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By: Pickett H.B. No. 3441
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a reduction in expenditures of certain state
governmental entities, including changes affecting the Commission
on Human Rights, benefits under the state employees group benefits
program, attorney general's office, management of certain accounts
and funds, and certain election-related forms.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Labor Code, is amended
by adding Section 21.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0015. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION.
The powers and duties exercised by the Commission on Human Rights
under this chapter are transferred to the attorney general's civil
rights division. A reference in this chapter to the "commission"
means the attorney general's civil rights division.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 301, Property Code, is
amended by adding Section 301.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 301.0015. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION.
The powers and duties exercised by the Commission on Human Rights
under this chapter are transferred to the attorney general's civil
rights division. A reference in this chapter to the "commission"
means the attorney general's civil rights division.
SECTION 3. Chapter 402, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
Sec. 402.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Commission on Human Rights.
(2) "Director" means the director of the division.
(3) "Division" means the civil rights division of the
attorney general's office.
Sec. 402.102. GENERAL PROVISIONS. (a) The division is an
independent division in the attorney general's office. The
division shall be responsible for administering Chapter 21, Labor
Code, and Chapter 301, Property Code, including exercising the
powers and duties formerly exercised by the former Commission on
Human Rights under those laws.
(b) A reference in Chapter 21, Labor Code, Chapter 301,
Property Code, or any other law to the former Commission on Human
Rights means the division.
Sec. 402.103. COMMISSION. (a) The division is governed by
a commission consisting of seven members as follows:
(1) one member who represents industry;
(2) one member who represents labor; and
(3) five members who represent the public.
(b) The members of the commission established under this
section shall be appointed by the governor. In making appointments
to the commission, the governor shall strive to achieve
representation on the commission that is diverse with respect to
disability, religion, age, economic status, sex, race, and
ethnicity.
(c) The governor shall appoint the public members of the
commission from a list of names of individuals suggested by civil
rights organizations and groups.
(d) The term of office of each commissioner is six years.
The governor shall designate one commissioner to serve as presiding
officer.
(e) A commissioner is entitled to reimbursement of actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official
duties.
(f) The commission shall establish policies for the
division and supervise the director in administering the activities
of the division.
(g) The commission is the state authority established as a
fair employment practice agency and is authorized, with respect to
an unlawful employment practice, to:
(1) grant relief from the practice;
(2) seek relief from the practice; or
(3) institute criminal proceedings.
Sec. 402.104. DIRECTOR. (a) The director shall be
appointed by the commission to administer the powers and duties of
the division.
(b) To be eligible for appointment, the director must have
relevant experience in the area of civil rights, specifically in
working to prevent the types of discrimination the division is
charged with preventing. The director must demonstrate a
commitment to equal opportunity for minorities, women, and the
disabled. The director should also have relevant experience with
housing and employment discrimination claims.
Sec. 402.105. INVESTIGATOR TRAINING PROGRAM; PROCEDURES
MANUAL. (a) A person who is employed under this chapter by the
division as an investigator may not conduct an investigation until
the person completes a comprehensive training and education program
for investigators that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the requirements relating to employment adopted
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Section 12101
et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, with a special emphasis on
requirements regarding reasonable accommodations;
(2) various types of disabilities and accommodations
appropriate in an employment setting for each type of disability;
and
(3) fair employment and housing practices.
(c) Each investigator shall annually complete a continuing
education program designed to provide investigators with the most
recent information available regarding the issues described by
Subsection (b), including legislative and judicial changes in the
law.
(d) The director shall develop and biennially update an
investigation procedures manual. The manual must include
investigation procedures and information and may include
information regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sec. 402.106. ANALYSIS OF DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS;
REPORT. (a) The division shall collect and report statewide
information relating to employment and housing discrimination
complaints as required by this section.
(b) Each state fiscal year, the division shall collect and
analyze information regarding employment and housing
discrimination complaints filed with the division, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development, and local commissions in this state.
