By: Patrick, Nichols  S.B. No. 217
         (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2013; March 12, 2013, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Government Organization;
  April 3, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
  Nays 0; April 3, 2013, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the continuation and functions of the state employee
  charitable campaign.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subdivision (11), Section 659.131, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
               (11)  "Local campaign area" means an area established
  by the state policy committee under Section 659.140(e)(1)(A) [the
  county or counties] in which a local campaign is conducted as part
  of the [manager conducts a] state employee charitable campaign.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (g), Section 659.132, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (g)  An authorization must direct the comptroller to
  distribute the deducted funds to a participating federation or fund
  or a local charitable organization selected by the state policy
  committee [and a local campaign manager] as prescribed by rule.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 659.133, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Participation by a state employee in a state employee
  charitable campaign is voluntary.  The state [Each] campaign
  manager, any local employee committee or local campaign manager
  appointed by the state policy committee, each charitable
  organization, each state employee, and each state agency shall
  inform state employees that deductions are voluntary.
         SECTION 4.  Section 659.140, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (e) and adding Subsections (c-1)
  and (e-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  The state employee charitable campaign policy committee
  shall consist of nine [13] members.
         (b)  The governor with the advice and consent of the senate
  shall appoint two [four] members who are state employees at the time
  of their appointment and one member [three members] who is a [are]
  retired state employee [employees] receiving benefits under
  Chapter 814.  The lieutenant governor and the comptroller shall
  [may] appoint [not more than] three members each.  An appointment to
  the committee shall be made without regard to the race, color,
  disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the
  appointee.  The state policy committee shall elect a chair
  [chairman] biennially from its own membership.
         (c-1)  The governor, lieutenant governor, and comptroller
  shall attempt to appoint members to the state policy committee from
  institutions of higher education and a range of small, medium, and
  large state agencies.
         (e)  The state policy committee shall:
               (1)  establish the organization and structure of the
  state employee charitable campaign at the state and local levels,
  including:
                     (A)  establishing local campaign areas [based on
  recommendations by the state advisory committee];
                     (B)  appointing any local employee committees the
  state policy committee considers necessary to assist the state
  policy committee with evaluating applications from organizations
  that seek to participate in the state employee charitable campaign
  only in a local campaign area; and
                     (C)  appointing any local campaign managers the
  state policy committee considers necessary to administer the state
  employee charitable campaign in a local campaign area;
               (2)  develop a strategic plan for the state employee
  charitable campaign and make changes to improve the campaign as
  necessary;
               (3)  in coordination with the state campaign manager,
  post on the state employee charitable campaign Internet website
  annual summary information regarding the state employee charitable
  campaign's performance, including information about:
                     (A)  state employee participation;
                     (B)  the amount of donations pledged and
  collected;
                     (C)  the amount of donations pledged to and
  received by each charitable organization;
                     (D)  the total cost to administer the state
  employee charitable campaign; and
                     (E)  the balance of any surplus account maintained
  by the state policy committee;
               (4) [(2)]  select as the state campaign manager:
                     (A)  a federated community campaign organization;
  or
                     (B)  a charitable organization determined by the
  state policy committee to have demonstrated the capacity to conduct
  a state campaign;
               (5)  enter into a contract with the state campaign
  manager selected under Subdivision (4) for the administration of
  the state employee charitable campaign;
               (6) [(3)]  determine the eligibility of:
                     (A)  a federation or fund and its affiliated
  agencies for statewide participation in the state employee
  charitable campaign; and
                     (B)  if the state policy committee does not
  appoint a local employee committee, a charitable organization for
  participation in the state employee charitable campaign in a local
  campaign area;
               (7)  develop in coordination with the state campaign
  manager, review, and approve:
                     (A)  an annual [(4) approve the recommended]
  campaign plan;
                     (B)  an annual[,] budget, including:
                           (i)  costs related to contracting for the
  administration of the state employee charitable campaign at the
  state and local levels;
                           (ii)  costs related to changes or
  improvements to the state employee charitable campaign; and
                           (iii)  other costs determined and
  prioritized by the state policy committee; and
                     (C)  generic materials to be used for the [by]
  campaign [managers];
               (8) [(5)]  oversee the state employee charitable
  campaign to ensure that all:
                     (A)  campaign activities are conducted fairly and
  equitably to promote unified solicitation on behalf of all
  participants; and
                     (B)  donations are appropriately distributed by a
  federation or fund or a charitable organization that receives money
  from the state employee charitable campaign; and
               (9) [(6)]  perform other duties prescribed by the
  comptroller's rules.
