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Amend SB 409 by inserting the following appropriately 
numbered sections and renumbering subsequent sections 
appropriately:
	(1)  Section _____.  Section 201.003, Transportation Code, is 
amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
	(d)  A reference in law to the commissioner of transportation 
means the chair of the commission.
	(e)  A reference in law to a member of the commission means a 
commissioner.
	(2)  SECTION _____.  Section 201.053, Transportation Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 201.053.  CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION [COMMISSIONER OF 
TRANSPORTATION].  (a)  The governor periodically shall designate 
one commissioner [member of the commission] as the chair of the 
commission [commissioner of transportation], who shall serve as 
presiding officer of the commission.
	(b)  The chair [commissioner] shall:                   
		(1)  preside over commission meetings, make rulings on 
motions and points of order, and determine the order of business;
		(2) [(1)] represent the department in dealing with the 
governor;
		(3) [(2)] report to the governor on the state of affairs 
of the department at least quarterly;
		(4) [(3)] report to the commission the governor's 
suggestions for department operations;
		(5) [(4)] report to the governor on efforts, including 
legislative requirements, to maximize the efficiency of department 
operations through the use of private enterprise;
		(6) [(5)] periodically review the department's 
organizational structure and submit recommendations for structural 
changes to the governor, the commission, and the Legislative Budget 
Board;
		(7) [(6)] designate one or more employees of the 
department as a civil rights division of the department and receive 
regular reports from the division on the department's efforts to 
comply with civil rights legislation and administrative rules; 
[and]
		(8)  create subcommittees, appoint commissioners to 
subcommittees, and receive the reports of subcommittees to the 
commission as a whole;
		(9)  appoint a commissioner to act in the chair's 
absence; and       
		(10) [(7)] serve as the departmental liaison with the 
governor and the Office of State-Federal Relations to maximize 
federal funding for transportation [highway, public 
transportation, and aviation purposes].
	(3)  SECTION _____.  Section 201.054, Transportation Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 201.054.  COMMISSION MEETINGS.  The commission shall 
hold regular meetings at least once a month and special meetings at 
the call of the chair [commissioner of transportation or as 
provided by commission rule].  Commissioners [Commission members] 
shall attend the meetings of the commission.  The chair shall 
oversee the preparation of an agenda for each meeting and ensure 
that a copy is provided to each commissioner at least seven days 
before the meeting.
	(4)  SECTION _____.  Chapter 201, Transportation Code, is 
amended to add Section 201.0545 to read as follows:
	Sec. 201.0545.  RECOMMENDATIONS TO LEGISLATURE.  (a)  The 
commission shall consider ways in which the department's operations 
may be improved and may periodically report to the legislature 
concerning potential statutory changes that would improve the 
operation of the department.
	(b)  On behalf of the commission, the chair shall report to 
the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House of 
Representatives, and the presiding officers of relevant 
legislative committees on legislative recommendations adopted by 
the commission and relating to the operation of the department.
	(5)  SECTION _____.  Section 201.057, Transportation Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 201.057.  GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL.  (a)  It is a ground for 
removal from the commission if a commissioner [member]:
		(1)  does not have at the time of appointment or 
maintain during service on the commission the qualifications 
required by Section 201.051;
		(2)  violates a prohibition provided by Section 
201.051;                    
		(3)  cannot discharge the commissioner's [member's] 
duties for a substantial part of the term for which the commissioner 
[member] is appointed because of illness or disability; or
		(4)  is absent from more than half of the regularly 
scheduled commission meetings that the commissioner [member] is 
eligible to attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is 
excused by majority vote of the commission.
	(b)  The validity of an action of the commission is not 
affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a 
commissioner [commission member] exists.
	(c)  If the director knows that a potential ground for removal 
exists, the director shall notify the chair of the commission 
[commissioner of transportation] of the ground, and the chair 
[commissioner] shall notify the governor and the attorney general 
that a potential ground for removal exists.  If the potential ground 
for removal relates to the chair [commissioner of transportation], 
the director shall notify another commissioner [member of the 
commission], who shall notify the governor and the attorney general 
that a potential ground for removal exists.
	(6)  SECTION _____.  Subsection (c), Section 202.057, 
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(c)  The commission may execute a necessary deed, conveyance, 
or agreement, to be signed by the chair of the commission 
[commissioner of transportation] as provided by commission order, 
for flood control purposes under this section.