires the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives to each appoint three members to the committee and the comptroller, the chair of the State Board of Education, and the chair of the governing board of the Texas Youth Commission each appoint one member to the committee, by January 1, 2000. (c) Provides that each committee member must have experience in public school teaching, curriculum development, or administration or a background in the study of ethics. (d) Requires the committee to develop an ethics curriculum for use in grades one through seven in public schools, which addresses fundamental values on which most citizens of the state can agree, including respect for the law and the responsibilities and rights of citizenship. Prohibits the curriculum from addressing religious matters. (e) Provides that, in developing the curriculum, the committee must hold at least three public hearings and requires that each be held in different region of the state. (f) Authorizes the staff of the Texas Education Agency to serve as staff for the committee. Provides that Sections 2110.003 and 2110.004(a), Government Code (Presiding Officer and Reimbursement of Members' Expenses; Appropriations Process, respectively), apply to the committee. (g) Requires the committee to present recommendations on a public school curriculum to the legislature by January 1, 2001. (h) Establishes that the committee is abolished January 31, 2001. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.