         (e-1)  The comptroller shall provide administrative support
  to the state policy committee, including assistance in:
               (1)  developing and overseeing contracts;
               (2)  developing the budget of the state employee
  charitable campaign; and
               (3)  any other administrative function the state policy
  committee determines is necessary.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (c), Section 659.140, Government
  Code, as amended by Chapters 280 (H.B. 1608), 1249 (S.B. 1664), and
  1015 (H.B. 2549), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session,
  2011, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
         (c)  [A member of the state policy committee may not receive
  compensation for serving on the committee and is not entitled to
  reimbursement from state funds for expenses incurred in performing
  functions as a member of the committee.]  The state policy committee
  must:
               (1)  be composed of employees and retired state
  employees receiving benefits under Chapter 814; and
               (2)  in its membership, represent employees at
  different levels of employee classification.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter I, Chapter 659, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 659.1401 and 659.1402 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 659.1401.  GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM STATE POLICY
  COMMITTEE. (a)  It is a ground for removal from the state policy
  committee that a member:
               (1)  does not have at the time of taking office the
  qualifications required by Section 659.140;
               (2)  does not maintain during service on the state
  policy committee the qualifications required by Section 659.140;
               (3)  is ineligible for membership under Section
  659.140;
               (4)  cannot, because of illness or disability,
  discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
  term; or
               (5)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
  scheduled state policy committee meetings that the member is
  eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse
  approved by a majority vote of the state policy committee.
         (b)  The validity of an action of the state policy committee
  is not affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for
  removal of a state policy committee member exists.
         (c)  If the chair of the state policy committee has knowledge
  that a potential ground for removal exists, the chair shall notify
  the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
  removal exists.  If the potential ground for removal involves the
  chair, another member of the state policy committee shall notify
  the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
  removal exists.
         Sec. 659.1402.  TRAINING FOR STATE POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
  (a)  A person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a
  member of the state policy committee may not vote, deliberate, or be
  counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of the state policy
  committee until the person completes a training program that
  complies with this section.
         (b)  The training program must provide the person with
  information regarding:
               (1)  the legislation that created the state employee
  charitable campaign;
               (2)  the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
  state employee charitable campaign;
               (3)  the results of the most recent formal audit of the
  state employee charitable campaign;
               (4)  the requirements of laws relating to open
  meetings, public information, administrative procedure, and
  conflicts of interest; and
               (5)  any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
  Texas Ethics Commission or adopted for the state employee
  charitable campaign by the state policy committee.
         SECTION 7.  Section 659.141, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 659.141.  STATE CAMPAIGN MANAGER. The state campaign
  manager shall:
               (1)  assist the state policy committee to:
                     (A)  develop a campaign plan;
                     (B)  develop [(2)  prepare] a [statewide]
  campaign budget [in cooperation with local campaign managers]; and
                     (C) [(3)]  prepare generic materials to be used
  for the campaign [by campaign managers];
               (2) [(4)]  coordinate and facilitate campaign services
  to state employees throughout the state;
               (3) [(5)]  ensure that all state employee charitable
  campaign activities are conducted fairly and equitably to promote
  unified solicitation on behalf of all participants; [and]
               (4) [(6)]  perform other duties prescribed by the
  comptroller's rules; and
               (5)  perform other duties required by the contract with
  the state policy committee.
         SECTION 8.  Subsections (b) and (e), Section 659.142,
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  [Four members must represent campaign managers.]  Four
  members must represent statewide or local federations or funds
  [that are not campaign managers].  Four members must represent
  other charitable organizations participating in the state employee
  charitable campaign.
