1-1 By: Brown S.B. No. 352
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 4, 1999; February 8, 1999,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
1-4 April 8, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
1-5 Nays 0; April 8, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to requirements for membership on or employment by the
1-9 Board of Pardons and Paroles.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 508.031, Government Code,
1-12 is amended to read as follows:
1-13 (b) Appointments to the board must be made without regard to
1-14 the race, color, disability [handicap], sex, religion, age, or
1-15 national origin of the appointed members.
1-16 SECTION 2. Section 508.033, Government Code, is amended to
1-17 read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 508.033. DISQUALIFICATIONS. (a) A person is not
1-19 eligible for appointment as a member of the board if the person or
1-20 the person's spouse:
1-21 (1) is employed by or participates in the management
1-22 of a business entity or other organization receiving funds from the
1-23 department or the board;
1-24 (2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
1-25 than a 10-percent interest in a business entity or other
1-26 organization:
1-27 (A) regulated by the department; or
1-28 (B) receiving funds from the department or the
1-29 board; or
1-30 (3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
1-31 goods, services, or funds from the department or the board, other
1-32 than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board
1-33 membership, attendance, or expenses.
1-34 (b) In determining eligibility under Subsection (a)(3), the
1-35 compensation or reimbursement that a board member's spouse receives
1-36 as an employee of the board or the department may not be
1-37 considered. This subsection does not affect any restriction on
1-38 employment or board membership imposed by any other law.
1-39 (c) A person may not be a member of the board and may not be
1-40 an employee of the division or the board employed in a "bona fide
1-41 executive, administrative, or professional capacity," as that
1-42 phrase is used for purposes of establishing an exemption to the
1-43 overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
1-44 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, if:
1-45 (1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
1-46 consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal
1-47 justice; or
1-48 (2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or
1-49 paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of
1-50 criminal justice. [An employee or paid officer of or consultant to
1-51 a trade association in the field of criminal justice may not be:]
1-52 [(1) a member of the board; or]
1-53 [(2) an employee of the division or the board who is
1-54 exempt from the state's position classification plan or who is
1-55 compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the General
1-56 Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group A17, of the position
1-57 classification salary schedule.]
1-58 (d) [A person who is the spouse of an officer or manager of
1-59 or paid consultant to a trade association in the field of criminal
1-60 justice may not be:]
1-61 [(1) a member of the board; or]
1-62 [(2) an employee of the division or the board who is:]
1-63 [(A) exempt from the state's classification
1-64 plan; or]
2-1 [(B) compensated at or above the amount
2-2 prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary
2-3 group A17, of the position classification salary schedule.]
2-4 [(e)] A person who is required to register as a lobbyist
2-5 under Chapter 305 because of the person's activities for
2-6 compensation in or on behalf of a profession related to the
2-7 operation of the board may not:
2-8 (1) serve as a member of the board; or
2-9 (2) act as the general counsel to the board or
2-10 division.
2-11 (e) [(f)] In this section, "Texas [a] trade association"
2-12 means [is] a [nonprofit,] cooperative[,] and voluntarily joined
2-13 association of business or professional competitors in this state
2-14 [that is] designed to assist its [the association's] members and
2-15 its [the association's] industry or profession in:
2-16 (1) dealing with mutual business or professional
2-17 problems; and
2-18 (2) promoting their common interests.
2-19 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 508.034, Government Code,
2-20 is amended to read as follows:
2-21 (a) It is a ground for removal from the board that [if] a
2-22 member:
2-23 (1) does not have at the time of taking office the
2-24 qualification required by [appointment is not qualified under]
2-25 Section 508.032(b) [508.032 or 508.033(a)] for appointment to the
2-26 board;
2-27 (2) is ineligible for membership under [during the
2-28 member's service on the board becomes ineligible under Section
2-29 508.033(a) for appointment to the board;]
2-30 [(3) violates] Section 508.033 [508.033(c), (d), or
2-31 (e)];
2-32 (3) [(4)] is unable to discharge the member's duties
2-33 for a substantial part of the term for which the member was
2-34 appointed because of illness or disability; or
2-35 (4) [(5)] is absent from more than half of the
2-36 regularly scheduled board or panel meetings that the member is
2-37 eligible to attend during each calendar year, except when the
2-38 absence is excused by majority vote of the board.
2-39 SECTION 4. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 508.0362,
2-40 Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-41 (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for [To be
2-42 eligible to take] office as a member of the board or the policy
2-43 board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
2-44 attendance at a meeting of the board or policy board until the
2-45 person completes[, a person appointed to the board or policy board
2-46 must complete] at least one course of a training program that
2-47 complies with this section.
