By: Deuell S.B. No. 1003
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the abolishment of the Office of State-Federal
  Relations as an independent agency and the transfer of the duties
  and functions of that agency to the office of the governor.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 751.001 through 751.004, Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 751.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
               (1)  "Executive director" ["Board" means the Office of
  State-Federal Relations Advisory Policy Board.
               [(2)  "Director"] means the executive director of the
  Office of State-Federal Relations.
               (2) [(3)]  "Office" means the Office of State-Federal
  Relations.
               (3) [(4)]  "State agency" means a state board,
  commission, department, institution, or officer having statewide
  jurisdiction, including a state college or university.
         Sec. 751.002.  OFFICE OF STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONS.  (a)  The
  Office of State-Federal Relations is a program within the office of
  the governor.  The governor shall provide guidance to the office and
  direct the activities of the office [an agency of the state and
  operates within the executive department].
         (b)  The office shall consult with the lieutenant governor
  and the speaker of the house of representatives regarding relations
  between the state and federal governments and shall inform the
  legislative leadership of the office's progress on, and the status
  of, federal issues, including federal funding and policy decisions 
  [The office is subject to the administrative procedure law, Chapter
  2001].
         Sec. 751.003.  SUNSET PROVISION.  The Office of
  State-Federal Relations is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset
  Act).  Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
  the office is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2015 
  [2009.   In the review of the office by the Sunset Advisory
  Commission, as required by this section, the sunset commission
  shall limit its review to the appropriateness of recommendations
  made to the 80th Legislature.     In its report to the 81st
  Legislature, the sunset commission may include any recommendations
  it considers appropriate].
         Sec. 751.004.  APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.  
  (a)  The governor[, with the advice and consent of the senate,]
  shall appoint the executive [a] director of the office.  The
  executive director is accountable to the governor.
         (b)  The executive director serves at the pleasure of the
  governor.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 751.005, Government Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 751.005.  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICE  
  [DIRECTOR].
         SECTION 3.  Section 751.005, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The office [director] shall exercise the powers and
  carry out the duties prescribed by this section in order to act as a
  liaison from the state to the federal government.
         (b)  The office [director] shall:
               (1)  help coordinate state and federal programs dealing
  with the same subject;
               (2)  inform the governor and the legislature of federal
  programs that may be carried out in the state or that affect state
  programs;
               (3)  provide federal agencies and the United States
  Congress with information about state policy and state conditions
  on matters that concern the federal government;
               (4)  provide the legislature with information useful in
  measuring the effect of federal actions on the state and local
  programs;
               (5)  prepare and supply to the governor and all members
  of the legislature an annual report that:
                     (A)  describes the office's operations;
                     (B)  contains the office's priorities and
  strategies for the following year;
                     (C)  details projects and legislation pursued by
  the office;
                     (D)  discusses issues in the following
  congressional session of interest to this state; and
                     (E)  contains an analysis of federal funds
  availability and formulae; [and]
               (6)  prepare annually a complete and detailed written
  report accounting for all funds received and disbursed by the
  office during the preceding fiscal year;
               (7)  notify the governor, the lieutenant governor, and
  the speaker of the house of representatives of federal activities
  relevant to the state and inform the Texas congressional delegation
  of state activities;
               (8)  conduct frequent conference calls with the
  lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives
  or their designees regarding state-federal relations and programs;
               (9)  respond to requests for information from the
  legislature, the United States Congress, and federal agencies; and
               (10)  coordinate with the Legislative Budget Board
  regarding the effects of federal funding on the state budget.
         (c)  The office [director] may maintain office space at
  locations inside and outside the state as chosen by the office
  [director].
         (e)  The priorities of the office, as stated in the report
  required under Subsection (b)(5), must be approved by the governor
  in consultation with the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the
  house of representatives. The report must include an evaluation of
  the performance of the office based on performance measures that
  are developed by the governor in consultation with the lieutenant
  governor and the speaker of the house of representatives.
         SECTION 4.  Subsections (a) and (g), Section 751.006,
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The executive director may employ staff necessary to
  carry out the [director's] powers and duties of the office under
  this chapter. The executive director or the executive director's
  designee shall provide to office employees, as often as necessary,
  information regarding their qualification for employment under
  this chapter and their responsibilities under applicable laws
  relating to standards of conduct for state employees.
         (g)  The executive director and the staff of the office
  working in Washington, D.C., may receive a [the same]
  cost-of-living salary adjustment [as is established for an employee
  of another state agency under Section 751.012(d)].
         SECTION 5.  Subsections (a) and (c), Section 751.012,
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The office may enter into interagency contracts with
  [other] state agencies to locate staff of the [other] state
  agencies [agency] in Washington, D.C., to work under the
  supervision of the executive director and shall coordinate
  activities conducted on behalf of the state agencies [other agency]
  with those of the office.
