By:  Armbrister                                        S.B. No. 288
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the financial transactions of a community supervision
 1-3     and corrections department.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 76.004, Government Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 76.004.  DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR; FISCAL OFFICER.  (a)  The
 1-8     district judge or judges shall appoint a department director who
 1-9     must meet, at a minimum, the eligibility requirements for officers
1-10     established under Section 76.005.
1-11           (b)  The department director shall employ a sufficient number
1-12     of officers and other employees to perform the professional and
1-13     clerical work of the department.
1-14           (c)  The district judge or judges may appoint for the
1-15     department a fiscal officer, other than the county auditor.  The
1-16     fiscal officer is responsible for:
1-17                 (1)  managing and protecting funds, fees, state aid,
1-18     and receipts to the same extent that a county auditor manages
1-19     county funds and funds of other local entities;
1-20                 (2)  ensuring that financial transactions of the
1-21     department are lawful and allowable; and
1-22                 (3)  prescribing accounting procedures for the
1-23     department.
1-24           (d)  The district judge or judges may appoint a person as
1-25     fiscal officer only after investigating the person and determining
 2-1     that the person is:
 2-2                 (1)  a person of unquestionably good moral character
 2-3     and intelligence; and
 2-4                 (2)  a competent accountant with at least two years'
 2-5     experience in auditing and accounting.
 2-6           (e)  A fiscal officer appointed under this section, before
 2-7     beginning employment and not later than the 20th day after the date
 2-8     of appointment, shall:
 2-9                 (1)  take an oath stating that the person meets the
2-10     qualifications required by this section and will not have a
2-11     personal interest in any contract entered into by the department;
2-12     and
2-13                 (2)  execute a good and sufficient surety bond that:
2-14                       (A)  is in the amount of $5,000 or more;
2-15                       (B)  is approved by and payable to the district
2-16     judge or judges; and
2-17                       (C)  is conditioned on the faithful performance
2-18     by the fiscal officer of the officer's duties.
2-19           (f)  The district judge or judges shall set the annual
2-20     compensation of a fiscal officer appointed under this section, and
2-21     the department shall pay all costs related to the functions of the
2-22     fiscal officer.
2-23           (g)  Subsections (c)-(f) do not diminish the rights of the
2-24     following officers or entities to examine and audit accounts,
2-25     records, receipts, and expenditures of a department:
2-26                 (1)  the county auditor of a county served by the
 3-1     department;
 3-2                 (2)  the comptroller; and
 3-3                 (3)  the division.
 3-4           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.