2-48 (c) A person appointed to the board or policy board is
2-49 entitled to reimbursement [for travel expenses incurred in
2-50 attending the training program], as provided by the General
2-51 Appropriations Act, for the travel expenses incurred in attending
2-52 the training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
2-53 program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office [and
2-54 as if the person were a member of the board or policy board].
2-55 SECTION 5. Section 508.040, Government Code, is amended to
2-56 read as follows:
2-57 Sec. 508.040. PERSONNEL. (a) The policy board shall employ
2-58 and supervise:
2-59 (1) a general counsel to the board;
2-60 (2) a board administrator to manage the day-to-day
2-61 activities of the board;
2-62 (3) hearing officers;
2-63 (4) personnel to assist in clemency matters; and
2-64 (5) secretarial or clerical personnel.
2-65 (b) The board administrator or the board administrator's
2-66 designee shall prepare and maintain a written policy statement that
2-67 implements [to assure implementation of] a program of equal
2-68 employment opportunity under which all personnel decisions
2-69 [transactions] of the board are made without regard to race, color,
3-1 disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. The policy
3-2 statement must include:
3-3 (1) personnel policies, including policies relating to
3-4 recruitment, evaluation, selection, [appointment,] training, and
3-5 promotion of personnel, that show the intent of the board to avoid
3-6 the unlawful employment practices described by [are in compliance
3-7 with requirements of] Chapter 21, Labor Code; and
3-8 (2) an [a comprehensive] analysis of the extent to
3-9 which the composition of the board's personnel is in accordance
3-10 with state and federal law and a description of [board workforce
3-11 that meets federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, and
3-12 instructions promulgated directly from those laws, rules, and
3-13 regulations;]
3-14 [(3) procedures by which a determination can be made
3-15 about the extent of underuse in the board workforce of all persons
3-16 for whom federal or state laws, rules, and regulations, and
3-17 instructions promulgated directly from those laws, rules, and
3-18 regulations, encourage a more equitable balance; and]
3-19 [(4)] reasonable methods to achieve compliance with
3-20 state and federal law [appropriately address those areas of
3-21 underuse].
3-22 (c) The [A] policy statement [prepared under Subsection (b)]
3-23 must [cover an annual period,] be updated annually, be [and]
3-24 reviewed by the Commission on Human Rights for compliance with
3-25 Subsection (b)(1), and be filed with the governor's office.
3-26 (d) [The governor's office shall deliver a biennial report
3-27 to the legislature based on the information received under
3-28 Subsection (c). The report may be made separately or as a part of
3-29 other biennial reports made to the legislature.]
3-30 [(e)] The board administrator or the board administrator's
3-31 designee shall develop an intra-agency career ladder program that
3-32 addresses opportunities for mobility and advancement for employees
3-33 within the board. The program shall require intra-agency posting
3-34 of all positions concurrently with any public posting.
3-35 (e) [(f)] The board administrator or the board
3-36 administrator's designee shall develop a system of annual
3-37 performance evaluations that are based on documented employee
3-38 performance. All merit pay for board employees must be based on
3-39 the system established under this subsection.
3-40 SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 508.042, Government Code,
3-41 is amended to read as follows:
3-42 (b) A new member may not participate in a vote of the board
3-43 or a panel, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at
3-44 a meeting of the board or policy board until the member completes
3-45 the program.
3-46 SECTION 7. (a) Subsection (c), Section 311.031, Government
3-47 Code, provides that an amendment made to a code's source law at the
3-48 same session the code is enacted is preserved and given effect as
3-49 part of the code provision that revised the statute so amended.
3-50 Section 508.033 and Subsection (a), Section 508.034, Government
3-51 Code, as set out in this Act, give effect to those changes made by
3-52 Section 2, Chapter 161, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
3-53 Session, 1997. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 508.0362,
3-54 Government Code, as set out in this Act, give effect to those
3-55 changes made by Section 7, Chapter 161, Acts of the 75th
3-56 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997. Section 508.040, Government
3-57 Code, as set out in this Act, gives effect to those changes made by
3-58 Sections 5 and 6, Chapter 161, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
3-59 Regular Session, 1997.
3-60 (b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
3-61 another Act of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
3-62 relating to nonsubstantive additions and corrections in enacted
3-63 codes.
3-64 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-65 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
3-66 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-67 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-68 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-69 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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