85S11901 MM-D
 
  By: Dukes H.B. No. 371
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment of a statewide task force to address
  sexual assault occurring on the campuses of public and private
  institutions of higher education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter W-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER W-1. TASK FORCE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT
         Sec. 51.861.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Institution of higher education" and "private or
  independent institution of higher education" have the meanings
  assigned those terms by Section 61.003.
               (2)  "Task force" means the statewide task force
  established under this subchapter to address sexual assault
  occurring on the campuses of public and private institutions of
  higher education.
         Sec. 51.862.  TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) The task force
  consists of:
               (1)  two members appointed by the governor as follows:
                     (A)  one member from the office of the governor;
  and
                     (B)  one member from the Crime Victims' Institute
  at Sam Houston State University;
               (2)  eight members evenly selected from positions held
  at institutions of higher education and private or independent
  institutions of higher education and appointed by the presiding
  officer of the task force as follows:
                     (A)  one member from an office of student affairs;
                     (B)  one member who is a Title IX coordinator;
                     (C)  one member from an athletics department;
                     (D)  one member who provides services to students
  as a counselor or therapist;
                     (E)  one member who is the director of a campus
  health center;
                     (F)  one member who is the director of a women's
  center;
                     (G)  one member from a campus police department;
  and
                     (H)  one member from a department having authority
  over student resident life;
               (3)  one member from the general counsel's office of an
  institution of higher education and one member from the general
  counsel's office of a private or independent institution of higher
  education, each appointed by the presiding officer of the task
  force;
               (4)  eight members having a specialized interest in
  issues related to sexual assault, appointed by the presiding
  officer of the task force as follows:
                     (A)  one member who is the survivor of a sexual
  assault committed on the campus of an institution of higher
  education or  a private or independent institution of higher
  education;
                     (B)  one member from a rape crisis center who has a
  background in issues relating to family violence, as defined by
  Section 71.004, Family Code;
                     (C)  one member who is a counselor or therapist at
  a rape crisis center;
                     (D)  one member who is a victim advocate at a rape
  crisis center;
                     (E)  one member who is the executive director of a
  rape crisis center;
                     (F)  one member who is an attorney representing
  the state in the prosecution of sexual assaults and other similar
  offenses;
                     (G)  one member who is a sexual assault nurse
  examiner; and
                     (H)  one member from a statewide sexual assault
  advocacy coalition; and
               (5)  any other member whom the presiding officer
  determines to be appropriate and who consents to serve on the task
  force, including a person who works for a federal agency such as the
  United States Department of Education.
         (b)  The presiding officer of the task force is the member
  who represents the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State
  University.
         (c)  Before appointing members of the task force under
  Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), or (5), the presiding officer shall
  solicit and obtain from appropriate institutions and organizations
  the names of recommended persons who are available and willing to
  serve on the task force.
         (d)  Appointed members of the task force serve at the will of
  the appointing authority. A vacancy on the task force shall be
  filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
         Sec. 51.863.  MEETINGS; EXPENSES.  (a)  The task force shall
  meet at the call of the presiding officer.
         (b)  A member of the task force is not entitled to
  compensation for service on the task force but, from money
  available to the comptroller to pay miscellaneous claims, is
  entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided by
  Chapter 660, Government Code, and the General Appropriations Act.
         Sec. 51.864.  GENERAL DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. (a)  The task
  force shall:
               (1)  review federal laws regarding campus sexual
  assault, including, as applicable:
                     (A)  the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
  of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g);
                     (B)  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
  (20 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.); and
                     (C)  the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
  Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 U.S.C. Section
  1092(f));
               (2)  solicit and receive reports and testimony from
  campus sexual assault survivors or from advocates who provide
  support services to campus sexual assault survivors; and
               (3)  develop policy guidelines for institutions of
  higher education and private or independent institutions of higher
  education with respect to campus sexual assault, including:
                     (A)  recommended definitions of prohibited
  behavior and sanctions for violations;
                     (B)  a recommended model protocol for responding
  to reports of campus sexual assault; and
                     (C)  recommended coordinated victim support
  services using campus-based or community-based resources.
         (b)  In developing policy guidelines under Subsection
  (a)(3), the task force shall analyze appropriate reports,
  literature, and statistics regarding the prevalence and incidence
  of sexual violence on the campuses of institutions of higher
  education and private or independent institutions of higher
  education, including:
               (1)  the United States Department of Justice's report
  "The Sexual Victimization of College Women";
               (2)  the United States Department of Justice's report
  "Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing
  About It"; and
               (3)  "Not Alone: the First Report of the White House
  Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault".
         Sec. 51.865.  REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
  even-numbered year, the task force shall prepare and submit to the
  governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
  representatives a report that includes:
               (1)  a description of the activities of the task force;
               (2)  the findings of the task force on the current state
  of sexual violence on higher education campuses, to be based on:
                     (A)  statistics reviewed by the task force
  regarding sexual violence;
                     (B)  testimony provided by campus sexual assault
  survivors or by advocates who provide support services to campus
  sexual assault survivors; and
                     (C)  thorough discussion by the task force;
               (3)  recommendations on best practices for higher
  education policies and protocols for responding to reports of
  sexual assault and providing coordinated victim support services to
  sexual assault survivors; and
               (4)  any other matter that the task force considers
  appropriate.
         Sec. 51.866.  COOPERATION WITH STATE AGENCIES. The task
  force may cooperate as necessary with any appropriate agency of
  this state, including institutions of higher education.
         Sec. 51.867.  EXPIRATION DATE. The task force is abolished
  and this subchapter expires on January 1, 2023.
         SECTION 2.  Initial appointments to the task force required
  under Section 51.862, Education Code, as added by this Act, must be
  made not later than:
               (1)  January 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect
  immediately; or
               (2)  May 1, 2018, if this Act takes effect on the 91st
  day after the last day of the legislative session.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
  legislative session.