78R8378 MTB-D
By: Hamric H.B. No. 3527
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the abolition of the State Aircraft Pooling Board, to
the transfer of certain functions associated with the board to the
Texas Building and Procurement Commission, and to providing for
contracts with private charter aircraft providers in lieu of a
central pool of state-owned aircraft.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 2205, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2205. STATE-OPERATED AND STATE-CHARTERED AIRCRAFT
[POOLING]
SECTION 2. Section 2205.031, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2205.031. DEFINITION [APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER TO
STATE AIRCRAFT]. In this chapter, "commission" means the Texas
Building and Procurement Commission. [(a) This chapter applies to
all aircraft owned or leased by the state, except as provided by
Section 2205.033.
[(b) Each state agency shall use state-owned aircraft to the
extent feasible.]
SECTION 3. Section 2205.032, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2205.032. RULES. [CUSTODY, CONTROL, OPERATION, AND
MAINTENANCE. (a)] The commission [board] shall adopt rules to
implement this chapter, including rules related to:
(1) the structure of the commission's charter aircraft
contracts;
(2) the procedures the commission uses in requesting
and evaluating bids or proposals for charter aircraft contracts;
and
(3) the use by state officers and employees of
negotiated contract rates for charter aircraft transportation
[operate a pool for the custody, control, operation, and
maintenance of all aircraft owned or leased by the state].
[(b) The board may purchase aircraft with funds
appropriated for that purpose.
[(c) As part of the strategic plan that the board develops
and submits under Chapter 2056, the board shall develop a
long-range plan for its pool of aircraft. The board shall include
appropriate portions of the long-range plan in its legislative
appropriations request. The long-range plan must include estimates
of future aircraft replacement needs and other fleet management
needs, including any projected need to increase or decrease the
number of aircraft in the pool. In developing the long-range plan,
the board shall consider at a minimum for each aircraft in the pool:
[(1) how much the aircraft is used and the purposes for
which it is used;
[(2) the cost of operating the aircraft and the
revenue generated by the aircraft; and
[(3) the demand for the aircraft or for that type of
aircraft.]
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 2205, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2205.0325 to read as follows:
Sec. 2205.0325. CONTRACTS. (a) The commission shall
negotiate contracts with private charter aircraft providers to
obtain the most cost-effective rates possible for transportation of
state officers and employees traveling on official business.
(b) The commission may contract with a flight safety
consultant in developing safety guidelines for charter aircraft
providers.
(c) The commission may negotiate contracts for the
maintenance of state aircraft.
(d) A contract described by Subsection (a) may provide that:
(1) a state agency using charter services shall pay
the charter aircraft provider directly for charter services; or
(2) the commission shall pay the charter aircraft
provider for services and be reimbursed by state agencies using the
charter services.
SECTION 5. Section 2205.036, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2205.036. PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION. (a) The
commission [board] shall coordinate charter [provide] aircraft
transportation for[, to the extent that its aircraft are available,
to]:
(1) state officers and employees who are traveling on
official business according to the coordinated passenger
scheduling system and the priority scheduling system developed as
part of the aircraft operations manual under Section 2205.038;
(2) persons in the care or custody of state officers or
employees described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) persons whose transportation furthers official
state business.
(b) The commission [board] may not coordinate charter
[provide] aircraft transportation for [to] a passenger if the
passenger is to be transported to or from a place where the
passenger:
(1) will make or has made a speech not related to
official state business;
(2) will attend or has attended an event sponsored by a
political party;
(3) will perform a service or has performed a service
for which the passenger is to receive an honorarium, unless the
passenger reimburses the commission [board] for the cost of
transportation;
(4) will attend or has attended an event at which money
is raised for private or political purposes; or
(5) will attend or has attended an event at which an
audience was charged an admission fee to see or hear the passenger.
(c) The commission [board] may not coordinate charter
[provide] aircraft transportation to a destination unless:
(1) the destination is not served by a commercial
carrier;
(2) the time required to use a commercial carrier
interferes with passenger obligations; or
(3) the number of passengers traveling makes the use
of charter [state] aircraft cost-effective.
SECTION 6. Section 2205.038, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2205.038. AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS MANUAL. (a) The
commission [board] shall:
(1) prepare a manual that establishes minimum
standards for the operation of aircraft by state agencies and
charter aircraft providers serving the state; and
(2) adopt procedures for the distribution of the
manual to state agencies and charter aircraft providers serving the
state.
(b) The manual must include provisions for:
(1) pilot certification standards, including medical
requirements for pilots;
(2) recurring training programs for pilots;
(3) general operating and flight rules;
(4) coordinated passenger scheduling; and
(5) other issues the commission [board] determines are
necessary to ensure the efficient and safe operation of aircraft by
a state agency and a charter aircraft provider serving the state.
(c) The commission [board] shall confer with and solicit the
written advice of state agencies that operate state-owned aircraft
and state agencies the commission [board] determines are principal
users of charter aircraft transportation coordinated [operated] by
the commission [board] and, to the extent practicable, incorporate
that advice in the development of the manual and subsequent changes
to the manual.
(d) The commission [board] shall give an officer normally
elected by statewide election priority in the scheduling of charter
aircraft. The commission [board] by rule may require appropriate
advance [a 12-hour] notice by the officer to obtain the priority in
scheduling.
