By Edwards H.B. No. 1865
76R6669 MRB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the operations of the Texas Emancipation Juneteenth
1-3 Cultural and Historical Commission.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 448.002 and 448.008, Government Code,
1-6 are amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 448.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Emancipation
1-8 Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission is subject to Chapter
1-9 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided
1-10 by that chapter, the commission is abolished and this chapter
1-11 expires September 1, 2011 [2001].
1-12 Sec. 448.008. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The commission
1-13 [annually] shall appoint a person to serve [elect one of its
1-14 members] as the presiding officer of the commission. A person
1-15 appointed as presiding officer serves in that capacity at the will
1-16 of the commission.
1-17 (b) The presiding officer is not required to be a member of
1-18 the commission. If a person who is not a member of the commission
1-19 is appointed as presiding officer, the person may not vote on
1-20 decisions made by the commission and is not counted in determining
1-21 the presence of a quorum of commission members.
1-22 (c) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint
1-23 subcommittees for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
1-24 commission under this chapter.
2-1 SECTION 2. Section 448.009(a), Government Code, is amended
2-2 to read as follows:
2-3 (a) A person who is a public member of the commission or a
2-4 person who is not a member of the commission but who serves as
2-5 presiding officer of the commission is not entitled to
2-6 compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement, from commission
2-7 funds, for the travel expenses incurred by the person [member]
2-8 while conducting the business of the commission as a member or
2-9 presiding officer, as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
2-10 SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 448, Government Code, is
2-11 amended by amending Section 448.031 and adding Section 448.0325 to
2-12 read as follows:
2-13 Sec. 448.031. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
2-14 (a) The commission shall:
2-15 (1) adopt rules as necessary for its own procedures;
2-16 (2) coordinate state and local activities relating to
2-17 the cultural and historical celebration of Juneteenth;
2-18 (3) establish a Juneteenth memorial monument on the
2-19 grounds of the State Capitol in cooperation with the State
2-20 Preservation Board, establish other Juneteenth memorial monuments
2-21 at appropriate locations throughout the state, and establish an
2-22 advisory committee to advise the commission on all matters relating
2-23 to the construction, dedication, and maintenance of the monuments
2-24 [monument], including:
2-25 (A) site selection;
2-26 (B) fund-raising from public and private
2-27 sources;
3-1 (C) establishing a schedule for the design,
3-2 construction, and dedication of each [the] monument;
3-3 (D) procedures for soliciting designs for each
3-4 [the] monument;
3-5 (E) selecting the final design of each [the]
3-6 monument;
3-7 (F) procedures for selecting a contractor to
3-8 construct each [the] monument;
3-9 (G) selecting the contractor to construct each
3-10 [the] monument; and
3-11 (H) reviewing and monitoring the design and
3-12 construction process; [and]
3-13 (4) prepare and distribute publications that relate to
3-14 the cultural or historical significance of Juneteenth or that
3-15 otherwise promote Juneteenth; and
3-16 (5) encourage individuals, private organizations, and
3-17 local governmental bodies to organize appropriate activities.
3-18 (b) The State Preservation Board shall cooperate with the
3-19 commission in establishing a monument on the grounds of the State
3-20 Capitol under Subsection (a)(3).
3-21 Sec. 448.0325. CONTRACT WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. The
3-22 commission by contract may provide money to a nonprofit
3-23 organization that has as one of its primary functions the promotion
3-24 of Juneteenth. The contract must ensure that the nonprofit
3-25 organization provides services or goods that accomplish a public
3-26 purpose of the commission.
3-27 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-1 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.