By Edwards H.B. No. 1216
75R1635 MLS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation and operation of the Texas Emancipation
1-3 Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
1-6 by adding Chapter 448 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 448. TEXAS EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH
1-8 CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL COMMISSION
1-9 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
1-10 Sec. 448.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-11 (1) "Commission" means the Texas Emancipation
1-12 Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.
1-13 (2) "Juneteenth" means the anniversary of the event of
1-14 emancipation from slavery that occurred in Texas on June 19, 1865.
1-15 Sec. 448.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Emancipation
1-16 Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission is subject to Chapter
1-17 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided
1-18 by that chapter, the commission is abolished and this chapter
1-19 expires September 1, 2001.
1-20 Sec. 448.003. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. The commission is
1-21 composed of:
1-22 (1) six public members appointed by the governor with
1-23 the advice and consent of the senate;
1-24 (2) two members of the senate appointed by the
2-1 lieutenant governor to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members;
2-2 (3) two members of the house of representatives
2-3 appointed by the speaker of the house to serve as ex officio,
2-4 nonvoting members; and
2-5 (4) the executive director of the Texas Historical
2-6 Commission to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member.
2-7 Sec. 448.004. APPOINTMENT. (a) Appointments to the
2-8 commission shall be made without regard to the race, color,
2-9 disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the
2-10 appointees.
2-11 (b) Appointments of the public members to the commission
2-12 shall be made so that each geographic area of the state is
2-13 represented on the commission.
2-14 Sec. 448.005. ELIGIBILITY OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS. (a) An ex
2-15 officio member of the commission vacates the person's position on
2-16 the commission if the person ceases to hold the underlying position
2-17 that qualifies the person for service on the commission. A vacancy
2-18 in the office is filled in the same manner as originally.
2-19 (b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
2-20 serve in the member's absence. A representative designated under
2-21 this subsection must be an officer or employee of the member's
2-22 state agency or house of the legislature.
2-23 Sec. 448.006. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST; REMOVAL PROVISIONS.
2-24 (a) A person may not serve as a member of the commission if the
2-25 person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305
2-26 because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf of a
2-27 profession related to the operation of the commission.
3-1 (b) An officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas
3-2 trade association in the field of historic preservation may not be
3-3 a member of the commission and may not be an employee of the
3-4 commission who is exempt from the state's position classification
3-5 plan or is compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the
3-6 General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group 17, of the
3-7 position classification salary schedule.
3-8 (c) A person who is the spouse of an officer, manager, or
3-9 paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of
3-10 historic preservation may not be a member of the commission and may
3-11 not be an employee of the commission who is exempt from the state's
3-12 position classification plan or is compensated at or above the
3-13 amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1,
3-14 salary group 17, of the position classification salary schedule.
3-15 (d) It is a ground for removal from the commission if a
3-16 member:
3-17 (1) violates a prohibition established by this
3-18 section;
3-19 (2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
3-20 the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which
3-21 the member is appointed; or
3-22 (3) is absent from more than half of the regularly
3-23 scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible to attend
3-24 during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by majority
3-25 vote of the commission.
3-26 (e) The validity of an action of the commission is not
3-27 affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of
4-1 a commission member exists.
4-2 (f) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
4-3 potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
4-4 presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
4-5 presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
4-6 general that a potential ground for removal exists.
4-7 (g) For the purposes of this section, a Texas trade
4-8 association is a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined
4-9 association of business or professional competitors in this state
4-10 designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in
4-11 obtaining public money or influencing governmental policy.
4-12 Sec. 448.007. TERMS. Public members of the commission serve
4-13 staggered terms of six years with the terms of one-third of the
4-14 members expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
4-15 Sec. 448.008. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The commission
4-16 annually shall elect one of its members as presiding officer.
4-17 (b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint
4-18 subcommittees for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
4-19 commission under this chapter.
4-20 Sec. 448.009. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
4-21 of the commission is not entitled to compensation, but is entitled
4-22 to reimbursement, from commission funds, for the travel expenses
4-23 incurred by the member while conducting the business of the
4-24 commission, as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
4-25 (b) The service to the commission of an ex officio member is
4-26 an additional duty of the member's underlying position that
4-27 qualifies the member for service on the commission. The
5-1 entitlement of an ex officio member to compensation or
5-2 reimbursement for travel expenses is governed by the law applying
5-3 to the member's service in that underlying position, and any
5-4 payments to the member shall be made from the appropriate funds of
5-5 the state agency or house of the legislature with which the member
5-6 serves.
5-7 Sec. 448.010. MEETINGS; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a) The commission
5-8 may meet at the times and places within the state that the
5-9 commission designates.
5-10 (b) The commission shall develop and implement policies that
5-11 provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before
5-12 the commission and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
5-13 the commission.
5-14 Sec. 448.011. ANNUAL REPORT. The commission shall prepare
5-15 annually a complete and detailed written report accounting for all
5-16 funds received and disbursed by the commission during the preceding
5-17 fiscal year. The annual report must meet the reporting
5-18 requirements applicable to financial reporting provided in the
5-19 General Appropriations Act.
5-20 (Sections 448.012-448.030 reserved for expansion
5-21 SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
5-22 Sec. 448.031. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
5-23 The commission shall:
5-24 (1) adopt rules as necessary for its own procedures;
5-25 (2) coordinate state and local activities relating to
5-26 the cultural and historical celebration of Juneteenth;
5-27 (3) establish a Juneteenth memorial monument and
6-1 establish an advisory committee to advise the commission on all
6-2 matters relating to the construction, dedication, and maintenance
6-3 of the monument, including:
6-4 (A) site selection;
6-5 (B) fund-raising from public and private
6-6 sources;
6-7 (C) establishing a schedule for the design,
6-8 construction, and dedication of the monument;
6-9 (D) procedures for soliciting designs for the
6-10 monument;
6-11 (E) selecting the final design of the monument;
6-12 (F) procedures for selecting a contractor to
6-13 construct the monument;
6-14 (G) selecting the contractor to construct the
6-15 monument; and
6-16 (H) reviewing and monitoring the design and
6-17 construction process; and
6-18 (4) encourage individuals, private organizations, and
6-19 local governmental bodies to organize appropriate activities.
6-20 Sec. 448.032. DONATIONS; APPROPRIATIONS; AUDIT. (a) The
6-21 commission may accept, on behalf of the state, donations, gifts,
6-22 grants, property, or matching funds from a public or private source
6-23 for the use of the commission in performing its functions under
6-24 this chapter.
6-25 (b) The commission by rule shall establish an acquisition
6-26 policy for accepting property or art objects related to the
6-27 commission's purpose.
7-1 Sec. 448.033. EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND
7-2 HISTORICAL COMMISSION ACCOUNT. The Emancipation Juneteenth
7-3 Cultural and Historical Commission Account is created as an account
7-4 in the general revenue fund. The commission shall remit all money
7-5 collected under this chapter to the comptroller for deposit to the
7-6 credit of the account. Money in the account may be appropriated
7-7 only to the commission for administration of this chapter.
7-8 SECTION 2. As soon as possible after the effective date of
7-9 this Act, the governor shall appoint initial public members of the
7-10 Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.
7-11 In making the appointments, the governor shall designate two
7-12 members for terms expiring February 1, 1999, two for terms expiring
7-13 February 1, 2001, and two for terms expiring February 1, 2003.
7-14 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
7-15 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
7-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.