SECTION 7. Section 2205.039, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2205.039. TRAVEL LOG. (a) The Legislative Budget
Board, in cooperation with the commission [board], shall prescribe:
(1) a travel log form for gathering information about
the use of state-operated and state-chartered aircraft;
(2) procedures to ensure that individuals who travel
as passengers on or operate state-operated or state-chartered
aircraft provide in a legible manner the information requested of
them by the form; and
(3) procedures for each state agency that operates or
charters an aircraft for sending the form to the commission [board]
and the Legislative Budget Board.
(b) The travel log form must request the following
information about a state-operated or state-chartered aircraft
each time the aircraft is flown:
(1) a mission statement, which may appear as a
selection to be identified from general categories appearing on the
form;
(2) the name, state agency represented, destination,
and signature of each person who is a passenger or crew member of
the aircraft;
(3) the date of each flight;
(4) a detailed and specific description of the
official business purpose of each flight; and
(5) other information determined by the Legislative
Budget Board and the commission [board] to be necessary to monitor
the proper use of the aircraft.
(c) A state agency [other than the board] shall send travel
logs to the commission [board] each month in which the agency
operates an aircraft.
SECTION 8. Section 2205.041(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the
commission [board], shall prescribe:
(1) an annual aircraft use form for gathering
information about the use of state-operated aircraft[, including
the extent to which and the methods by which the goal provided by
Section 2205.031(b) is being met]; and
(2) procedures for each state agency that operates an
aircraft for sending the form to the commission [board] and the
Legislative Budget Board.
SECTION 9. Section 2205.045(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The commission [board] may negotiate [purchase]
insurance contracts to protect the state [board] from loss caused
by damage, loss, theft, or destruction of aircraft owned or leased
by the state and may negotiate [shall purchase] liability insurance
contracts to protect the officers and employees of each state
agency from loss arising from the operation of state-owned or
state-leased aircraft.
SECTION 10. Section 2205.047, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2205.047. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE INTERNET. The
commission [board] shall post information related to travel and
other services provided by the commission under this chapter
[board] on an Internet site maintained by or for the commission
[board]. The site must be generally accessible to state agencies,
persons who use the commission's [board's] services, and, to the
extent appropriate, the general public.
SECTION 11. The following laws are repealed:
(1) Subchapter A, Chapter 2205, Government Code;
(2) Section 2205.034, Government Code;
(3) Section 2205.035, Government Code;
(4) Section 2205.040, Government Code;
(5) Section 2205.042, Government Code;
(6) Section 2205.044, Government Code; and
(7) Section 2205.046, Government Code.
SECTION 12. (a) Notwithstanding the amendment and repeal
of certain provisions of Chapter 2205, Government Code, by this
Act, the State Aircraft Pooling Board shall continue to perform its
functions and activities under Chapter 2205, Government Code, as it
existed immediately before the effective date of this Act until the
Texas Building and Procurement Commission is able to function as
provided by Chapter 2205, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Chapter 2205, Government Code, as it existed
immediately before the effective date of this Act, is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. (a) The Texas Building and Procurement
Commission, the State Aircraft Pooling Board, and the Texas Public
Finance Authority shall establish a transition team to oversee the
orderly transition of property and services from the State Aircraft
Pooling Board to the Texas Building and Procurement Commission. The
team shall:
(1) determine when:
(A) the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission will begin to perform a function or activity of the State
Aircraft Pooling Board; and
(B) the State Aircraft Pooling Board will cease
to perform a function that is discontinued under Chapter 2205,
Government Code, as amended by this Act;
(2) create a timetable for any necessary or advisable
movement of the physical location of property;
(3) inventory all equipment and other property
required to be transferred or sold;
(4) determine any continued support and cooperation
the board must provide the commission before the board is abolished
to ensure an efficient continuation of service and of planning for
future needs; and
(5) ensure that:
(A) the transition is complete by September 1,
2004;
(B) all board employee positions, except the
positions of employees serving on the transition team, are
eliminated by March 1, 2004; and
(C) the commission is performing its functions
under Section 2205.0325(a), Government Code, as added by this Act,
by March 1, 2004.
(b) The transition team and the State Aircraft Pooling Board
are abolished on September 1, 2004.
SECTION 14. (a) By September 1, 2005, the Texas Building
and Procurement Commission shall sell for fair market value all
state aircraft and aircraft-related equipment formerly under the
custody of the State Aircraft Pooling Board. If bonds were issued
in connection with acquiring or maintaining the aircraft or
equipment or in connection with other board purposes, the proceeds
from the sale of the aircraft and equipment shall be used to pay off
the bonds to the extent the proceeds of the bonds were expended for
those purposes.
(b) By September 1, 2005, the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission, in consultation with the Texas Public Finance
Authority, shall sell the State Aircraft Pooling Board facility
located at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for not less
than the amount contained in the current market value assessment of
the property that shall be made by the General Land Office. If bonds
were issued, the proceeds of which were expended for the purchase,
maintenance, or construction of the Austin-Bergstrom facility, the
proceeds from the sale of the facility shall be used to pay off the
state bond obligations as the Texas Public Finance Authority
determines to be appropriate.
(c) By September 1, 2005, the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission shall sell the State Aircraft Pooling Board facility
located at the site of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport
for not less than the amount contained in the current market value
assessment of the property that shall be made by the General Land
Office. If bonds were issued in connection with acquiring or
maintaining the facility located at the site of the former Robert
Mueller Municipal Airport, the proceeds from the sale of the
facility shall be used to pay off the bonds to the extent the
proceeds of the bonds were expended for acquiring or maintaining
the facility.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.