81R5071 JAM-D
By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 2827
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the emergency housing division
within the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter BB to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER BB. EMERGENCY HOUSING DIVISION
Sec. 2306.621. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Division" means the emergency housing division.
(2) "Division director" means the executive director
of the division.
(3) "Emergency Housing Board" means the governing
board of the division.
Sec. 2306.622. EMERGENCY HOUSING DIVISION. The emergency
housing division shall:
(1) develop a program to restore housing to homeowners
affected by natural disasters;
(2) develop a program to provide additional rental
housing to areas affected by natural disasters;
(3) provide funding to nonprofit agencies that provide
counseling to homeowners on refinancing options and financial
assistance available through state and federal programs; and
(4) collaborate with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to secure reimbursement for housing needs in areas affected
by natural disasters.
Sec. 2306.623. EMERGENCY HOUSING BOARD. (a) The Emergency
Housing Board is an independent entity within the department, is
administratively attached to the department, and is not an advisory
body to the department.
(b) The Emergency Housing Board shall carry out the
functions and duties conferred on the Emergency Housing Board by
this subchapter and by other law.
Sec. 2306.624. EMERGENCY HOUSING BOARD MEMBERSHIP.
(a) The Emergency Housing Board consists of five public members
appointed by the governor.
(b) A person is eligible to be appointed as a public member
of the Emergency Housing Board if the person is a citizen of the
United States and a resident of this state.
(c) A person may not be a member of the Emergency Housing
Board if the person or the person's spouse:
(1) is registered, certified, or licensed by a
regulatory agency in the field of housing;
(2) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving money from the division;
(3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
organization regulated by or receiving money from the division; or
(4) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money from the division other than compensation
or reimbursement authorized by law for Emergency Housing Board
membership, attendance, or expenses.
(d) Appointments to the Emergency Housing Board shall be
made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion,
age, or national origin of the appointee.
Sec. 2306.625. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. (a) In this section,
"Texas trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily
joined association of business or professional competitors in this
state designed to assist its members and its industry or profession
in dealing with mutual business or professional problems and in
promoting their common interest.
(b) A person may not be a member of the Emergency Housing
Board and may not be a division employee employed in a "bona fide
executive, administrative, or professional capacity," as that
phrase is used for purposes of establishing an exemption to the
overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.), if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of housing; or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of housing.
(c) A person may not be a member of the Emergency Housing
Board or act as the general counsel to the Emergency Housing Board
or the division if the person is required to register as a lobbyist
under Chapter 305 because of the person's activities for
compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of
the division.
Sec. 2306.626. TERMS; VACANCY. (a) The members of the
Emergency Housing Board serve staggered six-year terms, with the
terms of one or two members expiring on January 31 of each
odd-numbered year.
(b) A person may not serve two consecutive full six-year
terms as a member of the Emergency Housing Board.
(c) If a vacancy occurs during a member's term, the governor
shall appoint a new member to fill the unexpired term.
Sec. 2306.627. PRESIDING OFFICER. The governor shall
designate a member of the Emergency Housing Board as the presiding
officer of the Emergency Housing Board to serve in that capacity at
the will of the governor.
Sec. 2306.628. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) It is a ground for
removal from the Emergency Housing Board that a member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Section 2306.624(b);
(2) does not maintain during service on the Emergency
Housing Board the qualifications required by Section 2306.624(b);
(3) is ineligible for membership under Section
2306.624(c) or 2306.625;
(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 Emergency Housing Board meetings that the member is
eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse
approved by a majority vote of the Emergency Housing Board.
(b) The validity of an action of the Emergency Housing Board
is not affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for
removal of an Emergency Housing Board member exists.
(c) If the division director has knowledge that a potential
ground for removal exists, the division director shall notify the
presiding officer of the Emergency Housing Board of the potential
ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the governor and
the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. If
the potential ground for removal involves the presiding officer,
the division director shall notify the next highest ranking officer
of the Emergency Housing Board, who shall then notify the governor
and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal
exists.
Sec. 2306.629. REIMBURSEMENT. An Emergency Housing Board
member may not receive compensation, but may be reimbursed for
actual travel expenses, including expenses for meals, lodging, and
transportation. An Emergency Housing Board member is entitled to
reimbursement for transportation expenses as provided by the
General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 2306.630. MEETINGS. (a) The Emergency Housing Board
shall have regular meetings as the majority of the members may
specify and special meetings at the request of the presiding
officer, any two members, or the division director.