         (e)  The state advisory committee shall:
               (1)  advise the comptroller and state policy committee
  in adopting rules and establishing procedures for the operation and
  management of the state employee charitable campaign; and
               (2)  provide input from charitable organizations
  participating in the state employee charitable campaign to the
  state policy committee [recommend the number, not to exceed 50, and
  geographic scope of local campaign areas to the state policy
  committee; and
               [(3)     review and submit the recommended campaign plan,
  budget, and generic materials to be used by campaign managers].
         SECTION 9.  Section 659.145, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 659.145.  TERMS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS; COMPENSATION.
  (a)  A member of the state advisory committee[, the state policy
  committee, or a local employee committee] serves a two-year term.
         (a-1)  Members of the state policy committee serve staggered
  terms of two years, with the terms of four or five members expiring
  September 1 of each year.
         (b)  A member of the state advisory committee, the state
  policy committee, or a local employee committee appointed by the
  state policy committee may not receive compensation for serving on
  the committee and is not entitled to reimbursement from state funds
  for expenses incurred in performing functions as a member of the
  committee.
         SECTION 10.  Section 659.146, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read
  as follows:
         (e)  An appeal from a decision of the state policy committee
  shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the committee. The
  appeals process must permit a charitable organization that is not
  approved for statewide participation to apply for participation in
  the [a local] state employee charitable campaign only in a local
  campaign area.
         (f)  The state policy committee shall develop guidelines for
  evaluation of applications based on eligibility criteria under this
  section and Section 659.150.  The state policy committee shall make
  the guidelines publicly available.
         (g)  A federation or organization that participated in the
  state employee charitable campaign before June 20, 2003, is not
  barred from participation in the program, both in terms of actual
  participation and the purposes for which the contributions are
  used, solely as a result of changes made by Sections 35, 36, 37, and
  121(9) and (11), Chapter 1310 (H.B. 2425), Acts of the 78th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2003.  This subsection does not
  excuse a federation or organization from compliance with any other
  law, rule, or state policy.
         SECTION 11.  Section 659.147, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 659.147.  ELIGIBILITY OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS FOR
  LOCAL PARTICIPATION. (a)  A charitable organization that seeks to
  participate [local participation] in the [a] state employee
  charitable campaign only in a local campaign area must apply to the
  state policy committee [appropriate local employee committee]
  during the annual eligibility determination period specified by the
  state policy committee.
         (b)  The state policy committee, with assistance of any
  applicable local employee committee appointed by the state policy
  committee, shall review each application and may approve a
  charitable organization for [local] participation only in a local
  campaign area only if the organization qualifies as a local
  charitable organization and is:
               (1)  an unaffiliated local organization; or
               (2)  a federation or fund or an affiliate of a
  federation or fund that is not approved for statewide
  participation.
         (c)  An affiliated organization of an eligible federation or
  fund that does not qualify as a statewide charitable organization
  under Section 659.146 because it does not provide services in two or
  more noncontiguous standard metropolitan statistical areas may
  apply to the state policy committee [a local employee committee]
  for participation in the [a local] state employee charitable
  campaign only in a local campaign area.
         (d)  An appeal from a decision of the state policy committee
  regarding the eligibility of an organization to participate in the
  state employee charitable campaign only in a local campaign area [a
  local employee committee] shall be conducted in the manner
  prescribed by the state policy committee.
         (e)  The state policy committee shall develop guidelines for
  evaluation of applications based on eligibility criteria under this
  section and Section 659.150.  The state policy committee shall make
  the guidelines publicly available.
         SECTION 12.  Section 659.148, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1)
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The state [A] campaign manager or any local campaign
  manager appointed by the state policy committee may not charge a fee
  to the comptroller, a state agency, or a state employee for the
  services the state campaign manager or local campaign manager 
  provides in connection with a state employee charitable campaign.
