80R10300 ACP-D
 
  By: McClendon H.B. No. 2845
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas State
Library and Archives Commission.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Sections 441.001(e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j),
(k), and (q), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
       (e)  A person may not be [serve as] a member of the commission
or act as the general counsel to the commission if the person is
required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the
person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession
related to the operation of the commission.
       (f)  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 [An] officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of library and
information science, archives management, or records management;
or
             (2)  the person's spouse is [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.
       [(g)A person who is the spouse of] an officer, manager, or
paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of library
and information science, archives management, or records
management [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].
       (h)  In this section, " [For the purposes of this section, a]
Texas trade association" means [is] a [nonprofit,] cooperative[,]
and voluntarily joined statewide association of business or
professional competitors [or professionals] 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.
       (i)  It is a ground for removal from the commission if a
member:
             (1)  does not have at the time of taking office
[appointment] the qualifications required by Subsection (a);
             (2)  does not maintain during service on the commission
the qualifications required by Subsection (a);
             (3)  is ineligible for membership under [violates a
prohibition established by] Subsection (e) or [,] (f)[, or (g)];
             (4)  cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term [for which the member is appointed]; or
             (5)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved [unless the
absence is excused] by majority vote of the commission.
       (j)  The validity of an action of the commission is not
affected by the fact that it was taken when [at a time] a ground for
removal of a [member of the] commission member exists [existed].
       (k)  If the director and librarian has knowledge that a
potential ground for removal exists, the director and librarian
shall notify the presiding officer of the commission of the
potential ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the
governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists. If the potential ground for removal involves the
presiding officer, the director and librarian shall notify the next
highest officer of the commission, who shall then notify the
governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists.
       (q)  The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is
subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in
existence as provided by that chapter, the commission is abolished
September 1, 2019 [2007].
       SECTION 2.  Section 441.0011, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
       Sec. 441.0011.  TRAINING FOR COMMISSION MEMBERS. (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 a training program that meets the requirements of]
this section.
       (b)  The [A] training program must provide the person with
information [under this section shall provide 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
[programs operated by] the commission;
             (4) [(3)]  the requirements of laws relating to open
meetings, public information, administrative procedure, and
conflicts-of-interest [role and functions of the commission]; and
             (5) [(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 3.  Section 441.006(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       (a)  The commission shall:
             (1)  govern the Texas State Library;
             (2)  adopt policies and rules to aid and encourage the
development of and cooperation among all types of libraries,
including public, academic, special, and other types of libraries;
             (3)  aid those studying problems to be dealt with by
legislation;
             (4)  prepare and make available to the public and
appropriate state agencies information of public interest
describing the functions of the commission [and the commission
procedures by which complaints are filed with and resolved by the
commission];
             (5)  deposit money paid to the commission under this
chapter subject to Subchapter F, Chapter 404;
             (6)  give to any person contemplating the establishment
of a public library advice regarding matters such as maintaining a
public library, selecting books, cataloging, and managing a
library;
             (7)  conduct library institutes and encourage library
associations;
             (8)  take custody of, preserve, and make available for
public use state records and other historical resources that
document the history and culture of Texas as a province, colony,
republic, or state;
             (9)  prepare and make available to the public a
complete list of every state symbol and place designation,
including state symbols and place designations made in accordance
with Chapter 391; and
             (10)  aid and encourage, by adoption of policies and
programs, the development of effective records management and
preservation programs in state agencies and the local governments
of the state[; and
             [(11)  establish by rule 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].
       SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 441, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 441.018, 441.019, 441.020, 441.021, and
441.022 to read as follows:
       Sec. 441.018.  COMPLAINTS.  (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.
       (b)  The commission shall make information available
describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
resolution.
       (c)  The commission shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
       Sec. 441.019.  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. 441.020.  NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE RESOLUTION POLICY. (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.
       Sec. 441.021.  PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARY STUDY. (a) The
commission and the Texas Education Agency shall conduct a joint
study to identify the needs of public school libraries in this state
and determine which needs each agency is best suited to address.
       (b)  Not later than September 1, 2008, the commission and the
Texas Education Agency shall submit a joint written report
containing the findings of the study and the recommendations of the
commission and the education agency to the:
             (1)  governor;
             (2)  lieutenant governor;
             (3)  speaker of the house of representatives; and
             (4)  appropriate oversight committees of each house of
the legislature.
