BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 2002

By: Marquez

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Recent legislation authorized certain counties, such as El Paso County, to establish an ethics commission with the power to develop and enforce an ethics code governing county officials, employees, contractors, and lobbyists. Some county ethics commissions, in the course of performing their duties, have become aware of certain administrative matters, such as deadlines for action, staggering of board terms, and complaint processing, that are not adequately addressed in statute and have made recommendations for statutory changes.  C.S.H.B. 2002 intends to incorporate commission recommendations on these matters by revising administrative provisions governing a county ethics commission in certain counties. 

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 amends the Local Government Code, in provisions relating to a county ethics commission in a county that has a population of 650,000 or more, is located on the international border, and before September 1, 2009, had a county ethics board appointed by the commissioners court of the county, to establish that those members of a county ethics commission who are appointed by the commissioners court from a list of nominees submitted by one of several certain entities serve terms beginning on February 1 of each even-numbered year, rather than of each odd-numbered year. The bill creates a temporary provision, set to expire September 1, 2014, to require the commissioners court, in order to replace or reappoint such members whose terms expire on January 31, 2013, to appoint members in the same manner for one-year terms to begin on February 1, 2013; to thereafter require members appointed in such a manner to serve two-year terms; and to establish that to the extent of a conflict between the temporary provision and the provision specifying the terms of members of a county ethics commission, the temporary provision controls.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 establishes that the position of chair is selected from the commission members by a majority vote of the commission members and that the chair serves a term of six months and authorizes a member to decline to serve as chair, rather than the position of chair alternating every six months between members appointed by the county judge or a county commissioner and members appointed by the commissioners court from a list of nominees submitted by several certain entities.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 60th day after the date a person is appointed to a commission to not later than the 30th day after such appointment the date by which the person is required to complete required commission member training.  The bill revises the prohibition against an appointee voting, deliberating, or being counted as a member in attendance at a commission meeting until the appointee completes the required training to instead prohibit such an appointee from voting, deliberating, or being counted as in attendance  after the 30th day after the date the person is appointed to the commission unless the appointee has completed such training.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 revises a provision requiring periodic training to be provided on at least a quarterly basis for persons covered by a commission's ethics code to require the periodic training to be made available, with no specification as to frequency.  The bill requires a person covered by the ethics code or a lobbyist or vendor required to complete training on the ethics code to complete the training as determined by the commission.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 revises the rotation of commission members' terms of service on the standing preliminary review committee.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date a complaint is filed to not later than the 14th day after the date a complaint is filed the date by which a standing preliminary review committee is required to send written notice to a complainant and a respondent. The bill authorizes a complainant to resubmit a complaint not later than the 14th day, rather than not later than the 21st day, after the date the notice is mailed if the committee determines that the original complaint does not comply with form requirements.  The bill changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date of dismissal to not later than the 14th day after the date of dismissal the date by which the committee is required to send written notice to the complainant and the respondent of the dismissal and the grounds for dismissal if the committee determines that the complaint is not resubmitted within the 14-day period.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 specifies a county public servant, rather than a county, as the actor prohibited from suspending or terminating the employment of or taking other adverse action against a county employee who in good faith files a complaint or otherwise reports a violation of the ethics code or who in good faith participates in the complaint processing, preliminary review, hearing, or any other aspect of the investigation and resolution by the commission of an alleged violation of the ethics code.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date of dismissal to not later than the 14th day after the date of dismissal the date by which the standing preliminary review committee is required to send to a complainant and a respondent written notice of the dismissal and the grounds for the dismissal if the committee determines that the commission does not have jurisdiction over the violation alleged in the complaint.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date a respondent receives certain required notice to not later than the 14th day after the date a respondent receives such notice the date by which the respondent is required to respond if an alleged violation is a Category One violation.  The bill, in a provision requiring the standing preliminary review committee to set a matter for a preliminary review hearing to be held at the next committee meeting if an alleged violation is a Category One violation and if the matter is not resolved by agreement before a certain date after the respondent receives certain notice, specifies that the agreement be between the committee and the respondent, rather than between the commission and the respondent; changes the deadline for resolution by agreement from before the 30th business day after the date the respondent receives notice to before the 30th day after the date the respondent receives notice; and removes the condition that, for purposes of setting a hearing, the next committee meeting be a meeting for which notice has not yet been posted. 

