By: Eltife, et al. S.B. No. 1000
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the 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)  Except as provided by Subsection (e) or (f), 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)  Collected revenue and interest associated with one of
  the following funds in the state treasury shall continue to be
  deposited in the appropriate fund:
               (1)  Fund 0028, Appraiser Registry;
               (2)  Fund 0969, Real Estate Fee Trust Account;
               (3)  Fund 0971, Real Estate Recovery Trust Account; and
               (4)  Fund 0988, Real Estate Inspection Recovery Trust
  Fund.
         (f)  A fee collected under Section 1101.152(a)(16),
  1101.153, or 1101.154 or under an agreement authorized by Section
  1101.3521(d) shall be remitted to the state and deposited in the
  appropriate fund in the state treasury.
         (g)  Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, the
  commission shall remit $750,000 to the general revenue fund.
         (h)  The fiscal year for the commission begins on September 1
  and ends on August 31.
         Sec. 1101.083.  AUDITS. (a)  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.
         (b)  Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, the
  commission shall remit a nonrefundable retainer to the state
  auditor in an amount not less than $10,000.  The commission shall
  reimburse the state auditor for all costs incurred, in excess of the
  nonrefundable retainer amounts paid each fiscal year, 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. (a)  The office of the attorney
  general shall represent the commission in any litigation.
         (b)  Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, the
  commission shall remit a nonrefundable retainer to the office of
  the attorney general in an amount not less than $75,000.  The
  nonrefundable retainer shall be applied to any services provided to
  the commission.  If additional litigation services are required,
  the attorney general may assess and collect from the commission
  reasonable attorney's fees, in excess of the nonrefundable retainer
  amount paid each fiscal year, associated with any litigation under
  this section.
         Sec. 1101.088.  ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS. (a)  Not later
  than August 31 of each fiscal year, the commission shall remit a
  nonrefundable retainer to the State Office of Administrative
  Hearings in an amount of not less than $75,000 for hearings
  conducted under Section 1101.657 or 1101.705.
         (b)  The nonrefundable retainer shall be applied to the costs
  associated with conducting the hearings.  If additional costs are
  incurred, the State Office of Administrative Hearings may assess
  and collect from the commission reasonable fees, in excess of the
  nonrefundable retainer amount paid each fiscal year, associated
  with conducting a hearing under Section 1101.657 or 1101.705.
         Sec. 1101.089.  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. 1101.090.  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. 1101.091.  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.  Subsection (c), Section 1101.059, 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.  Subsection (d), Section 1101.101, 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.  (a)  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, the following amounts are
  appropriated out of the general revenue fund:
               (1)  for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2012,
  an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of general revenue
  appropriated to the agency for the state fiscal year ending August
  31, 2011; and
               (2)  for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2013,
  an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of general revenue
  appropriated to the agency for the state fiscal year ending August
  31, 2011.
         (b)  Subject to Subchapter B-1, Chapter 1101, Occupations
  Code, as added by this Act, the appropriations made by Subsection
  (a) of this section may be spent by the Texas Real Estate Commission
  as the commission directs.  The Texas Real Estate Commission shall
  repay to the general revenue fund the appropriation made to the
  commission for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2012, not
  later than that date and as funds become available.  The Texas Real
  Estate Commission shall repay to the general revenue fund the
  appropriation made to the commission for the state fiscal year
  ending August 31, 2013, not later than that date and 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.  Title to or ownership of all supplies,
  materials, records, equipment, books, papers, and furniture used by
  the Texas Real Estate Commission is transferred to the commission.
  This Act does not affect any property owned by the commission on or
  before the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 8.  The Texas Real Estate Commission shall relocate
  to state-owned office space not later than September 1, 2011, and
  shall pay rent to this state in a reasonable amount to be determined
  by the Texas Facilities Commission for the use and occupancy of the
  office space.  Aggregate rental payments may not be less than
  $550,000 per fiscal year for the state fiscal years ending August
  31, 2012, and August 31, 2013.  Aggregate rental payments may not be
  less than $425,000 per fiscal year for each state fiscal year ending
  August 31, 2014, August 31, 2015, and August 31, 2016.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.