       (c)  This section expires June 1, 2009.
       Sec. 441.022.  COMPLIANCE WITH SUNSET RECOMMENDATIONS.  (a)  
The commission shall:
             (1)  comply with and implement any nonstatutory
recommendations regarding the commission adopted by the Sunset
Advisory Commission as a result of its review of the commission; and
             (2)  report to the sunset commission the information
that the sunset commission requires regarding the commission's
implementation of the sunset commission's nonstatutory
recommendations not later than November 1, 2008.
       (b)  This section expires June 1, 2009.
       SECTION 5.  Section 441.135(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       (b)  The program of state grants shall include one or more of
the following:
             (1)  system operation grants, to strengthen major
resource system services to member public libraries and regional
library system services to member libraries, including grants to
reimburse other libraries for providing specialized services to
major resource systems and regional library systems;
             (2)  incentive grants, to encourage public libraries to
join together into larger units of service in order to meet criteria
for major resource system membership or regional library system
membership;
             (3)  establishment grants, to help establish public
libraries that will qualify for major resource system membership or
regional library system membership in communities without public
library service;
             (4)  equalization grants, to help public libraries in
communities with relatively limited taxable resources to meet
criteria for major resource system membership or regional library
system membership; [and]
             (5)  public information technology grants, to help
public libraries make state, local, and federal government
information that is accessible through the Internet or electronic
bulletin board systems available to the public through computer
terminals at a library; and
             (6)  competitive grants, to promote innovation by
public libraries and by libraries described by Section 441.1271(a)
and to encourage regional library systems and libraries to meet
commission and federal goals.
       SECTION 6.  Section 441.138(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       (d)  The commission by rule shall adopt a formula for
distributing system operation grants [Twenty-five percent of
system operation grants shall be apportioned equally] among the
major resource systems and regional library systems. The formula
must include funding for basic system support services [that are
operating under commission-approved programs of services, budgets,
and bylaws or contracts, and the remaining 75 percent of these
grants shall be apportioned among those systems on a per capita
basis determined by the most recent decennial census or the most
recent official population estimate of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of the Census].
       SECTION 7.  Subchapter I, Chapter 441, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 441.1381 to read as follows:
       Sec. 441.1381.  COMPETITIVE GRANTS; SYSTEM OPERATION
GRANTS. (a)  The commission shall design and implement a
competitive grant program described by Section 441.135(b)(6) and
shall require a recipient of a competitive grant to report to the
commission information relating to best practices and performance
outcomes.
       (b)  The commission shall continue to provide system
operation grants to major resource systems and regional library
systems.  The commission may not award system operation grants
through a competitive process.
       SECTION 8.  Subchapter L, Chapter 441, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 441.205 to read as follows:
       Sec. 441.205.  ONLINE ACCESS TO CULTURAL RESOURCES. The
commission may:
             (1)  encourage Texas institutions, including
libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and
governmental entities, to develop ways to provide Internet access
to digitized cultural resources; and
             (2)  provide leadership in collaborative efforts among
the institutions to achieve this goal.
       SECTION 9.  Section 336.104, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 336.104.  QUALIFICATIONS OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR
LIBRARY DIRECTOR.  The board shall ensure that the executive
director or a subordinate library director has all necessary
qualifications to oversee library services in the district. [The
board shall require the executive director or a subordinate library
director to meet the qualification requirements for a county
librarian under Section 441.007, Government Code, and under any
rules adopted by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
under that section.]
       SECTION 10.  The following provisions of the Government Code
are repealed:
             (1)  Section 441.007;
             (2)  Section 441.0071;
             (3)  Section 441.0072;
             (4)  Section 441.0073; and
             (5)  Section 441.0074.
       SECTION 11.  Not later than March 1, 2008, the Texas State
Library and Archives Commission shall adopt rules as required by
Section 441.138(d), Government Code, as amended by this Act.
       SECTION 12.  (a) The changes in law made by this Act in the
prohibitions or qualifications applying to a member of the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission do not affect the entitlement
of a member serving on the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission immediately before September 1, 2007, to continue to
serve and function as a member of the Texas State Library and
Archives 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)  Section 441.018, Government Code, as added by this Act,
relating to the investigation of a complaint filed with the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission, applies 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.
       SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.