The information must include:
(1) an analysis of employment complaints filed by the
basis of the complaint, including:
(A) sex, race, color, age, disability, national
origin, religion, and genetic information; and
(B) retaliatory actions against the complainant;
(2) an analysis of housing complaints filed by the
basis of the complaint, including sex, race, color, disability,
national origin, religion, and familial status;
(3) an analysis of employment complaints filed by
issue, including discharge, terms and conditions, sexual
harassment, promotion, hiring, demotion, and layoff;
(4) an analysis of housing complaints filed by issue,
including terms and conditions, refusal to rent or sell,
discriminatory financing or advertising, and false representation;
(5) an analysis of employment and housing cases closed
by the reason the case was closed, including findings or
determinations of cause or no cause, successful conciliation, right
to sue issued, complaint withdrawn after resolution, no-fault
settlement, failure to cooperate by the complainant, and lack of
jurisdiction; and
(6) the average processing time for complaints
resolved by the division in each state fiscal year, regardless of
whether the complaint was filed in the same fiscal year in which the
complaint was resolved.
(c) The results of an analysis required under this section
shall be included in the attorney general's annual report to the
governor and legislature.
SECTION 4. Section 412.016(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The legislature may appropriate money to the institute
to finance the performance of the duties of the institute. If the
legislature does not appropriate money to the institute, the
attorney general may determine whether the institute shall perform
the duties prescribed by this chapter.
SECTION 5. The heading for Section 443.0101, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 443.0101. CAPITOL TRUST FUND; CAPITOL ACCOUNT.
SECTION 6. Section 443.0101(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Money and securities donated to the board shall be held
in the Capitol trust fund outside the treasury to be held by the
comptroller as trustee on behalf of the people of the state. Funds
other than donated funds shall be deposited in the general revenue
fund in an account [a special fund] to be known as the Capitol
account [fund]. The comptroller shall manage and invest the
account [fund] on behalf of the board as directed or agreed to by
the board.
SECTION 7. Section 443.0103, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 443.0103. CAPITAL RENEWAL ACCOUNT [TRUST FUND]. (a)
The capital renewal account [trust fund] is created as a dedicated
account in the general revenue fund. Money in the account may be
used only [trust fund outside the treasury with the comptroller and
shall be administered by the board, as a trustee on behalf of the
people of this state,] to maintain and preserve the Capitol, the
General Land Office Building, their contents, and their grounds.
The account [fund] consists of money transferred to the account
[fund]:
(1) at the direction of the legislature; or
(2) in accordance with this section.
[(b) Money in the fund may be used only for the purpose of
maintaining and preserving the Capitol, the General Land Office
Building, their contents, and their grounds.]
(c) The interest received from investment of money in the
account [fund] shall be credited to the account [fund].
(d) The board may transfer money from [any account of] the
Capitol account [fund] to the capital renewal account [trust fund],
other than money that was donated to the board, derived from a
security or other thing of value donated to the board, or earned as
interest or other income on a donation to the board, if the board
determines that after the transfer there will be a sufficient
amount of money in the [applicable account of the] Capitol account
[fund] to accomplish the purposes for which the account was
created.
SECTION 8. Section 445.012, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 445.012. MUSEUM ACCOUNT [FUND]. (a) Money and
securities received by the museum shall be deposited in the general
revenue fund [held in trust outside the treasury by the
comptroller] in an account [a special fund] to be known as the Bob
Bullock Texas State History Museum account [fund]. The museum may
spend money received by the museum for any purpose connected with
the museum.
(b) The comptroller shall manage and invest the account
[fund] on behalf of the museum as directed or agreed to by the
museum. Interest, dividends, and other income of the account
[fund] shall be credited to the account [fund].
(c) The museum shall prepare a detailed annual report on the
account [fund]. That report must describe the status of the account
[fund], list all donations to the account [fund], including the
name of each donor, and list all disbursements from the account
[fund], including the purpose of each disbursement.
(d) The state auditor, based on a risk assessment and
subject to the legislative audit committee's approval of including
the review in the audit plan under Section 321.013, may [shall
annually] review the annual report on the account [fund], and any
information used in preparing the report as the auditor determines
necessary, and shall report any findings or recommendations to the
museum and the legislative audit committee.
