By: Parker H.B. No. 2493
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to self-directed and semi-independent status of the State
  Securities Board.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
  SECTION 1.1.  The Securities Act (Article 581-1 et seq., Vernon's
  Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Sections 44, 45, 46, 47,
  48, 49, 50, 51, and 52 to read as follows:
         Sec. 44.  SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS.
         (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State
  Securities Board is self-directed and semi-independent as
  specified by The Securities Act. Any Act of the 84th Legislature
  that relates to the agency and that is inconsistent with the agency
  being self-directed and semi-independent may be implemented by the
  Commissioner only on authorization by the Board.
         (b)  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the State
  Securities Board is subject to a provision of law that applies to
  state agencies, including:
               (1)  state purchasing requirements under Subtitle D,
  Title 10, Government Code;
               (2)  interagency transfer voucher requirements under
  Section 2155.327, Government Code;
               (3)  travel requirements under chapters 2171 and 2205,
  Government Code, using amounts provided by the General
  Appropriations Act to guide travel reimbursement rates; and
               (4)  prompt payment requirements under chapter 2251,
  Government Code.
         Sec. 45.  BUDGET, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES.
         (a)  The Commissioner shall submit to the Board a budget
  annually using generally accepted accounting principles.
  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the General
  Appropriations Act, the budget shall be adopted and approved only
  by the Board.
         (b)  The State Securities Board shall be responsible for all
  direct and indirect costs of the agency's existence and operation.
  The agency may not directly or indirectly cause the general revenue
  fund to incur any cost.
         (c)  Subject to any limitations in this Act, the Board may
  set the amounts of the respective fees, penalties, charges, and
  revenues required or permitted by statute or rule as necessary for
  the purpose of carrying out the functions of the agency and funding
  the budget adopted and approved under Subsection (a).
         (d)  Periodically, the Commissioner shall submit to the
  Board, as directed by the Board, a report of the receipts and
  expenditures of the agency.
         (e)  The fiscal year for the agency begins on September 1 and
  ends on August 31.
         (f)  All fees and funds collected by the agency under Section
  35.A and any funds appropriated to the agency shall be deposited in
  interest-bearing deposit accounts in the Texas Treasury
  Safekeeping Trust Company to be used exclusively to pay costs
  incurred by the State Securities Board in administering The
  Securities Act. The comptroller shall contract with the agency for
  the maintenance of the deposit accounts under terms comparable to a
  contract between a commercial banking institution and the
  institution's customers. The agency may not hold funds in an
  account that is not under the control of the comptroller.
         (g)  Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section,
  all other monies collected by the State Securities Board and any
  other funds belonging to or under the control of the State
  Securities Board shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
         (h)  If the Commissioner or Board determines that all or part
  of a registration fee should be refunded, the refund shall be made
  by warrant on the State Treasury from the fund into which the
  registration fee was deposited.
         (i)  The agency shall use the comptroller's uniform
  statewide accounting system under Chapter 2101 to make all
  payments, other than direct payments from the agency's account to
  the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company.
         Sec. 46.  RECORDS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
         (a)  The Commissioner shall keep financial and statistical
  information as necessary to disclose completely and accurately the
  financial condition and results of operations of the agency.
         (b)  Before the beginning of each regular session of the
  legislature, the Commissioner 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;
               (2)  a financial report of the previous fiscal year,
  including reports on 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 agency; 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 Commissioner 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 agency personnel and the total
  amount of per diem expenses and travel expenses paid for all agency
  employees, including trend performance data for the preceding five
  fiscal years;
               (2)  the total amount of per diem expenses and travel
  expenses paid for each member of the Board, including trend
  performance data for the preceding five fiscal years;
               (3)  the agency's operating plan covering a period of
  two fiscal years and operating budget, including revenues and a
  breakdown of expenditures by program and administrative expenses,
  showing:
                     (A)  projected budget data for a period of two
  fiscal years; and
                     (B)  trend performance data for the preceding five
  fiscal years regarding:
                           (1)  the number of full-time equivalent
  positions at the agency;
                           (2)  the number of complaints received from
  the public and the number of complaints initiated by agency staff;
                           (3)  the number of complaints dismissed and
  the number of complaints resolved by enforcement action;
                           (4)  the number of enforcement actions by
  sanction type;
                           (5)  the number of enforcement cases closed
  through voluntary compliance;
                           (6)  the amount of administrative penalties
  assessed and the rate of collection of assessed administrative
  penalties;
                           (7)  the number of enforcement cases that
  allege a threat to public health, safety, or welfare or a violation
  of professional standards of care and the disposition of those
  cases;
                           (8)  the average time to resolve a
  complaint;
                           (9)  the number of license holders or
  regulated persons broken down by type of license and license
  status, including inactive status or retired status;
                           (10)  the fee charged to issue and renew each
  type of license, certificate, permit, or other similar
  authorization issued by the agency;
                           (11)  the average time to issue a license;
                           (12)  litigation costs, broken down by
  administrative hearings, judicial proceedings, and outside counsel
  costs; and
                           (13)  reserve fund balances; and
               (4)  a detailed report of all revenue received and all
  expenses incurred by the agency in the previous 12 months.