         (c)  A contract under this section must include provisions
  under which staff of the [other] state agency:
               (1)  report directly to the [that] agency's
  administrative head or the presiding officer of the [that] agency's
  governing body;
               (2)  have an officially recognized role in the [that]
  agency's budget planning process; and
               (3)  provide periodic updates of activities at meetings
  of the [that] agency's governing body.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter A, Chapter 751, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 751.015 and 751.016 to read as follows:
         Sec. 751.015.  CONTRACTS BETWEEN OFFICE AND CONSULTANTS.
  (a)  If the office elects to contract with federal-level government
  relations consultants, the office shall adopt written procedures
  for those contracts. The procedures must include:
               (1)  guidelines regarding contract management;
               (2)  a competitive procurement process and method to
  assess the effectiveness of a prospective consultant;
               (3)  a technique for assigning a value to a prospective
  consultant's ability to provide services at a reasonable price and
  level of experience;
               (4)  a process for determining a prospective
  consultant's ability to work with influential members of the United
  States Congress and serve as an effective advocate on behalf of the
  state; and
               (5)  a method to verify that the interests of a
  prospective consultant or the consultant's other clients do not
  create a conflict of interest that may jeopardize the state's
  interest.
         (b)  A contract between the office and a federal-level
  government relations consultant must include:
               (1)  an agreement regarding the goals of the service to
  be provided by the consultant and targeted performance measures;
               (2)  a provision governing the manner in which the
  contract may be terminated by the parties to the contract; and
               (3)  a provision allowing the office, the state
  auditor's office as provided by Section 2262.003, and other
  specified oversight entities to audit the contractor's performance
  under the contract.
         (c)  The governor must sign any contract between the office
  and a federal-level government relations consultant.
         Sec. 751.016.  CONTRACTS BY STATE AGENCIES OR POLITICAL
  SUBDIVISIONS. (a)  In this section, "political subdivision"
  includes a river authority.
         (b)  An agency or political subdivision of the state shall
  report to the office on any contract between the agency or
  subdivision and a federal-level government relations consultant. A
  state agency or political subdivision shall submit one report under
  this section not later than the 30th day after the date the contract
  is executed and a second report not later than the 30th day after
  the date the contract is terminated.  The report must include:
               (1)  the name of the consultant or consulting firm;
               (2)  the issue on which the consultant was hired to
  consult; and
               (3)  the amount of compensation paid or to be paid to
  the consultant under the contract.
         (b-1)  A state agency or political subdivision contracting
  with a federal-level government relations consultant before
  September 1, 2009, shall, if the contract has not terminated before
  that date, submit a report as required by Subsection (b) not later
  than September 30, 2009. This subsection expires September 1,
  2010.
         (c)  If a state agency contracts with a federal-level
  government relations consultant and the consultant subcontracts
  the work to another firm or individual, the state agency shall
  report the subcontract to the office.
         SECTION 7.  The following provisions of the Government Code
  are repealed:
               (1)  Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), Section
  751.006;
               (2)  Sections 751.007, 751.008, 751.010, and 751.011;
               (3)  Subsections (b), (e), and (f), Section 751.012;
  and
               (4)  Sections 751.013, 751.014, and 751.024.
         SECTION 8.  (a)  The Office of State-Federal Relations is
  abolished as an independent agency and created as a program in the
  office of the governor.  The Office of State-Federal Relations
  Advisory Policy Board is abolished.
         (b)  The validity of an action taken by the Office of
  State-Federal Relations before it is abolished under Subsection (a)
  of this section is not affected by the abolishment.
         SECTION 9.  On September 1, 2009:
               (1)  the director of the Office of State-Federal
  Relations becomes the executive director of the Office of
  State-Federal Relations in the office of the governor;
               (2)  an employee of the Office of State-Federal
  Relations becomes an employee of the Office of State-Federal
  Relations in the office of the governor;
               (3)  a reference in law to the Office of State-Federal
  Relations means the Office of State-Federal Relations in the office
  of the governor;
               (4)  all money, contracts, leases, rights, and
  obligations of the Office of State-Federal Relations are
  transferred to the Office of State-Federal Relations in the office
  of the governor;
               (5)  all property, including records, in the custody of
  the Office of State-Federal Relations becomes the property of the
  Office of State-Federal Relations in the office of the governor;
  and
               (6)  all funds appropriated by the legislature to the
  Office of State-Federal Relations are transferred to the Office of
  State-Federal Relations in the office of the governor.
         SECTION 10.  A function or activity performed by the Office
  of State-Federal Relations is transferred to the Office of
  State-Federal Relations in the office of the governor as provided
  by this Act.
         SECTION 11.  The Office of State-Federal Relations and the
  office of the governor shall establish a transition plan for the
  transfer described in Section 9 of this Act.
         SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.