(e) The account [fund] is not subject to Subchapter F,
Chapter 404. A provision of this chapter or other law that provides
for the deposit of money or another thing of value into the account
[fund] prevails over Subchapter F, Chapter 404.
(f) Subtitle D, Title 10, does not apply to a purchase or
lease made with money from the account [fund].
SECTION 9. Section 1551.003, Insurance Code, as effective
June 1, 2003, is amended by amending Subdivisions (3), (9), and (11)
and adding Subdivision (15) to read as follows:
(3) "Basic coverage" means the group coverage plans
determined by the board of trustees in which each eligible
full-time employee and annuitant participates automatically unless
participation is specifically waived.
(9) "Full-time employee" means:
(A) an employee, other than an employee described
by Paragraph (B) or (C), who is designated by the employer as
working 40 [20] or more hours a week;
(B) an employee of the Texas School for the Blind
and Visually Impaired who is employed under a contract under
Section 30.024, Education Code, and who is designated as a
full-time employee by the superintendent of the school; or
(C) an employee of the Texas School for the Deaf
who is employed under a contract under Section 30.055, Education
Code, and who is designated as a full-time employee by the
superintendent of the school.
(11) "Part-time employee" means an employee
designated by the employer as working less than 40 [20] hours a
week.
(15) "Waiting period" means a 90-day period that
begins on the first day a person is employed by a state agency or
begins to hold an elected or appointed office of the state and ends
on the 91st day after that day. The term includes the 90-day period
that begins on the first day a former state employee is reemployed
or a former public officer begins to hold office again.
SECTION 10. Section 1551.101, Insurance Code, as effective
June 1, 2003, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (e)
and by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(a) An elected or appointed officer or employee who performs
service, other than as an independent contractor, for this state,
including an institution of higher education, and who is described
by this section is eligible to participate in the group benefits
program as an employee on the first day of the calendar month that
follows the waiting period of the employee or officer.
(b) On the first day of the calendar month that follows an
individual's waiting period, the [An] individual is eligible to
participate in the group benefits program as provided by Subsection
(a) if the individual receives compensation for service performed
for this state pursuant to a payroll certified by a state agency,
other than an institution of higher education, or by an elected or
appointed officer of this state, including a payment made from:
(1) an amount appropriated by the legislature from a
state fund;
(2) a trust fund held by the comptroller; or
(3) money paid under the official budget of a state
agency, other than money appropriated under a general
appropriations act.
(e) On the first day of the calendar month that follows an
individual's waiting period, the [An] individual is eligible to
participate in the group benefits program as provided by Subsection
(a) if the individual receives compensation for service performed
for an institution of higher education pursuant to a payroll
certified by an institution of higher education or by an elected or
appointed officer of this state and [either:
[(1)] is eligible to be a member of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas[; or
[(2) is employed at least 20 hours a week and is not
permitted to be a member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
because the individual is employed by an institution of higher
education only in a position that as a condition of employment
requires the individual to be enrolled as a student in the
institution in graduate-level courses].
(f) The waiting period described by Subsections (a), (b),
and (e) applies only in determining the eligibility of an employee
or officer to participate in health benefits coverage under the
group benefits program. The waiting period does not apply in
determining the eligibility of an officer or employee to
participate in optional and voluntary insurance coverages under the
group benefits program.
SECTION 11. Sections 1551.102(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and
(g), Insurance Code, as effective June 1, 2003, are amended to
conform to Section 27, Chapter 1231, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, and further amended to read as follows:
(a) An individual who has at least 10 years of service
credit, as determined by the board of trustees, for which the
individual was eligible to participate in the group benefits
program under Section 1551.101, or who has at least five years of
membership and five years of military service credited in the
Employees Retirement System of Texas, and who retires in a manner
described by this section is eligible to participate as an
annuitant in the group benefits program. An individual who does not
retire at the end of the last month in which the individual is on the
payroll of a state agency is eligible to enroll in the group
benefits program as an annuitant on the first day of the calendar
month that follows a period of time equal to the number of days in a
waiting period after the date the individual retires.