(b) Reasonable notice of all meetings shall be given as
prescribed by Emergency Housing Board rules.
(c) The presiding officer shall preside at all meetings of
the Emergency Housing Board. In the absence of the presiding
officer, the members present shall select one of the members to
preside at the meeting.
Sec. 2306.631. TRAINING. (a) A person who is appointed to
and qualifies for office as a member of the Emergency Housing Board
may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at
a meeting of the Emergency Housing Board until the person completes
a training program that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) this subchapter;
(2) the programs operated by the division;
(3) the role and functions of the division;
(4) the rules of the division, with an emphasis on the
rules that relate to disciplinary and investigatory authority;
(5) the current budget for the division;
(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
division;
(7) the requirements of:
(A) the open meetings law, Chapter 551;
(B) the public information law, Chapter 552;
(C) the administrative procedure law, Chapter
2001; and
(D) other laws relating to public officials,
including conflict-of-interest laws; and
(8) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
division or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the Emergency Housing 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.
Sec. 2306.632. APPROPRIATIONS; DONATIONS. (a) The
legislature shall separately appropriate money to the Emergency
Housing Board within the appropriations to the department for all
matters relating to the operation of the division.
(b) The Emergency Housing Board may accept gifts and grants
of money or property under this subchapter and shall spend the money
and use the property for the purpose for which the donation was
made.
Sec. 2306.633. BUDGET; SHARING OF DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL,
EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES. (a) The Emergency Housing Board shall
develop a budget for the operations of the department relating to
the division.
(b) The Emergency Housing Board shall reduce administrative
costs by entering into an agreement with the department to enable
the sharing of department personnel, equipment, and facilities.
Sec. 2306.634. DIVISION DIRECTOR. (a) The Emergency
Housing Board shall employ the division director. The division
director is the Emergency Housing Board's chief executive and
administrative officer.
(b) The division director is charged with administering,
enforcing, and carrying out the functions and duties conferred on
the division director by this subchapter and by other law.
(c) The division director serves at the pleasure of the
Emergency Housing Board.
Sec. 2306.635. PERSONNEL. The division director may employ
staff as necessary to perform the work of the division and may
prescribe their duties and compensation. Subject to applicable
personnel policies and regulations, the division director may
remove any division employee.
Sec. 2306.636. SEPARATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES. The
Emergency Housing Board shall develop and implement policies that
clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the
Emergency Housing Board and the management responsibilities of the
division director and staff of the division.
Sec. 2306.637. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT. The division director
or the division director's designee shall provide to members of the
Emergency Housing Board and to division employees, as often as
necessary, information regarding the requirements for office or
employment under this subchapter, including information regarding
a person's responsibilities under applicable laws relating to
standards of conduct for state officers or employees.
Sec. 2306.638. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. (a) The
division director or the division director's designee shall prepare
and maintain a written policy statement that implements a program
of equal employment opportunity to ensure that all personnel
decisions are made without regard to race, color, disability, sex,
religion, age, or national origin.
(b) The policy statement must include:
(1) personnel policies, including policies relating
to recruitment, evaluation, selection, training, and promotion of
personnel, that show the intent of the division to avoid the
unlawful employment practices described by Chapter 21, Labor Code;
and
(2) an analysis of the extent to which the composition
of the division's personnel is in accordance with state and federal
law and a description of reasonable methods to achieve compliance
with state and federal law.
(c) The policy statement must:
(1) be updated annually;
(2) be reviewed by the Texas Workforce Commission for
compliance with Subsection (b)(1); and
(3) be filed with the governor's office.
Sec. 2306.639. STATE EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE PROGRAM. The
division director or the division director's designee shall provide
to division employees information and training on the benefits and
methods of participation in the state employee incentive program
under Subchapter B, Chapter 2108.
Sec. 2306.640. RULES. The Emergency Housing Board shall
adopt rules necessary to implement this subchapter and to
administer and enforce duties described by Section 2306.622,
including establishing:
(1) eligibility requirements for participation in the
programs required by Section 2306.622; and
(2) criteria for a nonprofit organization to receive
funding from the division.
Sec. 2306.641. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. The Emergency Housing
Board shall develop and implement policies that provide the public
with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the Emergency
Housing Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
the division.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.