78R3364 MTB-D

By:  Fraser                                                       S.B. No. 915


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 bonds to the extent the proceeds of the bonds were expended for the purchase of the facility. (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.