(b) An individual is eligible to participate in the group
benefits program as provided by Subsection (a) if the individual [:
(1)] retires under the jurisdiction of the Employees Retirement
System of Texas[;] and [(2)] receives or is eligible to receive an
annuity under:
(1) Section 814.104(a)(2), Government Code, and has at
least 10 years of eligible service credit;
(2) Chapter 803, Government Code, or Section
814.104(a)(1), Government Code, has at least 10 years of eligible
service credit, and is at least 65 years of age; or
(3) [Subtitle B, D, or E, Title 8, Government Code, or
Chapter 803, Government Code, that is based on at least 10 years of
service credit or eligibility under] Section 814.002, [or] 814.102,
814.104(b), 814.107(a), 834.101, or 839.101, Government Code.
(c) An individual is eligible to participate in the group
benefits program as provided by Subsection (a) if the individual[:
(1)] retires under the jurisdiction of the Teacher Retirement
System of Texas, has at least 10 years of eligible service credit,
and:
(1) is at least 65 years of age or has accumulated an
amount of eligible service credit that, when added to the
individual's age, equals or exceeds the number 80;
(2) receives or is eligible to receive an annuity
under [Subtitle C, Title 8, Government Code, or] Chapter 803,
Government Code, and is at least 65 years of age [that is based on at
least 10 years of service credit]; and
(3) was employed, as the last state employment before
retirement, including employment by a public junior college, by a
state agency whose employees are authorized to participate in the
group benefits program.
(d) An individual is eligible to participate in the group
benefits program as provided by Subsection (a) if the individual:
(1) retires under the optional retirement program
established by Chapter 830, Government Code, with at least 10 years
of eligible service; and
(2) receives or is eligible to receive an annuity
under that program and the individual:
(A) is at least 65 years of age and would have
been eligible to retire and receive a service or disability
retirement annuity from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas or
the Employees Retirement System of Texas based on at least 10 years
of service credit if the individual had not elected to participate
in the optional retirement program; or
(B) is disabled as determined by the Employees
Retirement System of Texas.
(f) An individual is eligible to participate as an annuitant
in the group benefits program [as provided by Subsection (a)] if the
individual is certified and qualified as disabled and receives or
is eligible to receive an annuity under Section 814.202, 814.207,
834.201, or 839.201, Government Code [a retired officer or employee
of a retirement system described by Section 1551.111].
(g) An individual is eligible to participate in the group
benefits program as provided by Subsection (a) if the individual is
at least 65 years of age and retires under a federal or state
statutory retirement program not described by another provision of
this section, to which an institution of higher education has made
employer contributions, and the individual has met service
requirements, age requirements, and other applicable requirements
comparable to the requirements for retirement under the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas, based on at least 10 years of service
credit.
SECTION 12. Section 1551.104, Insurance Code, as effective
June 1, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1551.104. AUTOMATIC COVERAGE. Subject to Sections
1551.101 and 1551.102, each [(a) Each] full-time employee is
covered automatically by the basic coverage plan for employees and
each annuitant is covered by the basic coverage plan for annuitants
unless:
(1) participation is specifically waived; [or]
(2) the employee or annuitant is expelled from the
program under Section 1551.351; or
(3) eligibility for coverage is limited by another
section of this chapter.
[(b) This section does not apply to an employee described by
Section 1551.101(e)(2).]
SECTION 13. Section 1551.109(a), Insurance Code, as
effective June 1, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Section 1551.351, on application to the board
of trustees and arrangement for payment of contributions, an
individual participating in the group benefits program on August
31, 2003, as a current or a former member of a governing body with
administrative responsibility over a statutory state agency that
has statewide jurisdiction and whose employees are covered by this
chapter, or an individual participating in the group benefits
program on August 31, 2003, as a current or former member of the
State Board of Education or [a former member of a governing body
described by Section 1551.101(c) or a former member] of the
governing body of an institution of higher education remains
eligible for participation in a health benefit plan offered under
this chapter if a lapse in coverage [after the end of the former
member's term] has not occurred.
