82R4725 NC-F
 
  By: Geren H.B. No. 1680
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to self-directed and semi-independent status of the Texas
  Real Estate Commission; making an appropriation.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B-1. SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS OF
  COMMISSION
         Sec. 1101.081.  SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS.
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission is
  self-directed and semi-independent as specified by this
  subchapter. Any Act of the 82nd Legislature that relates to the
  commission and that is inconsistent with the commission being
  self-directed and semi-independent may be implemented by the
  administrator of the commission only on authorization by the
  commission.
         Sec. 1101.082.  BUDGET, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES. (a)  
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the General
  Appropriations Act, the commission shall adopt a budget annually
  using generally accepted accounting principles.
         (b)  The commission shall be responsible for all direct and
  indirect costs of the commission's existence and operation. The
  commission may not directly or indirectly cause the general revenue
  fund to incur any cost.
         (c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
  the commission may set the amounts of fees, penalties, charges, and
  revenues required or permitted by statute or rule as necessary for
  the purpose of carrying out the functions of the commission and
  funding the budget adopted and approved under Subsection (a).
         (d)  All fees and funds collected by the commission and any
  funds appropriated to the commission shall be deposited in
  interest-bearing deposit accounts in the Texas Treasury
  Safekeeping Trust Company. The comptroller shall contract with the
  commission for the maintenance of the deposit accounts under terms
  comparable to a contract between a commercial banking institution
  and the institution's customers.
         (e)  The fiscal year for the commission begins on September 1
  and ends on August 31.
         Sec. 1101.083.  AUDITS. This subchapter does not affect the
  duty of the state auditor to audit the commission. The state
  auditor shall enter into a contract and schedule with the
  commission to conduct audits. The commission shall reimburse the
  state auditor for all costs incurred in performing the audits and
  shall provide to the governor a copy of any audit performed.
         Sec. 1101.084.  RECORDS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) The
  commission shall keep financial and statistical information as
  necessary to disclose completely and accurately the financial
  condition and results of operations of the commission.
         (b)  Before the beginning of each regular session of the
  legislature, the commission shall submit to the legislature and the
  governor a report describing all of the agency's activities in the
  previous biennium. The report must include:
               (1)  an audit as required by Section 1101.083;
               (2)  a financial report of the previous fiscal year,
  including reports on the financial condition and results of
  operations;
               (3)  a description of all changes in fees imposed on
  regulated persons;
               (4)  a report on changes in the regulatory jurisdiction
  of the commission; and
               (5)  a list of all new rules adopted or repealed.
         (c)  In addition to the reporting requirements of Subsection
  (b), not later than November 1 of each year, the commission shall
  submit to the governor, the committee of each house of the
  legislature that has jurisdiction over appropriations, and the
  Legislative Budget Board a report that contains:
               (1)  the salary for all commission personnel and the
  total amount of per diem expenses and travel expenses paid for all
  commission employees;
               (2)  the total amount of per diem expenses and travel
  expenses paid for each member of the commission;
               (3)  the commission's operating plan and annual budget;
  and
               (4)  a detailed report of all revenue received and all
  expenses incurred by the commission in the previous 12 months.
         Sec. 1101.085.  ABILITY TO CONTRACT. (a)  To carry out and
  promote the objectives of this chapter, the commission may enter
  into contracts and do all other acts incidental to those contracts
  that are necessary for the administration of the commission's
  affairs and for the attainment of the commission's purposes, except
  as limited by Subsection (b).
         (b)  Any indebtedness, liability, or obligation of the
  commission incurred under this section may not:
               (1)  create a debt or other liability of this state or
  another entity other than the commission; or
               (2)  create any personal liability on the part of the
  members or employees of the commission.
         Sec. 1101.086.  PROPERTY. The commission may:
               (1)  acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or any other
  manner provided by law and maintain, use, and operate any real,
  personal, or mixed property, or any interest in property, necessary
  or convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, or
  functions of the commission;
               (2)  sell or otherwise dispose of any real, personal,
  or mixed property, or any interest in property, that the commission
  determines is not necessary or convenient to the exercise of the
  commission's powers, rights, privileges, or functions;
               (3)  construct, extend, improve, maintain, and
  reconstruct, or cause to construct, extend, improve, maintain, and
  reconstruct, and use and operate all facilities necessary or
  convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, or
  functions of the commission; and
               (4)  borrow money, as may be authorized from time to
  time by an affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the
  commission, for a period not to exceed five years if necessary or
  convenient to the exercise of the commission's powers, rights,
  privileges, or functions.
         Sec. 1101.087.  SUITS. The office of the attorney general
  shall represent the commission in any litigation. The attorney
  general may assess and collect from the commission reasonable
  attorney's fees associated with any litigation under this section.
         Sec. 1101.088.  POST-PARTICIPATION LIABILITY. (a) If the
  commission no longer has status under this subchapter as a
  self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason, the
  commission shall be liable for any expenses or debts incurred by the
  commission during the time the commission was a self-directed
  semi-independent agency. The commission's liability under this
  section includes liability for any lease entered into by the
  commission. This state is not liable for any expense or debt
  covered by this subsection, and money from the general revenue fund
  may not be used to repay the expense or debt.
         (b)  If the commission no longer has status under this
  subchapter as a self-directed semi-independent agency for any
  reason, ownership of any property or other asset acquired by the
  commission during the time the commission was a self-directed
  semi-independent agency, including unexpended fees in a deposit
  account in the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, shall be
  transferred to this state.
         Sec. 1101.089.  DUE PROCESS; OPEN GOVERNMENT. The
  commission is:
               (1)  a governmental body for purposes of Chapters 551
  and 552, Government Code; and
               (2)  a state agency for purposes of Chapters 2001 and
  2005, Government Code.
         Sec. 1101.090.  MEMBERSHIP IN EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
  Employees of the commission are members of the Employees Retirement
  System of Texas under Chapter 812, Government Code, and the
  commission's transition to independent status as provided by this
  chapter has no effect on their membership or any benefits under that
  system.
         SECTION 2.  Section 1101.059(c), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (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 1101.101(d), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The commission shall determine the salaries of the
  administrator, officers, and employees of the commission. [The
  amounts of the salaries may not exceed the amounts specified by the
  General Appropriations Act.]
         SECTION 4.  To provide a reasonable period for the Texas Real
  Estate Commission to establish itself as a self-directed and
  semi-independent agency under Subchapter B-1, Chapter 1101,
  Occupations Code, as added by this Act, for the two-year period
  following the effective date of this Act, the commission is
  appropriated out of the general revenue fund an amount equal to 50
  percent of the amount of general revenue appropriated to the
  commission for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011.
  Subject to Section 1101.082, Occupations Code, as added by this
  Act, this appropriation may be spent as the commission directs and
  shall be repaid not later than August 31, 2016, to the general
  revenue fund by the commission as funds become available.
         SECTION 5.  The transfer of the Texas Real Estate Commission
  to self-directed and semi-independent status under Subchapter B-1,
  Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, as added by this Act, and the
  expiration of self-directed and semi-independent status may not act
  to cancel, suspend, or prevent:
               (1)  any debt owed to or by the commission;
               (2)  any fine, tax, penalty, or obligation of any
  party;
               (3)  any contract or other obligation of any party; or
               (4)  any action taken by the commission in the
  administration or enforcement of the commission's duties.
         SECTION 6.  The Texas Real Estate Commission shall continue
  to have and exercise the powers and duties allocated to the
  commission in the commission's enabling legislation, except as
  specifically amended by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.