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 25th business day after the date a respondent receives certain required notice to not later than the 14th day after the date a respondent receives such notice the date by which the respondent is required to respond if an alleged violation is a Category Two violation.  The bill, in a provision requiring the standing preliminary review committee to set a matter for a preliminary review hearing to be held at the next committee meeting if an alleged violation is a Category Two violation and if the matter is not resolved by agreement before a certain date after the respondent receives certain notice, specifies that the agreement be between the committee and the respondent, rather than between the commission and the respondent; changes the deadline for resolution by agreement from before the 75th business day after the date the respondent receives notice to before the 30th day after the date the respondent receives notice; and removes the condition that, for purposes of setting a hearing, the next committee meeting be a meeting for which notice has not yet been posted.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date of the final resolution of the complaint to not later than the 14th day after the date of the final resolution of the complaint the date by which a standing preliminary review committee, if the committee successfully resolves and settles a complaint, is required to send to the complainant and the respondent a copy of the order stating the committee's determination and written notice of the resolution and the terms of the resolution. The bill changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date of an order for a formal hearing to not later than the 14th day after the date of such order the date by which the committee is required to send to the parties certain items if the committee is unsuccessful in resolving and settling the complaint.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the fifth business day after the date of the dismissal to not later than the 10th day after the date of the dismissal the date by which a standing preliminary review committee is required to send to the parties a copy of an order stating the committee's determination and written notice of the dismissal and the grounds for dismissal if the committee determines that there is credible evidence for the committee to determine that a violation within the jurisdiction of the commission has not occurred.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the fifth business day after the date of a standing preliminary review committee's determination that there is insufficient credible evidence for the committee to determine that a violation within the jurisdiction of the commission has occurred to not later than the 10th day after the date of such determination the date by which the committee is required to send to the parties a copy of the decision stating the committee's determination and written notice of the grounds for the determination. 

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 changes from not later than the fifth business day before the date of a scheduled formal hearing to not later than the 10th day before the date of such hearing, as an alternative to on the granting of a motion for discovery by a respondent, the date by which a commission is required to provide to a respondent certain items.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 revises a provision requiring a commission to convene a meeting and by motion to issue a final decision and a written report not later than the 30th business day after the date of a formal hearing to instead authorize the commission to convene a meeting and to require the commission by motion to issue a final decision and a written report at the conclusion of a formal hearing or not later than the 40th day after the date of the formal hearing. The bill changes from not later than the 10th business day after the date the commission issues the final decision and written report to not later than the 14th day after the date the commission issues the final decision and written report the date by which the commission is required to send a copy of the decision and report to the parties and make a copy of the decision and report available to the public during reasonable business hours.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 requires the commission to resolve a complaint within three months, rather than six months, of its receipt unless it makes a determination that additional time is required to resolve the matter.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 makes the state's open meetings law inapplicable to the deliberation by the commission regarding a contested complaint following the conclusion of a formal hearing, but makes such law applicable to the meeting at which the commission issues a final decision stating the resolution of the final hearing. 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 2002, in a provision establishing the confidentiality of proceedings at a preliminary review hearing, specifies a preliminary review hearing performed by a standing preliminary review committee, rather than a commission.  The bill makes an order issued by a standing preliminary review committee, rather than a commission, after the completion of a preliminary review or hearing determining that a violation other than a technical or de minimis violation has occurred not confidential.

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2011.

 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 contains a provision not included in the original making a nonsubstantive change.  The substitute contains a provision not included in the original making the state's open meetings law inapplicable to the deliberation by a county ethics commission in certain counties regarding a contested complaint following the conclusion of a formal hearing and making such law applicable to the meeting at which the commission issues a final decision stating the resolution of the final hearing. 

 

C.S.H.B. 2002 amends provisions of law not addressed in the original relating to the confidentiality of proceedings at a preliminary review hearing and the non-confidentiality of an order issued after the completion of a preliminary review or hearing determining that a violation other than a technical or de minimis violation has occurred to specify that the hearing is performed, and the order is issued, by a standing preliminary review committee, rather than a commission.