By: Metcalf (Senate Sponsor - Hancock) H.B. No. 5125

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023; May 21, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Administration; May 22, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 22, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 5125 By: Springer

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the organization and operation of the legislative branch of state government.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, is amended by adding Sections 301.0161, 301.0291, 301.0321, and 301.036 to read as follows:

Sec. 301.0161. ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEES. (a) By rule or resolution, each house may establish an administration committee.

(b) The senate administration committee shall perform the duties and functions assigned to the committee by rule or resolution.

(c) The house administration committee shall:

(1) adopt policies and determine guidelines for the effective and efficient operation of the house, including the appointment and discharge of employees and the use of state property and facilities; and

(2) not later than the 60th day after the convening of a regular session, prepare and distribute to all members a manual of policy statements to include, but not be limited to, policies pertaining to members as a class.

Sec. 301.0291. ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. (a) For purposes of any law applicable to the legislature that requires an action by an administrative head of agency and unless otherwise directed by resolution, the speaker is the administrative head of agency for the house of representatives.

(b) As administrative head of the house of representatives, the speaker may make any expenditures or transfers, including expenditures and transfers necessary to discharge properly the duties and responsibilities of the office of speaker, and perform any function deemed necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the house of representatives.

(c) The speaker may delegate all or part of the authority granted under Subsections (a) and (b) to a house committee or legislative officer as provided by law, rule, resolution, or policy.

Sec. 301.0321. INTERNS. Notwithstanding Section 301.032 or any other law, a member, officer, committee, or division of a house of the legislature or the lieutenant governor may accept uncompensated service from an individual participating in a bona fide internship program approved by the committee on administration of the respective house or for which the student receives academic credit.

Sec. 301.036. COMMITTEES WITH LEGISLATIVE APPOINTEES. (a) This section applies to any committee, council, board, commission, or other body created or authorized by state law:

(1) that includes members appointed by the lieutenant governor or the speaker; or

(2) for which the lieutenant governor or the speaker designates the presiding officer.

(b) For an entity described by Subsection (a), the per diem and travel expenses paid to a member of the entity shall be paid by the state agency providing administrative support to the entity or as otherwise directed by rider in the general appropriations act.

(c) An entity described by Subsection (a) is abolished on the date of the sine die adjournment of the second regular session of the legislature that begins after the date the entity is created. This subsection does not apply to an entity that is created before September 1, 2023.

(d) This section prevails to the extent of any conflict with any other law. The application of this section to an entity described by Subsection (a) may be altered only by an amendment to this section.

(e) Subsection (c) does not apply to an entity that is a state agency.

(f) In this section, "state agency" means a department, commission, board, office, or other body that is in the executive or judicial branch of state government and was created by the constitution or statute, but does not include an advisory committee administratively attached to a state agency.

SECTION 2. Section 301.035, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 301.035. [JOINT] INTERIM COMMITTEE PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. Unless a statute expressly provides otherwise, per diem and travel expenses paid to a member of a joint committee established by statute or an interim committee of a house created by rule or resolution shall be paid by the house to which the member belongs. The per diem and travel expenses paid to a public member of the committee shall be paid by the office of the appointing entity.

SECTION 3. Section 301.072, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) A state agency with charge and control of a state building shall, as soon as practicable, notify each legislative office or agency occupying the building of any planned or anticipated activity described by Subsection (b)(4) that is conducted, directed, or authorized by the state agency, including an interruption in utilities, a maintenance or construction activity likely to cause prolonged noise or vibration perceptible in the space occupied by a legislative office or agency, a major excavation project within 1,000 feet of any outer wall of the building, or a change to or closure of a street or sidewalk adjacent to the building or affecting vehicle or pedestrian access to the building.

SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 301, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 301.074 to read as follows:

Sec. 301.074. LEGISLATIVE AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS. (a) In this section:

(1) "Financial system" includes an accounting system, payroll system, purchasing system, human resources information system, or enterprise resource planning system.

(2) "Legislative agency" has the meaning assigned by Sections 326.001(1)(A)-(B) and (D)-(H).

(b) The administrative head of a legislative agency shall oversee the agency's central business and administrative functions and other matters vested in or delegated to the administrative head.

(c) For purposes of this section, the administrative head of the senate is the highest ranking officer or employee of the senate with responsibility for the senate's financial functions.

(d) The director or other highest ranking employee, or that person's designee, is the administrative head of a legislative agency other than the senate or house of representatives.

(e) A legislative agency may use an internal financial system selected by the administrative head of the agency.

(f) The comptroller shall provide an application programming interface or other means mutually acceptable to the administrative head of a legislative agency and the comptroller for the legislative agency's internal financial system to exchange the requisite financial and other data with the financial system of record for this state necessary for the comptroller to pay each agency's expenses from that agency's funds as held by the comptroller.

(g) A legislative agency may use all or any part of a financial system provided by the comptroller under Chapter 2101 or other law as mutually agreed to by the administrative head of the agency and the comptroller.

(h) This section prevails to the extent of a conflict between this section and Chapter 2101.

SECTION 5. Section 323.006(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) By agreement with either house of the legislature or a legislative agency, the council may perform administrative, accounting, purchasing, facilities management, or other services or functions for or on behalf of the house or agency.

SECTION 6. Section 323.009(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The council may reimburse members-elect of the legislature for travel expenses incurred in attending an orientation program [conducted by the council] between the date of the general election and the convening of the regular legislative session.

SECTION 7. Section 325.003(a-1), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a-1) A public member acts on behalf of the legislature when participating on the commission in furtherance of the legislature's duty to provide oversight of state [executive branch] agencies' implementation of legislative priorities.

SECTION 8. Section 325.004(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The commission shall employ an individual selected by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives as executive director of the commission. The executive director acts [to act] as the executive head of the commission.

SECTION 9. Section 325.012(c), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The commission shall have drafts of legislation prepared to carry out the commission's recommendations under this section. The commission may include in legislation prepared for the commission that continues a state agency or advisory committee only those recommendations that relate to the efficient functioning of or procedural changes in the day-to-day administration, management, or operation of the state agency or advisory committee. The commission may include any recommendation authorized by this chapter in legislation prepared for the commission that does not continue a state agency or advisory committee.

SECTION 10. Section 468.003(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The Texas Legislative Council may [shall] provide office space and other support in Austin necessary for the state demographer to perform the demographer's duties for the legislature.

SECTION 11. Section 2052.205(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A state agency shall send to the Legislative Reference Library three physical [five] copies and one electronic copy of each publication that it distributes.

SECTION 12. Section 6, Article 38.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 6. ASSISTANCE. The [Texas Legislative Council, the Legislative Budget Board, and The] University of Texas at Austin shall assist the commission in performing the commission's duties.

SECTION 13. Section 31, Chapter 1250 (H.B. 4181), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 31. Records described by Section 301.041(b) or 301.043, Government Code, as added by this Act, or Section 301.020(e) or 323.018, Government Code, as amended by this Act, are not subject to request, inspection, or duplication under Chapter 552, Government Code. A governmental body may withhold the records without the necessity of requesting a decision from the attorney general under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code.

SECTION 14. The following provisions of the Government Code are repealed:

(1) Sections 325.019(b) and (c);

(2) Section 325.022;

(3) Section 2053.004;

(4) Chapter 2060; and

(5) Section 2206.101(e).

SECTION 15. 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 September 1, 2023.

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