By:  Gallegos                                          S.B. No. 984

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the preservation, operation, and maintenance of

 1-2     historical resources and the powers and duties of the Texas

 1-3     Historical Commission.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 443, Government Code, is amended by

 1-6     adding Section 443.0081 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 443.0081.  CONSULTATION WITH HISTORICAL COMMISSION.  The

 1-8     board shall seek and consider the advice of the Texas Historical

 1-9     Commission before approving construction modifications of the

1-10     Capitol, Capitol grounds, or General Land Office Building that may

1-11     impact the historic architecture as documented in the master plans.

1-12           SECTION 2.  Subsections (i), (o), and (p), Section 442.005,

1-13     Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

1-14           (i)  The commission may provide loans or matching grants to

1-15     assist the preservation of a historic structure significant in

1-16     Texas or American history, architecture, archeology, or culture.

1-17     As a condition of a loan or grant for the preservation of a

1-18     historic property, the commission may require that the recipient

1-19     provide reports and other evidence that funds are used for the

1-20     purposes of the loan or grant and provide continuing reports or

1-21     other evidence, over an appropriate period, that the property is

1-22     being preserved in a manner consistent with the terms of the loan

1-23     or grant.

 2-1           (o)  The commission may enter into contracts with federal,

 2-2     other state, or local governmental agencies or institutions and

 2-3     with qualified private institutions to carry out the purposes of

 2-4     the commission [this chapter].

 2-5           (p)  The commission may accept a gift, grant, devise, or

 2-6     bequest of money, securities, services, or property to carry out

 2-7     any purpose [the purposes] of the commission, including funds

 2-8     raised or services provided by a volunteer or volunteer group to

 2-9     promote the work of the commission.  The commission may participate

2-10     in the establishment and operation of an affiliated nonprofit

2-11     organization whose purpose is to raise funds for or provide

2-12     services or other benefits to the commission, and the commission

2-13     may contract with such an organization for the performance of any

2-14     duty imposed on the commission [this chapter].

2-15           SECTION 3.  Subsections (a) and (e), Section 442.0086,

2-16     Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

2-17           (a)  The commission shall identify, preserve, interpret, and

2-18     place monuments at sites in and outside this state that are

2-19     historically significant to this state because of:

2-20                 (1)  military action or service at the sites; or

2-21                 (2)  other significant events of a military nature at

2-22     the sites that shaped the history of this state.

2-23           (e)  The commission may seek assistance from federal, other

2-24     state, and local governmental entities in carrying out the

2-25     commission's duties under this section.

 3-1           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-2           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.