Amend CSHB 12 (Senate committee printing) as follows:
(1) Add the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to
the bill and renumber existing SECTIONS accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subsections (b) and (k), Section 442.002,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission is composed of 17 members appointed by
the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. One member
must be a professional archeologist, one must be a professional
historian, and one must be a licensed architect who has expertise in
historic preservation and architectural history. Fourteen members
must be representatives of the general public. A person may [is]
not be [eligible for appointment as] a public member of the
commission if the person or the person's spouse:
(1) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
organization regulated by the commission or receiving money [funds]
other than grant money [funds] from the commission; [or]
(2) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money [funds] from the commission, other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for commission
membership, attendance, or expenses; or
(3) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving money other than grant money from the commission.
(k) The Texas Historical Commission is subject to Chapter
325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided
by that chapter, the commission is abolished and this chapter
expires September 1, 2019 [2007].
SECTION ____. Section 442.0021, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 442.0021. COMMISSION MEMBERS: TRAINING. (a) A
person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of
the commission may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member
in attendance at a meeting of the commission until the person
completes a training program that complies with [Before a member of
the commission may 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 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) the [enabling] legislation that created the
commission;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
commission;
(3) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
commission [(2) the programs operated by the commission];
(4) the requirements of laws relating to open
meetings, public information, administrative procedure, and
conflicts of interest [(3) the role and functions of the
commission]; and
(5) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
commission or the Texas Ethics Commission [(4) the rules of the
commission with an emphasis on the rules that relate to
disciplinary and investigatory authority;
[(5) the current budget for the commission;
[(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
commission;
[(7) the requirements of the:
[(A) open meetings law, Chapter 551;
[(B) open records law, Chapter 552; and
[(C) administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001;
[(8) the requirements of the conflict of interest laws
and other laws relating to public officials; and
[(9) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
commission or the Texas Ethics Commission].
(c) A person appointed to the commission 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 ____. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 442.0022,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a
cooperative and voluntarily joined statewide association of
business or professional competitors in this state designed to
assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with
mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their
common interest [An officer, employee, or paid consultant of a
Texas trade association in the field of archeology or historic
preservation may not be a member of the commission or employee of
the commission who is exempt from the state's position
classification plan or is compensated at or above the amount
prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary
group 17, of the position classification salary schedule].
(b) A person may not be a member of the commission and may
not be a commission employee employed in a "bona fide executive,
administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used
for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime
provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of archeology
or historic preservation; or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of archeology
or historic preservation [who is the spouse of an officer, manager,
or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of
archeology or historic preservation may not be a member of the
commission and may not be an employee of the commission who is
exempt from the state's position classification plan or is
compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the General
Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group 17, of the position
classification salary schedule].
SECTION ____. Section 442.004, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The executive director may not serve as a voting
director on the board of directors of an affiliated nonprofit
organization formed under Section 442.005(p).
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 442, Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 442.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 442.0055. AFFILIATED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION; RULES;
GUIDELINES. (a) The commission shall adopt rules governing the
relationship between the commission and an affiliated nonprofit
organization formed under Section 442.005(p), including rules
that, at a minimum:
(1) define the extent to which commission employees
with regulatory responsibilities, including the executive
director, may participate in activities that raise funds for an
affiliated nonprofit organization, which may not include the direct
solicitation of funds; and
(2) define the relationship between commission
employees and an affiliated nonprofit organization.
(b) The commission shall establish guidelines for
identifying and defining the administrative and financial support
the commission may provide for an affiliated nonprofit organization
formed under Section 442.005(p).
SECTION ____. Section 442.006, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
follows:
(b) The commission shall:
(1) develop statewide themes for the program related
to the commission's preservation goals for the state;
(2) install markers recognizing districts, sites,
individuals, events, structures, and objects significant in Texas
or American history, architecture, archeology, or culture;
(3) [and shall] keep a register of those markers; and
(4) establish a limit for the number of markers the
commission awards annually.
(h) The commission by rule shall establish guidelines for an
application for, and the commission's review of the application
for, a historical marker, monument, or medallion. The guidelines
must include criteria for ranking the applications. The commission
shall give priority to the markers, monuments, and medallions that
relate to the statewide themes developed by the commission.
SECTION ____. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section
442.009, Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall maintain a system to promptly and
efficiently act on complaints filed with the commission. The
commission shall maintain information about parties to the
complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
disposition [prepare information of public interest describing the
functions of the commission and the procedures by which complaints
are filed with and resolved by the commission. The commission shall
make the information available to the public and appropriate state
agencies].
(b) The commission [by rule] shall make information
available describing its procedures for complaint investigation
and resolution [establish methods by which consumers and service
recipients are notified of the name, mailing address, and telephone
number of the commission for the purpose of directing complaints to
the commission].
(c) The commission shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition
[keep information about each complaint filed with the commission.
The information shall include:
[(1) the date the complaint is received;
[(2) the name of the complainant;
[(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
[(4) a record of all persons contacted in relation to
the complaint;
[(5) a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
[(6) for complaints for which the agency took no
action, an explanation of the reason the complaint was closed
without action].
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 442, Government Code,
is amended by adding Sections 442.022 and 442.023 to read as
follows:
Sec. 442.022. USE OF TECHNOLOGY. The commission shall
implement a policy requiring the commission to use appropriate
technological solutions to improve the commission's ability to
perform its functions. The policy must ensure that the public is
able to interact with the commission on the Internet.
Sec. 442.023. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE PROCEDURES. (a) The commission shall develop and
implement a policy to encourage the use of:
(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
2008 for the adoption of commission rules; and
(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution
procedures under Chapter 2009 to assist in the resolution of
internal and external disputes under the commission's
jurisdiction.
(b) The commission'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.
(c) The commission shall designate a trained person to:
(1) coordinate the implementation of the policy
adopted under Subsection (a);
(2) serve as a resource for any training needed to
implement the procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative
dispute resolution; and
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
procedures, as implemented by the commission.
SECTION ____. Subsection (c), Section 442.0022, and
Subsection (d), Section 442.009, Government Code, are repealed.
SECTION ____. Not later than February 1, 2008, the Texas
Historical Commission shall adopt the rules required by Section
442.0055 and Subsection (h), Section 442.006, Government Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION ____. (a) The changes in law made by this Act in
the prohibitions or qualifications applying to a member of the
Texas Historical Commission do not affect the entitlement of a
member serving on the Texas Historical Commission immediately
before September 1, 2007, to continue to serve and function as a
member of the Texas Historical Commission for the remainder of the
member's term. Those changes in law apply only to a member
appointed on or after September 1, 2007.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 442.009,
Government Code, relating to the investigation of a complaint filed
with the Texas Historical Commission apply only to a complaint
filed on or after September 1, 2007. A complaint filed with the
commission before September 1, 2007, is governed by the law as it
existed immediately before that date, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.