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State Affairs Texas House of Representatives Interim Report 2004

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State Affairs Texas House of Representatives Interim Report 2004 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE AFFAIRS TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INTERIM REPORT 2004 A REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 79TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE JERRY MADDEN CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE CLERK DAN MAYS Committee On State Affairs January 5, 2005 Jerry Madden P.O. Box 2910 Chairman Austin, Texas 78768-2910 The Honorable Tom Craddick Speaker, Texas House of Representatives Members of the Texas House of Representatives Texas State Capitol, Rm. 2W.13 Austin, Texas 78701 Dear Mr. Speaker and Fellow Members: The Committee on State Affairs of the Seventy-Eighth Legislature hereby submits its interim report including recommendations for consideration by the Seventy-ninth Legislature. Respectfully submitted, _______________________ _______________________ Jerry Madden- Chairman Byron Cook- Vice Chair _______________________ _______________________ John Davis Gary Elkins _______________________ _______________________ Toby Goodman Kenny Marchant _______________________ _______________________ Dan Gattis Glenn Lewis _______________________ Michael Villarreal Vice-Chairman: Byron Cook Members: John Davis * Gary Elkins * Dan Gattis * Toby Goodman * Glenn Lewis * Kenny Marchant * Mike Villareal TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………..4 INTERIM CHARGE ONE……………………………………………………………………...5 Background………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Public Hearing Findings…………………………………………………………………………...5 Recommendations to the 79th Legislature………………………………………………………...7 INTERIM CHARGE TWO……………………………………………………………………..8 Background: Social Security Numbers and Identity Theft……………………………………….8 Recent History of Federal Legislation…………………………………………………………...10 Legislation from the 78th Session of the Texas Legislature……………………………………..17 Information that can be Accessed with a Social Security Number………………………………20 Public Hearing Findings………………………………………………………………………….22 Recommendations to the 79th Legislature……………………………………………………….27 INTERIM CHARGE THREE…………………………………………………………………30 Background: The Texas Parental Notification Act and Rules…………………………………..30 Statistical Information Available Under the Current System……………………………………32 Questions Regarding Venue……………………………………………………………………..36 Compelling State Interest in Gathering Data…………………………………………………….37 Confidentiality and Anonymity…………………………………………………………………..40 Confidentiality of Bypass Proceedings…………………………………………………………..41 Statistical Reporting in Other States……………………………………………………………..46 Public Hearing Findings………………………………………………………………………….47 Recommendations to the 79th Legislature……………………………………………………….57 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………..63 A: Dissenting Statement of Representative Toby Goodman……………………………………63 B: Dissenting Statement of Representative Glenn Lewis…………………………………….....65 C: Dissenting Statement of Representative Mike Villareal……………………………………..66 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION On November 4, 2003, House Speaker Tom Craddick issued four interim charges to the House Committee on State Affairs. This report outlines the committee’s examination of these issues, presents the facts and data learned by the committee, raises concerns, and summarizes the findings of the committee with respect to its interim charges. Judicial Bypass of Parental Notification of a Minor’s Abortion Gather and study statistical information concerning judicial proceedings to bypass parental notification of a minor’s abortion. Social Security Numbers Review and consider all issues related to disclosure protections for an individual’s social security number to a member of the public in certain circumstances without the person’s written consent. Naming Public Buildings Review the process and appropriateness for naming public buildings for individuals. General Recommendations Monitor agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction, including identifying possible ways to merge or streamline agency functions to produce long-term financial benefits to the state and better efficiency of the agencies. The committee expects to consider legislation on each of these topics during the 79th Legislature and intends this report to be a reference for Members, staff, and interested parties when these issues are discussed. 4 INTERIM CHARGE ONE: Review the Process and Appropriateness for Naming Public Buildings for Individuals. Background Currently, the requirements for naming state owned buildings are found in Chapter 2165 of the Government Code. The Chapter provides that the Texas Building and Procurement Commission shall submit names proposed for a new state building to be used as a state or regional headquarters by a state agency, or proposals to rename an existing state building which is used as a state or regional headquarters by a state agency, to the presiding officers of the house of representatives and the senate. The name proposed by the commission for a state building to be used as a state or regional headquarters by a state agency may be approved and authorized only by concurrent resolution passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. The Building and Procurement Commission is required to submit names proposed for a state building which will be used as a local headquarters by a state agency to the presiding officers of the house of representatives and the senate and the members of each body in whose district the building is located. The name proposed by the Building and Procurement Commission for a state building to be used as a local headquarters by a state agency may be approved and authorized only with the consent of the governor and the presiding officers of the house of representatives and the senate. A building that will be used as a state or regional headquarters for a state agency, other than a university building, a secure correctional facility operated by the Texas Youth Commission, or a prison, may bear the name of a person only if the person is deceased and was significant in the state's history. Public Hearing Findings At the August 9th, 2004 public hearing of the House State Affairs Committee, Edward Johnson of the Texas Building and Procurement Commission (TBPC) explained that generally when legislation concerning naming buildings for individuals is passed, it tells them with sufficient particularity how to name the building. However, Mr. Johnson also stated that there could be a little clarification for TBPC, noting that the statute does require that if a building is going to be named after an individual, that individual must have made a significant contribution to the State of Texas and be deceased. He noted that institutions of higher education are exempt from this requirement, as well as prisons and Texas Youth Commission facilities. John Wells, with the Texas Military and Veterans Affairs Commission, explained that his agency constructs all the facilities for the national guard throughout the state of Texas. Of the 312 facilities built by his commission, Mr. Wells stated that to his knowledge only four of them were named. He explained the process for naming those buildings that his agency currently has in place. Requests for a building to be named after a person who is not deceased come before a seven member commission appointed by the governor. If the individual is deceased, the committee makes a review and makes a recommendation. It then must be passed through the 5 Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate by concurrent resolution, and by signed by the Governor, in order to pass. Mr. Wells stated that his agency’s concern is that only a handful of agencies have this responsibility. He recommended that the procedure for naming buildings for individuals be made uniform for all of the agencies. The Committee would like to thank the following individuals who testified on August 9th, 2004: Edward Johnson and John Wells. 6 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE 79th LEGISLATURE Appoint a Commission to Oversee the Naming of Public Buildings for Individuals in Texas. The current system is problematic for two main reasons. First, because it requires approval from both houses of the legislature, parties desiring to name a building after an individual must wait until the legislature is in session in order to obtain approval. Thus, a party who made a request to name a building after an individual immediately after the end of a regular session might have to wait a full two years until the next regular session for the process to be completed. Although this is not necessarily a terrible burden, it is also simply unnecessary for parties to have to deal with this inconvenience. The other problem with the current system is it's susceptibility to overly political considerations. Because it requires approval by both full houses of the legislature as well as the governor, the process is subject to the full political give and take. As a result, the concerns of the localities in which the building in question would be located may be overlooked. The House State Affairs Committee recommends that the legislature appoint a permanent five member body to consider all requests to name public buildings for individuals that are currently subject to recommendations by the Building and Procurement Commission. The body would consist of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives as permanent members, and would also include the state representative and the state senator who represent the location in which the building in question is located. Involving only the state representative and state senator would make the process more localized and less political. There would be no fiscal loss to the state in
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