1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the management of vehicles owned by the state.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 2171.101, Government Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
1-6 (d) The office shall file an annual report with the
1-7 legislature containing:
1-8 (1) vehicle information submitted by state agencies;
1-9 and
1-10 (2) the names of state agencies that fail to report
1-11 complete vehicle information.
1-12 (e) The office shall review the operation of each state
1-13 agency's vehicle fleet and report to the legislature not later than
1-14 January 1 of each odd-numbered year the status of the agency's
1-15 vehicle fleet and the office's recommendations to improve
1-16 operations of the agency's vehicle fleet.
1-17 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 2171, Government Code, is
1-18 amended by adding Sections 2171.104, 2171.1045, and 2171.105 to
1-19 read as follows:
1-20 Sec. 2171.104. MANAGEMENT PLAN. (a) The office of vehicle
1-21 fleet management, as directed by the State Council on Competitive
1-22 Government, shall develop a management plan with detailed
1-23 recommendations for improving the administration and operation of
1-24 the state's vehicle fleet.
2-1 (b) The Texas Department of Transportation, Department of
2-2 Public Safety of the State of Texas, Texas Department of Mental
2-3 Health and Mental Retardation, Parks and Wildlife Department, and
2-4 Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall assist the office of
2-5 vehicle fleet management in preparing the management plan for the
2-6 state's vehicle fleet.
2-7 (c) The management plan must address:
2-8 (1) opportunities for consolidating and privatizing
2-9 the operation and management of vehicle fleets in areas where there
2-10 is a concentration of state agencies, including the Capitol Complex
2-11 and the Health and Human Services Complex in Austin;
2-12 (2) the number and type of vehicles owned by each
2-13 agency and the purpose each vehicle serves;
2-14 (3) procedures to increase vehicle use and improve the
2-15 efficiency of the state vehicle fleet;
2-16 (4) procedures to reduce the cost of maintaining state
2-17 vehicles;
2-18 (5) the sale of excess state vehicles; and
2-19 (6) lower-cost alternatives to using state-owned
2-20 vehicles, including:
2-21 (A) using rental cars; and
2-22 (B) reimbursing employees for using personal
2-23 vehicles.
2-24 (d) The commission shall sell the excess vehicles identified
2-25 by the management plan and deposit the proceeds from the sale into
2-26 the account that the agency used to purchase the vehicles.
2-27 Sec. 2171.1045. RESTRICTIONS ON ASSIGNMENT OF VEHICLES.
3-1 Each state agency shall adopt rules, consistent with the management
3-2 plan adopted under Section 2171.104, relating to the assignment and
3-3 use of the agency's vehicles. The rules must require that:
3-4 (1) each agency vehicle, with the exception of a
3-5 vehicle assigned to a field employee, be assigned to the agency
3-6 motor pool and be available for checkout; and
3-7 (2) an agency may assign a vehicle to an individual
3-8 administrative or executive employee on a regular or everyday basis
3-9 only if the agency makes a written documented finding that the
3-10 assignment is critical to the needs and mission of the agency.
3-11 Sec. 2171.105. PURCHASE OF VEHICLES PROHIBITED. (a) Except
3-12 as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a state agency may not
3-13 purchase a vehicle before June 1, 2000, unless the purchase is
3-14 approved by the commission. On or after June 1, 2000, a state
3-15 agency may purchase a vehicle as provided by the management plan.
3-16 (b) A state agency may purchase a vehicle for law
3-17 enforcement, emergency, or safety purposes or for performing crash
3-18 tests or related research.
3-19 (c) A state agency may purchase heavy equipment, including
3-20 tractors, bulldozers, and vehicles designed to transport 15 persons
3-21 or more, if the agency has purchased heavy equipment in previous
3-22 years.
3-23 (d) This section expires September 1, 2001.
3-24 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-25 (b) The office of vehicle fleet management shall prepare the
3-26 management plan required by Section 2171.104, Government Code, as
3-27 added by this Act, and present the plan to the legislature not
4-1 later than May 31, 2000.
4-2 (c) The General Services Commission shall sell the excess
4-3 vehicles identified by the management plan adopted under Section
4-4 2171.104, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
4-5 August 31, 2001.
4-6 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3125 was passed by the House on May
3, 1999, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3125 was passed by the Senate on May
26, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor