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By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 261
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Council on
Purchasing from People with Disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (2), Section 122.002, Human
Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(2) "Commission" means the Texas Building and
Procurement [General Services] Commission.
SECTION 2. Section 122.003, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b) and (j) and by adding
Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(b) The governor shall select three members from the
category prescribed by Subsection (a)(1) and at least one member
from the other three categories [each category] prescribed by
Subsection (a). To the extent possible, the governor shall attempt
to ensure that the categories prescribed by Subsections (a)(2)-(4)
are equally [each category is proportionately] represented on the
council. Members of the council serve staggered terms of six years
with the terms of three members expiring on January 31 of each
odd-numbered year. Members may not receive compensation for their
service on the council, but they are entitled to reimbursement for
actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties
as members.
(j) The council shall adopt rules establishing a formal
certification procedure [may establish criteria] for recognition
and approval of community rehabilitation programs. The procedure
must include a committee composed of three council members
appointed by the presiding officer to review certification
applications of community rehabilitation programs and issue
recommendations to the council. The council may:
(1) recognize a program that maintains accreditation
by a nationally accepted vocational rehabilitation accrediting
organization; and
(2) approve community rehabilitation program services
that have been approved for purchase by a state habilitation or
rehabilitation agency.
(k) The council may delegate the administration of the
procedure established under Subsection (j) to a central nonprofit
agency but may not delegate the authority to certify a community
rehabilitation program under this section.
SECTION 3. Section 122.004, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 122.004. INFORMATION RELATING TO STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.
The presiding officer of the council or the presiding officer's
designee shall provide to members of the council and to council
employees, as often as necessary, information regarding
requirements [their qualification] for office or employment under
this chapter, including information regarding a person's [and
their] responsibilities under applicable laws relating to
standards of conduct for state officers or employees.
SECTION 4. Section 122.005, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 122.005. MEMBER TRAINING. (a) A person who is
appointed to and qualifies for office as [Before] a member of the
council may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
attendance at a meeting of the council until the person completes a
[assume the member's duties and before the member may be confirmed
by the senate, the member must complete at least one course of the]
training program that complies with [established under] this
section.
(b) The [A] training program must [established under this
section shall] provide the person with information [to the member]
regarding:
(1) this chapter;
(2) the programs operated by the council;
(3) the role and functions of the council;
(4) the rules of the council with an emphasis on the
rules that relate to oversight and investigatory authority;
(5) the current budget for the council;
(6) [(5)] the results of the most recent formal audit
of the council;
(7) [(6)] the requirements of [the]:
(A) the open meetings law, Chapter 551,
Government Code;
(B) the public information [open records] law,
Chapter 552, Government Code; and
(C) the administrative procedure law, Chapter
2001, Government Code;
(8) other laws relating to public officials, including
[(7) the requirements of the] conflict of interest laws [and other
laws relating to public officials]; and
(9) [(8)] any applicable ethics policies adopted by
the council or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the council is entitled to
reimbursement, as provided by the General Appropriations Act, for
the travel expenses incurred in attending the training program
regardless of whether the attendance at the program occurs before
or after the person qualifies for office.
SECTION 5. Section 122.0055, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The council shall develop and implement policies that
clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the council
and the management responsibilities of the staff of the council.
SECTION 6. Section 122.006, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 122.006. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Council on
Purchasing from People with Disabilities is subject to Chapter 325,
Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
as provided by that chapter, the council is abolished and this
chapter expires September 1, 2015 [2003].
SECTION 7. Section 122.0095, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The council shall review the information contained in
the reports under this section and Sections 122.012 and 122.016.
The commission shall assist the council in reviewing and analyzing
the reports in order to improve state agency compliance with this
chapter.
SECTION 8. Section 122.012, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) After any audit or review the commission conducts with
regard to state agency compliance with purchasing laws and
procedures, the commission shall report to the council a state
agency that is not complying with this chapter.
SECTION 9. Section 122.020, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and by adding
Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(b) The council shall keep an information file about each
complaint filed with the council [relating to a product or service
offered by a community rehabilitation program]. The file must
include:
(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint;
(2) the date the complaint is received by the council;
(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
(4) the name of each person contacted in relation to
the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
(6) an explanation of the reason the file was closed,
if the council closed the file without taking action other than to
investigate the complaint.
