HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 3591 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3591
By: Hunter
State, Federal & International Relations
4/6/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

An academic statewide resource sharing project was first funded in Fiscal
Year 1994 under the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.  The 53
publicly supported four-year academic and medical libraries were original
TexShare members.  In the 75th Legislature, legislation was passed that
expanded TexShare membership to independent academic institutions and
community colleges, and  established TexShare as a program of the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission.  During the 76th Legislature,
legislation was passed which brought public libraries into TexShare, and in
September 1999, the State Library assumed full administrative
responsibility for TexShare.  Currently, TexShare is managing the
transition from a resource sharing program focused on academic institutions
to one that fosters resource sharing among all academic and public
libraries.  C.S.H.B. 3591 expands membership in TexShare to include
nonprofit libraries that provide extensive library services and collections
in the fields of clinical medicine and the history of medicine. 

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

C.S.H.B. 3591 amends the Government and Utilities codes relating to the
TexShare consortium.  The bill includes libraries of nonprofit
corporations, in the fields of clinical medicine and the history of
medicine, as entities for which the TexShare resource-sharing consortium is
maintained by the Texas State Libraries and Archives Commission. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3591 modifies the original bill to conform to Texas Legislative
Council Style and format.