MINUTES 
          
                       SENATE COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATION 
                           Wednesday, August 19, 1998 
                                    10:30 am 
                         Capitol Extension, Room E1.028 
          
                                      ***** 
          
         Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule  
         11.11, an open meeting of the Senate Committee on  
         Administration was held on Wednesday, August 19, 1998 in the  
         Capitol Extension, Room E1.028, at Austin, Texas.   
          
                                      ***** 
          
         MEMBERS PRESENT:                        MEMBERS ABSENT: 
         Senator Chris Harris                    Senator Carlos Truan 
         Senator Kenneth Armbrister              Senator J.E. Brown 
         Senator Mike Moncrief                   Senator Bill Ratliff 
         Senator David Sibley 
          
                                      ***** 
          
         The Chair called the meeting to order at 10:35 am.  There  
         being a quorum present, the following business was transacted.   
         Senator Truan asked to be shown voting with the Chairman. 
          
         The following members arrived after the roll was called:   
         Senator Bill Ratliff 
          
         The first order of  business was to consider and approve  
         committee budgets.  Senator Harris laid out the requested  
         budget for the IGR committee.  Senator Moncrief  moved to  
         approve the $90,475.00  budget for IGR.  Motion passed 6 ayes,  
         0 nays.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                      
         Senator Harris stated that there were a number of requests  
         from committees to approve requests for salary exemptions  
         including Finance and just wanted to make sure that Senator  
         Ratliff, Chairman of Finance, was aware of these requests.   
         Senator Ratliff stated that he was aware of these.  He  also  
         stated that  he'd  heard discussions last session regarding   
         the $5,000.00 cap  for committee employees and the  need for  
         that cap to be adjusted.  He didn't know  how much of an  
         adjustment but that the $5,000.00 amount was out of date.   
         Senator Harris agreed and added  that  he believed  that  to  
         retain quality people the committee would have to take a hard  
         look at salaries.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                           
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the  
         Nominations committee.  Senator Ratliff moved to approve the  
         $37,320.00 budget for Nominations.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Special  
  
         Interim Committee on  Annexation.  Senator Moncrief moved to  
         approve the $7,960.00 budget for Annexation.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris passed the gavel to Senator Sibley and asked to  
         be recognized to present the budget for the Senate Committee  
         on Administration.  Senator Moncrief  moved to approve the  
         $54,680.00 budget for Administration.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                  
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the  
         Agriculture committee.  Senator Moncrief moved to approve the  
         $21,300.00 budget for Agriculture.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.   
          
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Criminal  
         Justice committee along with the  request for a salary  
         exception of $6000.00 for Patrick Redman.  Senator Moncrief  
         moved to approve the $6,000.00 salary exception.  Motion  
         passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.  Senator Sibley moved to approve the  
         $103,800.00 budget for Criminal Justice.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays. 
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for Economic  
         Development.  It was pointed out that the budget for the  
         Interim Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring was  
         included in the Economic Development budget.  Senator  
         Armbrister moved to approve the $132,900.00 for Economic  
         Development.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                          
                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for Education  
         along with a request for a salary exception of $6,000.00 for  
         Mel Hazelwood.  Senator Ratliff moved to approve the salary  
         exception.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.  Senator Moncrief   
         moved to approve the $82,033 budget  for Education.  Motion  
         passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. 
          
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for Finance along  
         with a request for a salary exception of $5,350.00 for Nancy  
         Frank.  Senator Moncrief moved  to approve the salary  
         exception and the $123,060 budget for Finance.  Both motions  
         passed with 6 ayes, 0 nays. 
          
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for General  
         Investigating.  Senator Sibley moved to approve the $11,243.77  
         for the General Investigating committee.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                        
                                                                
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Health &  
         Human Services.  Senator Moncrief moved to approve the  
         $141,485.00 budget for Health & Human Services.  Motion passed  
         6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the IRTT  
         along with requests for salary exceptions of $5,500.00 for  
         Salvador Valdez and $5,200.00 for Vic Hines.  Senator MONCRIEF  
         moved to approve the salary exceptions and the $110,271.00  
         budget for the IRTT committee.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                        
                                                                                                         
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget  for the  
         Jurisprudence committee.  Senator Moncrief moved approval of  
  
         $97,260.00 for the Jurisprudence budget.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Natural  
         Resources committee.  Senator Armbrister moved to approve the  
         $99,500.00 budget for Natural Resources.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                        
                                                                
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Committee  
         of the Whole on Legislative alone with a salary exception  
         request of $6,000.00 for David Edmondson.  Senator Moncrief  
         moved approval of the salary exception and the $65,758.00 for  
         the committee.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                        
                                                                                                          
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for State Affairs  
         along with  salary exceptions for $5,500.00 for Brian Jammer  
         and $6,500.00 for James Hamilton.  Senator Moncrief moved  
         approval for both the salary exceptions and the $143,799  
         budget request.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                       
                                                                                                   
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for Veteran  
         Affairs & Military Installations.  Senator Moncrief moved to  
         approve the $23,370.00 budget for the Committee.  Motion  
         passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                               
                                                                  
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the  
         Sub-Committee on Water.  Senator Sibley moved approval of the  
         $25,056.00 budget for the Committee.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.                                                                                                                                
                                                                         
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Interim  
         Committee on Gangs & Juvenile Justice.  Senator Moncrief moved  
         approval of the $17,842.00 budget.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.                                                                                                                                
                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Interim  
         Committee on Home Health & Assisted Living.  Senator Moncrief  
         moved approval of the $17,620.00 budget.  Motion passed 6  
         ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                                        
                                                         
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Interim  
         Committee on Hopwood & State Contract & Employment Practices.   
         Senator Moncrief moved approval of the $67,750 budget.  Motion  
         passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Interim  
         Committee on Public Information.  Senator Sibley moved  
         approval of the $11,100.00 budget.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0  
         nays.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                
         Senator Harris laid out the requested budget for the Interim  
         Committee on Sex Offenders.  Senator Sibley moved to approval  
         of the $7,200.00 budget.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
         Senator Harris passed the gavel to Senator Sibley and asked to  
         be recognized to present the budget for the Interim Committee  
         on Title Insurance.  Senator Moncrief moved to approve the  
         $3,800.00 budget.  Motion passed 6 ayes, 0 nays.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                              
         With all the budgets approved Senator Harris asked if there  
         was any other business.  Senator Ratliff spoke briefly on his  
         concern about the budget for the Senate and especially the  
         Senate Committees.  He was thinking of proposing rules for the  
  
         next session dealing with the budgets and just wanted the  
         committee to be aware of this.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                              
         Senator Ratliff also wanted the Committee to reconsider a vote  
         they took at the May 26, 1998 meeting.  The vote was on the  
          software to provide the ability to view a roll call vote from  
         the laptop on each senator's  desk. After thinking about it he  
         wasn't sure that was the correct thing to do.  There was  
         discussion and Senator Armbrister asked Katherine Staat,  
         Director of Senate Media,  if there was a way on the screen  
         board to track the ayes and nays.  Ms. King thought that  
         International Roll Call (IRC) could do that.  The consensus  
         was that if the Senators could visually keep track of the vote  
         that is all they needed.  Senator Ratliff  moved that there be  
         a study to see what can be done with the roll call board  
         before we proceed with purchasing the software approved at the  
         May 26, 1998 meeting.                                                                                                                
                                                                                      
         There being no further business, at 11:45 am Senator Harris  
         moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of  
         the Chair.  Without objection, it was so ordered.   
          
         ______________________ 
         Senator Chris Harris, Chair 
          
         ______________________ 
         Myra J. Schmitt, Clerk