HBA-JLV H.B. 2726 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2726 By: Madden Environmental Regulation 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The federal Clean Air Act requires states to develop clean air strategies within State Implementation Plans (SIP). Environmental clean air strategies embodied in the SIP aim toward improving air quality in the state for the benefit of the public's health. Paralleling efforts to improve air quality, some residents of the state seek to investigate a correlation between high ozone exceedance days and school attendance rates in two of the major metropolitan areas of Texas to understand if the impact of poor air quality is affecting public health. House Bill 2726 requires the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, in collaboration with the Texas Department of Heath and the Texas Education Agency, to conduct a study of the effect of air pollution on school absenteeism. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 2726 requires the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) and the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to conduct a study of the effect of air pollution on school absenteeism in two major metropolitan areas of Texas. The bill requires TNRCC, in conducting the study, to correlate air pollution monitoring data collected by TNRCC with absenteeism statistics from schools near outdoor monitoring stations collected by the Texas Education Agency. The bill requires that the study be long enough to scientifically determine a presence or absence of a correlation between air pollution and school absenteeism. The bill requires the TDH to serve as a methodological consultant for the study and to help analyze and draw conclusions from the data and to help determine results of the study. Not later than May 1, 2002, TNRCC is required to submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives a written report containing the findings of the study. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. The Act expires June 1, 2002.