Bill Text: TX HB728 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to litigation involving certain defects in school district instructional facilities and enforcement of certain duties following that litigation; authorizing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-21 - Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence [HB728 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB728-Introduced.html
| 86R5534 MP-F | ||
| By: Holland | H.B. No. 728 | |
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| relating to litigation involving certain defects in school district | ||
| instructional facilities and enforcement of certain duties | ||
| following that litigation; authorizing a civil penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 46.0111, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (b) A school district that brings an action for recovery of | ||
| damages for the defective design, construction, renovation, or | ||
| improvement of an instructional facility financed by bonds for | ||
| which the district receives state assistance under this subchapter | ||
| shall provide the commissioner with written notice of the action, | ||
| including a copy of the petition, by registered or certified mail, | ||
| return receipt requested, not later than the 10th day after the date | ||
| the action is filed. If the school district fails to comply with | ||
| this subsection, the court or an arbitrator or other adjudicating | ||
| authority shall dismiss the action. | ||
| (f) A school district shall provide to the commissioner an | ||
| itemized accounting of any repairs made under Subsection (d). | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 46, Education Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 46.0112 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 46.0112. ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT OF SCHOOL | ||
| DISTRICT DUTIES FOLLOWING CERTAIN ACTIONS; REPORT. (a) If the | ||
| attorney general believes that a school district has violated or is | ||
| violating Section 46.0111(d) or (e), the attorney general may bring | ||
| an action on behalf of the state to enjoin the school district from | ||
| violating those sections. | ||
| (b) In an action brought under Subsection (a), the attorney | ||
| general may request and the court may order any other appropriate | ||
| relief that is in the public interest, including payment of: | ||
| (1) a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $50,000 | ||
| for each violation of Section 46.0111(d) or (e); | ||
| (2) the attorney general's reasonable costs for | ||
| investigating and prosecuting the violation; or | ||
| (3) the amount of the state's share under Section | ||
| 46.0111(e). | ||
| (c) Not later than December 1 of each year, the attorney | ||
| general shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the | ||
| members of the legislature, and the commissioner a report on any | ||
| actions brought under this section during the preceding year. The | ||
| report must include the following information for each action: | ||
| (1) the filing date; | ||
| (2) the cause number; | ||
| (3) the school district that is the subject of the | ||
| action; and | ||
| (4) the court in which the action was brought. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 46.0111(b), Education Code, as amended | ||
| by this Act, applies only to an action brought on or after the | ||
| effective date of this Act. An action brought before the effective | ||
| date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the action | ||
| immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is | ||
| continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
