1-1     By:  Armbrister                                        S.B. No. 288
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed January 18, 2001; January 22, 2001,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
 1-4     February 12, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 1-5     Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
 1-6     February 12, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 288               By:  Armbrister
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the financial transactions of a community supervision
1-11     and corrections department.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1.  Section 76.004, Government Code, is amended to
1-14     read as follows:
1-15           Sec. 76.004.  DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR; FISCAL OFFICER.  (a)  The
1-16     district judge or judges shall appoint a department director who
1-17     must meet, at a minimum, the eligibility requirements for officers
1-18     established under Section 76.005.
1-19           (b)  The department director shall employ a sufficient number
1-20     of officers and other employees to perform the professional and
1-21     clerical work of the department.
1-22           (c)  The district judge or judges may appoint for the
1-23     department a fiscal officer, other than the county auditor.  The
1-24     fiscal officer is responsible for:
1-25                 (1)  managing and protecting funds, fees, state aid,
1-26     and receipts to the same extent that a county auditor manages
1-27     county funds and funds of other local entities;
1-28                 (2)  ensuring that financial transactions of the
1-29     department are lawful and allowable; and
1-30                 (3)  prescribing accounting procedures for the
1-31     department.
1-32           (d)  The district judge or judges may appoint a person as
1-33     fiscal officer only after investigating the person and determining
1-34     that the person is:
1-35                 (1)  a person of unquestionably good moral character
1-36     and intelligence; and
1-37                 (2)  a competent accountant with at least two years'
1-38     experience in auditing and accounting.
1-39           (e)  A fiscal officer appointed under this section, before
1-40     beginning employment and not later than the 20th day after the date
1-41     of appointment, shall:
1-42                 (1)  take an oath stating that the person meets the
1-43     qualifications required by this section and will not have a
1-44     personal interest in any contract entered into by the department;
1-45     and
1-46                 (2)  execute a good and sufficient surety bond that:
1-47                       (A)  is in the amount of $5,000 or more;
1-48                       (B)  is approved by and payable to the district
1-49     judge or judges; and
1-50                       (C)  is conditioned on the faithful performance
1-51     by the fiscal officer of the officer's duties.
1-52           (f)  The district judge or judges shall set the annual
1-53     compensation of a fiscal officer appointed under this section, and
1-54     the department shall pay all costs related to the functions of the
1-55     fiscal officer.
1-56           (g)  Subsections (c)-(f) do not diminish the rights of the
1-57     following officers or entities to examine and audit accounts,
1-58     records, receipts, and expenditures of a department:
1-59                 (1)  the county auditor of a county served by the
1-60     department;
1-61                 (2)  the comptroller; and
1-62                 (3)  the division.
1-63           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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