         Sec. 47.  ABILITY TO CONTRACT.
         (a)  To carry out and promote the objectives of this Act, the
  Commissioner may enter into contracts and do all other acts
  incidental to those contracts that are necessary for the
  administration of the agency's affairs and for the attainment of
  the agency's purposes, except as limited by Subsection (b).
         (b)  Any indebtedness, liability, or obligation of the
  agency incurred under this section may not:
               (1)  create a debt or other liability of this state or
  another entity other than the agency; or
               (2)  create any personal liability on the part of the
  members of the Board or the agency's employees.
         Sec. 48.  PROPERTY. The agency 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 agency;
               (2)  sell or otherwise dispose of any real, personal,
  or mixed property, or any interest in property, that the
  Commissioner determines is not necessary or convenient to the
  exercise of the agency'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 agency; and
               (4)  borrow money, as may be authorized from time to
  time by an affirmative vote of a three-fifths majority of the Board,
  for a period not to exceed five years if necessary or convenient to
  the exercise of the agency's powers, rights, privileges, or
  functions.
         Sec. 49.  POST-PARTICIPATION LIABILITY.
         (a)  If the agency no longer has status under The Securities
  Act as a self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason, the
  agency shall be liable for any expenses or debts incurred by the
  agency during the time the agency was a self-directed
  semi-independent agency. The agency's liability under this section
  includes liability for any lease entered into by the agency. 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 agency no longer has status under The Securities
  Act as a self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason,
  ownership of any property or other asset acquired by the agency
  during the time the agency 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. 50.  DUE PROCESS; OPEN GOVERNMENT. The State Securities
  Board 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. 51.  MEMBERSHIP IN EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
  Employees of the State Securities Board are members of the
  Employees Retirement System of Texas under Chapter 812, Government
  Code, and the State Securities Board's transition to independent
  status as provided by this Act has no effect on their membership or
  any benefits under that system.
         Sec. 52.  GIFTS.
         (a)  Notwithstanding any other law, the Commissioner may not
  accept a gift, grant, or donation on behalf of the agency:
               (1)  from a party to an enforcement action; or
               (2)  to pursue a specific investigation or enforcement
  action.
         (b)  The Commissioner must:
               (1)  report each gift, grant, or donation that the
  agency receives as a separate item in the agency's report required
  under Section 47(b); and
               (2)  include with the report a statement indicating the
  purpose for which each gift, grant, or donation was donated and
  used.
  SECTION 1.2.  Section 2, The Securities Act (Article 581-2,
  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections
  D, G, K, and O to read as follows:
         D.  Each member of the Board is entitled to reimbursement for
  the travel expenses incurred per diem as set by legislative
  appropriation for each day that the member engages in the business
  of the Board.
               The Governor shall designate a member of the Board as
  the presiding officer of the Board to serve in that capacity at the
  will of the Governor. A majority of the members shall constitute a
  quorum for the transaction of any business.
         G.  The Board shall appoint a Securities Commissioner who
  serves at the pleasure of the Board and who shall, under the
  supervision of the Board, administer the provisions of this Act.
  The Board shall determine the salary of the Securities
  Commissioner. Each member of the Board shall have access to all
  offices and records under his supervision, and the Board, or a
  majority thereof, may exercise any power or perform any act
  authorized to the Securities Commissioner by the provisions of this
  Act.
