BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1177
	By: Birdwell
	Natural Resources & Economic Development
	6/2/2021
	Enrolled

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

In 2018, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) managed meetings and dialogue among six agencies as a result of concerns contained in a Texas Sunset Advisory Commission (Sunset) recommendation to THC. The agencies included THC, the General Land Office (GLO), the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the State Preservation Board (SPB), and the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC). These collaborations led to two substantive reports to the Sunset Commission: State Joint Curatorial Facility Feasibility Report, which was the result of a first-time collaboration among the state agencies that share the stewardship of cultural collections owned by the State of Texas; and Response to the Sunset: Options for the Creation of a Searchable Public Catalog of Collections, which was developed following meetings with the same agencies and outlined options for searchable public catalog of state collections managed by these agencies.

There is a need for a centralized system to manage state-owned artifact collections and the creation of this task force is the next step in the process to address that need.

S.B. 1177 amends current law relating to the establishment of a task force to evaluate state-owned artifact collections.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. DEFINITION. Defines "task force."

SECTION 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. Provides that a task force is established to manage artifact collections owned by this state.

SECTION 3. TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP. (a) Provides that the task force is composed of representatives of the Texas Historical Commission (THC), the General Land Office, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the State Preservation Board, and the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC).

(b) Requires the executive director of each state agency represented on the task force to appoint an employee of the agency to serve as the agency's representative on the task force not later than October 1, 2021.

(c) Requires the member representing TFC to have engineering and architectural expertise.

SECTION 4. REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES. Provides that a member of the task force is not entitled to compensation for service on the task force but is entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred by the member while conducting the business of the task force as provided by the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 5. DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. Requires the task force, for each state agency represented on the task force to:

(1) evaluate the need for a separate collections facility for the agency and compare use of a separate collection facility to a secure centrally located joint collections facility with a processing laboratory for repair, cleaning, re-housing, and light conservation of state artifacts, including cost estimates for maintaining a separate collections facility for each agency compared to a joint collections facility;

(2) analyze the storage capacity for the agency's collections to determine whether the agency's collections facility is adequate for the agency's successful stewardship of its collections over the next five years and 10 years;

(3) review the option of establishing a disaster-secure collections facility with separate storage areas for each agency;

(4) review the recommendations in THC's December 2018 response to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission decisions on creating a searchable public catalog of state‑owned collections to determine cost estimates for implementing the recommendations and a process for implementing the recommendations; and

(5) assess any unmet need of the agency regarding state-owned collections as determined by the task force.

SECTION 6. REPORT. Requires the task force, not later than December 1, 2022, to report the task force's findings and determinations under Section 5 of this Act to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, and standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over the history and culture of this state.

SECTION 7. EXPIRATION. Provides that the task force is abolished and this Act expires September 1, 2023.

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. Effective date: September 1, 2021.