SECTION 14. Section 1551.111(b), Insurance Code, as
effective June 1, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Participation is limited to:
(1) an officer or employee of either system who is an
officer or employee of either system on the first day of the
calendar month that follows the waiting period of the officer or
employee;
(2) an eligible dependent of an officer or employee of
either system described by Subdivision (1);
(3) an individual who:
(A) was an officer or employee of either system;
(B) has retired from either system and meets the
eligibility requirements for participation under Section
1551.102(a);
(C) receives or is eligible to receive an annuity
from either system or under Chapter 803, Government Code, based on
at least 10 years of service credit and is at least 65 years of age;
and
(D) has at least 10 [three] years of service
credit with a state agency whose employees are authorized to
participate in the group benefits program; and
(4) an eligible dependent of a retired officer or
employee described by Subdivision (3).
SECTION 15. Section 1551.112(a), Insurance Code, as
effective June 1, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An individual may participate in the group benefits
program as an annuitant and may obtain coverage for the
individual's dependents as any other participating annuitant if the
individual:
(1) began employment with, or became an officer of,
the Texas Turnpike Authority within the three-year period preceding
August 31, 1997;
(2) was an officer or employee of the Texas Turnpike
Authority on August 31, 1997;
(3) became an officer or employee of the North Texas
Tollway Authority on September 1, 1997; and
(4) retires or is eligible to retire with at least 10
years of service credit under the proportionate retirement program
established by Chapter 803, Government Code, or under a public
retirement system to which Chapter 803 applies and is at least 65
years of age.
SECTION 16. Sections 2.014(c) and (d), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) The premarital education handbook under Subsection
(b)(1) may [shall] be distributed to each applicant for a marriage
license as provided by Section 2.009(c)(5) and shall contain
information on:
(1) conflict management;
(2) communication skills;
(3) children and parenting responsibilities; and
(4) financial responsibilities.
(d) The attorney general may [shall] appoint an advisory
committee to assist in the development of the premarital education
handbook. If appointed, the [The] advisory committee shall consist
of nine members, including at least three members who are eligible
under Section 2.013(d) to provide a premarital education course. A
member of the advisory committee is not entitled to reimbursement
of the member's expenses.
SECTION 17. On September 1, 2003:
(1) the Commission on Human Rights as it exists
immediately before that date is abolished and the offices of the
members of the commission serving on that date are abolished;
(2) all powers, duties, functions, and activities
performed by the Commission on Human Rights immediately before that
date are transferred to the attorney general's civil rights
division;
(3) a rule, form, order, or procedure adopted by the
Commission on Human Rights is a rule, form, order, or procedure of
the attorney general's civil rights division and remains in effect
until changed by the attorney general;
(4) a reference in law to the Commission on Human
Rights means the attorney general's civil rights division;
(5) a complaint, investigation, or other proceeding
pending before the Commission on Human Rights under Chapter 21,
Labor Code, Chapter 301, Property Code, or any other law is
transferred without change in status to the attorney general's
civil rights division;
(6) all obligations, rights, and contracts of the
Commission on Human Rights are transferred to the attorney
general's civil rights division; and
(7) all property, including records and money, in the
custody of the Commission on Human Rights and all funds
appropriated by the legislature for the Commission on Human Rights,
including federal funds, shall be transferred to the attorney
general's civil rights division.
SECTION 18. Not later than November 1, 2003, the governor
shall appoint new members to the Commission on Human Rights
established under Subchapter D, Chapter 402, Government Code, as
added by this Act. In appointing members under this section, the
governor shall appoint:
(1) two members for terms expiring February 1, 2005;
(2) two members for terms expiring February 1, 2007;
and
(3) three members for terms expiring February 1, 2009.
SECTION 19. Notwithstanding any statute of this state, each
state agency that receives an appropriation under Article I of the
General Appropriations Act is authorized to reduce or recover
expenditures by adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
any cost the agency incurs in performing its lawful functions.
SECTION 20. The following laws are repealed:
(1) Sections 251.032, 254.036(j), and 258.005,
Election Code;
(2) Chapter 461, Government Code;
(3) Sections 572.030(b) and (c), Government Code;
(4) Sections 1551.101(c) and (d), Insurance Code, as
effective June 1, 2003;
(5) Sections 21.002(2) and (3), Labor Code; and
(6) Sections 301.003(3), 301.061, and 301.064,
Property Code.
SECTION 21. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.