         K.  The Commissioner or his designee shall develop an
  intraagency career ladder program, one part of which shall be the
  intraagency posting of all nonentry level positions for at least
  ten (10) days before any public posting. The Commissioner or his
  designee shall develop a system of annual performance evaluations
  based on measurable job tasks. All merit pay for Board employees
  must be based on the system established under this section. The
  Commissioner shall determine the number of Board employees and the
  salaries of those employees.
         O.  The State Securities Board is subject to Chapter 325,
  Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
  as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished and this Act
  expires September 1, 2019. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall
  examine the agency's performance as a self-directed and
  semi-independent agency as part of the commission's periodic review
  of the agency under Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset
  Act). The agency shall pay the cost incurred by the Sunset Advisory
  Commission in performing a review of the agency under the agency's
  enabling legislation. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall
  determine the cost, and the agency shall pay the amount promptly on
  receipt of a statement from the Sunset Advisory Commission
  detailing the cost.
  SECTION 1.3.  Subsection C of Section 2-3, The Securities Act
  (Article 581-2-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
  read as follows:
         C.  A person appointed to the Board 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 1.4.  Subsection A of Section 35, The Securities Act
  (Article 581-35, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
  as follows:
         A.  The Board shall establish the following fees to produce
  in amounts so that the aggregate amount that exceeds the amount of
  the fees on September 1, 2002, produces sufficient revenue to cover
  the costs of administering and enforcing this Act:
               (1)  for the filing of any original, amended, or
  renewal application to sell or dispose of securities, an amount not
  to exceed $100;
               (2)  for the filing of any original application of a
  dealer or investment adviser or for the submission of a notice
  filing for a federal covered investment adviser, an amount not to
  exceed $100;
               (3)  for the filing of any renewal application of a
  dealer or investment adviser or for the submission of a renewal
  notice filing for a federal covered investment adviser, an amount
  not to exceed $100;
               (4)  for the filing of any original application for
  each agent, officer, or investment adviser representative or for
  the submission of a notice filing for each representative of a
  federal covered investment adviser, an amount not to exceed $100;
  and
               (5)  for the filing of any renewal application for each
  agent, officer, or investment adviser representative or for the
  submission of a renewal notice filing for each representative of a
  federal covered investment adviser, an amount not to exceed $100.
  SECTION 1.5.  Subsections J and N of Section 2, The Securities Act
  (Article 581-2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), Subsections C and D
  of Section 35, The Securities Act (Article 581-35, Vernon's Texas
  Civil Statutes), and Section 36, The Securities Act (Article
  581-36, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) are repealed.
  SECTION 2.1.  To provide a reasonable period for the State
  Securities Board to establish itself as a self-directed and
  semi-independent agency, the following amounts are appropriated
  from the general revenue fund to the State Securities Board:
               (1)  for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2016,
  an amount equal to 50% of the amount of general revenue appropriated
  to the agency for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2015; and
               (2)  for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017,
  an amount equal to 50% of the amount of general revenue appropriated
  to the agency for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2015.
  SECTION 2.2.  Subject to Section 45, as added by this Act, the
  appropriations made in this Act may be spent by the State Securities
  Board to which they are made as the Commissioner directs. The agency
  shall repay to the general revenue fund the appropriation made to
  the agency for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2016, not
  later than that date and as funds become available. The agency shall
  repay to the general revenue fund the appropriation made to the
  agency for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017, not later
  than that date and as funds become available.
  SECTION 3.1. The transfer of the State Securities Board to
  self-directed and semi-independent status under 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 State Securities Board;
         (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 State Securities Board,
  Commissioner, or agency in the administration or enforcement of the
  agency's duties.
  SECTION 3.2.  The State Securities Board shall continue to have and
  exercise the powers and duties allocated to the agency in the
  agency's enabling legislation, except as specifically amended by
  this Act.
  SECTION 4.1.  Title to or ownership of all supplies, materials,
  records, equipment, books, papers, and furniture used by the State
  Securities Board is transferred to the State Securities Board in
  fee simple. This Act does not affect any property owned by the State
  Securities Board on or before the effective date of this section.
  SECTION 4.2.  Beginning September 1, 2015, the State Securities
  Board shall pay rent to this state in a reasonable amount to be
  determined by the Texas Facilities Commission for its use and
  occupancy of state-owned office space.
  SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.