         (b)  The state [A] campaign manager may charge a reasonable
  and necessary fee for actual campaign expenses to the participating
  charitable organizations in the same proportion that the
  contributions to that charitable organization bear to the total of
  contributions in the state employee charitable campaign.
         (b-1)  If the state policy committee appoints a local
  campaign manager to administer the state employee charitable
  campaign in a local campaign area, the state policy committee may
  authorize the local campaign manager to charge a reasonable and
  necessary fee in the same manner provided for the state campaign
  manager under Subsection (b).
         (c)  Fees [A fee] under Subsections [Subsection] (b) and
  (b-1) must be based on the combined expenses of the state campaign
  manager and any [each] local campaign managers appointed by the
  state policy committee [manager] and may not exceed 10 percent of
  the total amount collected in the state employee charitable
  campaign unless the state policy committee approves a higher amount
  to accommodate reasonable documented costs.
         SECTION 13.  Section 659.151, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1)
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The state policy committee may request the comptroller
  or state auditor to audit a participating charitable organization,
  the state [a] campaign manager, or a local employee committee or
  local campaign manager appointed by the state policy committee that
  the state policy committee reasonably believes has misapplied
  contributions under this subchapter.
         (a-1)  At the request of the state policy committee, the
  comptroller shall audit a participating charitable organization's
  distributions of money received from the state employee charitable
  campaign.
         (b)  If an audit under this section reveals gross negligence
  or intentional misconduct on the part of the state [a] campaign
  manager or a local employee committee or local campaign manager
  appointed by the state policy committee, the state policy committee
  shall remove the campaign manager or local employee committee. A
  person removed under this subsection is not eligible to serve in the
  capacity from which the person was removed before the fifth
  anniversary of the date the person was removed.
         (c)  If an audit under this section reveals intentional
  misconduct on the part of the state [a] campaign manager, [or] a
  local employee committee or local campaign manager appointed by the
  state policy committee, or a participating charitable organization
  that has distributed money received from the state employee
  charitable campaign, the state policy committee shall forward its
  findings to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
         SECTION 14.  Section 659.153, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 659.153.  LEGAL REPRESENTATION. The attorney general
  shall represent the state policy committee and any [each] local
  employee committee appointed by the state policy committee in all
  legal matters.
         SECTION 15.  Subdivisions (1), (12), and (14), Section
  659.131, Subsection (i), Section 659.140, and Sections 659.143 and
  659.144, Government Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 16.  (a)  Section 18.01, Chapter 3 (House Bill No.
  7), Acts of the 78th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2003, is
  repealed.
         (b)  Each federation or charitable organization is subject
  to Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section 659.146, Government
  Code.
         (c)  Subsections (a) and (b) of this section and Subsection
  (g), Section 659.146, Government Code, as added by this Act, apply
  only to the eligibility of a charitable organization to participate
  in, and the use of contributions from, a state employee charitable
  campaign conducted on or after January 1, 2014.
         (d)  This section and Subsection (g), Section 659.146,
  Government Code, as added by this Act, take effect January 1, 2014.
         SECTION 17.  (a)  The term of each member of the state
  employee charitable campaign policy committee expires September 1,
  2013.
         (b)  Not later than September 2, 2013:
               (1)  the governor shall appoint one member who is a
  state employee and one member who is a retired state employee
  receiving benefits under Chapter 814, Government Code, the
  lieutenant governor shall appoint one member, and the comptroller
  of public accounts shall appoint one member to the state employee
  charitable campaign policy committee for terms expiring September
  1, 2014; and
               (2)  the governor shall appoint one member who is a
  state employee, the lieutenant governor shall appoint two members,
  and the comptroller of public accounts shall appoint two members to
  the state employee charitable campaign policy committee for terms
  expiring September 1, 2015.
         SECTION 18.  Not later than December 31, 2013, the
  comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules necessary to
  implement the changes in law made by this Act.
         SECTION 19.  Any changes made by the state employee
  charitable campaign policy committee to the operation of the state
  employee charitable campaign under Subsection (e), Section
  659.140, Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
  state employee charitable campaign conducted on or after January 1,
  2014.
         SECTION 20.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
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