(c) If a written complaint is filed with the council
[relating to a product or service offered by a community
rehabilitation program], the council, at least as frequently as
quarterly and until final disposition of the complaint, shall
notify the parties to the complaint of the status of the complaint
unless the notice would jeopardize an undercover investigation.
(d) The council shall provide to the person filing the
complaint and to each person who is a subject of the complaint a
copy of the council's policies and procedures relating to complaint
investigation and resolution.
SECTION 10. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Section 122.0206 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.0206. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) The council shall develop and
implement a policy to encourage the use of:
(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
2008, Government Code, for the adoption of council rules; and
(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution
procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
resolution of internal and external disputes under the council's
jurisdiction.
(b) The council's procedures relating to alternative
dispute resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any
model guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative
Hearings for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state
agencies.
SECTION 11. The heading of Section 122.0215, Human
Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 122.0215. ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS;
INSPECTION.
SECTION 12. Section 122.0215, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The council or a central nonprofit agency at the
council's direction may inspect a community rehabilitation program
for compliance with certification criteria established under
Sections 122.003(j) and 122.013(c). The committee designated under
Section 122.003(j) shall review the inspection results and
recommend appropriate action to the council.
SECTION 13. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Section 122.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.027. TECHNOLOGY POLICY. The council shall develop
and implement a policy requiring the staff of the council or a
central nonprofit agency to research and propose appropriate
technological solutions to improve the council's ability to perform
its functions. The technological solutions must:
(1) ensure that the public is able to easily find
information about the council on the Internet;
(2) ensure that persons who want to use the council's
services are able to:
(A) interact with the council through the
Internet; and
(B) access any service that can be provided
effectively through the Internet; and
(3) be cost-effective and developed through the
council's planning processes.
SECTION 14. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Section 122.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.028. PROGRAM PROMOTION. The council shall
establish procedures for the promotion of the program administered
under this chapter.
SECTION 15. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Section 122.029 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.029. DUTIES OF STATE AUDITOR. (a) As part of an
audit of a state agency authorized under Section 2161.123,
Government Code, the state auditor shall:
(1) conduct an audit of a state agency for compliance
with this chapter; and
(2) report to the council a state agency that is not
complying with this chapter.
(b) If the state auditor reports to the council that a state
agency is not complying with this chapter, the council shall assist
the agency in complying.
SECTION 16. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Section 122.030 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.030. MANAGEMENT FEE RATE; REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) The council shall develop a formal review process for the
annual review conducted under Section 122.019(e). The review
process must include:
(1) notice to affected parties, including community
rehabilitation programs;
(2) solicitation of public comment; and
(3) documentation provided by a central nonprofit
agency in support of a proposed management fee rate change.
(b) Before making a decision relating to the management fee
rate, the council shall consider:
(1) any public comment received;
(2) documentation provided by a central nonprofit
agency; and
(3) any documentation provided by a community
rehabilitation program or the public.
(c) The council shall adopt rules to implement this section.
SECTION 17. (a) The changes in law made by this Act in the
prohibitions or qualifications applying to members of the Texas
Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities do not affect
the entitlement of a member serving on the council immediately
before September 1, 2003, to continue to serve and function as a
member of the council for the remainder of the member's term. Those
changes in law apply only to a member appointed on or after
September 1, 2003.
(b) As the terms of members of the Texas Council on
Purchasing from People with Disabilities expire or as vacancies on
the council occur, the governor shall make appointments to the
council to achieve as soon as possible the membership plan
prescribed for the council by Section 122.003, Human Resources
Code, as amended by this Act.
(c) The Texas Council on Purchasing from People with
Disabilities shall adopt rules by January 1, 2004, to implement:
(1) the changes in law made by this Act to Subsection
(j), Section 122.003, Human Resources Code; and
(2) Subsection (k), Section 122.003, Subsection (d),
Section 122.0215, and Section 122.030, Human Resources Code, as
added by this Act.
(d) Section 122.020, Human Resources Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a complaint filed with the Texas Council
on Purchasing from People with Disabilities on or after the
effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct or act
that is the subject of the complaint occurred or was committed
before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.