Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB795 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R2119 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Chisum, Cohen, Naishtat, Thompson, H.B. No. 795
3	3	Branch, et al.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Chapter 449 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 449. TEXAS HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE COMMISSION
13	13	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
14	14	Sec. 449.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Holocaust and
16	16	Genocide Commission.
17	17	(2) "Genocide" means any of the following acts
18	18	committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
19	19	ethnical, racial, or religious group as such:
20	20	(A) killing members of the group;
21	21	(B) causing serious bodily or mental harm to
22	22	members of the group;
23	23	(C) deliberately inflicting on the group
24	24	conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical
25	25	destruction in whole or in part;
26	26	(D) imposing measures intended to prevent births
27	27	within the group; or
28	28	(E) forcibly transferring children of the group
29	29	to another group.
30	30	(3) "Holocaust" means the killing of approximately six
31	31	million Jews and millions of other persons during World War II by
32	32	the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) and Nazi
33	33	collaborators as part of a state-sponsored, systematic program of
34	34	genocide and other actions of persecution, discrimination,
35	35	violence, or other human rights violations committed by the Nazis
36	36	and Nazi collaborators against those persons.
37	37	Sec. 449.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Holocaust and
38	38	Genocide Commission is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
39	39	Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the
40	40	commission is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2021.
41	41	Sec. 449.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
42	42	administratively attached to the office of the secretary of state.
43	43	Sec. 449.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
44	44	commission is composed of 18 members as follows:
45	45	(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
46	46	(A) five public members appointed by the
47	47	governor;
48	48	(B) five public members appointed by the
49	49	lieutenant governor; and
50	50	(C) five public members appointed by the speaker
51	51	of the house of representatives; and
52	52	(2) three ex officio members as follows:
53	53	(A) the commissioner of education;
54	54	(B) the commissioner of higher education; and
55	55	(C) the executive director of the Texas Veterans
56	56	Commission.
57	57	(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
58	58	designate a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall
59	59	designate a member of the senate to advise the commission.
60	60	Sec. 449.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
61	61	VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
62	62	commission must be a resident of this state.
63	63	(b) Public members of the commission must include:
64	64	(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of
65	65	or spokespersons for public or private organizations that serve
66	66	members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or social groups
67	67	that were subjected to the Holocaust or other genocides;
68	68	(2) persons who have significant professional
69	69	experience in the field of Holocaust or genocide education;
70	70	(3) persons who represent liberators of Holocaust or
71	71	other genocide victims; and
72	72	(4) persons who have demonstrated a significant,
73	73	particular interest in Holocaust or genocide education.
74	74	(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall
75	75	be made:
76	76	(1) without regard to the race, color, disability,
77	77	sex, religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
78	78	(2) so that each geographic area of this state is
79	79	represented on the commission.
80	80	(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any
81	81	vacancy in an appointed position on the commission for the
82	82	unexpired portion of the term.
83	83	Sec. 449.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION
84	84	OF REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
85	85	vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
86	86	ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service on
87	87	the commission.
88	88	(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
89	89	serve on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
90	90	designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee of
91	91	the state agency that employs the ex officio member.
92	92	Sec. 449.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
93	93	for removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
94	94	(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
95	95	449.005(a);
96	96	(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
97	97	the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the
98	98	member is appointed; or
99	99	(3) is absent from more than three consecutive
100	100	regularly scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible
101	101	to attend during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by
102	102	majority vote of the commission.
103	103	(b) The validity of an action of the commission is not
104	104	affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
105	105	commission member exists.
106	106	(c) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
107	107	potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
108	108	presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
109	109	presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
110	110	general that a potential ground for removal exists.
111	111	Sec. 449.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
112	112	of the commission serves a term of four years.
113	113	(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
114	114	term or part of a term.
115	115	(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
116	116	terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered to
117	117	have served a term only if the member has served more than half of
118	118	the term.
119	119	Sec. 449.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor
120	120	shall designate a public member of the commission as presiding
121	121	officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
122	122	(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
123	123	subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
124	124	commission under this chapter.
125	125	Sec. 449.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
126	126	of the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
127	127	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred by the member while
128	128	transacting commission business, as provided by the General
129	129	Appropriations Act.
130	130	(b) An ex officio member's service on the commission is an
131	131	additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
132	132	member for service on the commission. The entitlement of an ex
133	133	officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
134	134	expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
135	135	governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
136	136	underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
137	137	purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose and
138	138	is available to the state agency that the member serves in that
139	139	underlying position.
140	140	Sec. 449.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a)
141	141	The commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
142	142	in this state that the commission designates.
143	143	(b) Seven voting members of the commission constitute a
144	144	quorum for transacting commission business.
145	145	(c) An ex officio member of the commission may not vote on
146	146	commission business.
147	147	(d) The commission shall develop and implement policies
148	148	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
149	149	before the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction
150	150	of the commission.
151	151	Sec. 449.012. COORDINATOR. The office of the secretary of
152	152	state shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the
153	153	coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
154	154	[Sections 449.013-449.050 reserved for expansion]
155	155	SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
156	156	Sec. 449.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
157	157	implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
158	158	commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
159	159	the commission does not constitute a public office.
160	160	(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
161	161	Sec. 449.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a)
162	162	The commission shall:
163	163	(1) provide advice and assistance to public and
164	164	private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
165	165	education in this state regarding implementation of Holocaust and
166	166	genocide courses of study and awareness programs;
167	167	(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public
168	168	and private organizations, including service organizations, to
169	169	provide information on and to assist in planning, coordinating, or
170	170	modifying Holocaust and genocide courses of study and awareness
171	171	programs;
172	172	(3) determine which, if any, existing Holocaust or
173	173	other genocide memorials, exhibits, or other resources could be
174	174	included in or used to support Holocaust and genocide courses of
175	175	study and awareness programs;
176	176	(4) compile a list of volunteers, such as Holocaust or
177	177	other genocide survivors, liberators of concentration camps,
178	178	scholars, and members of the clergy, who have agreed to share, in
179	179	classrooms, seminars, exhibits, or workshops, their verifiable
180	180	knowledge and experiences regarding the Holocaust or other
181	181	genocide;
182	182	(5) coordinate events in this state memorializing the
183	183	Holocaust and other genocides on January 27, International
184	184	Holocaust Remembrance Day, on the Days of Remembrance established
185	185	by the United State Congress, or on any other day designated by the
186	186	commission for that purpose; and
187	187	(6) solicit volunteers to participate in
188	188	commemorative events designed to enhance public awareness of the
189	189	continuing significance of the Holocaust and other genocides.
190	190	(b) In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
191	191	contact and cooperate with:
192	192	(1) existing public or private Holocaust or other
193	193	genocide resource organizations, including the United States
194	194	Holocaust Memorial Museum;
195	195	(2) other museums, centers, and organizations based in
196	196	this state;
197	197	(3) state agencies that carry out the educational
198	198	functions of the state delegated under the Education Code,
199	199	including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education
200	200	Coordinating Board; and
201	201	(4) members of the United States Congress and of the
202	202	legislature of this state.
203	203	(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its
204	204	own procedures.
205	205	(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to
206	206	advise the commission.
207	207	Sec. 449.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts
208	208	and grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
209	209	in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
210	210	chapter.
211	211	(b) The secretary of state may provide staff and may support
212	212	functions and activities of the commission from money available to
213	213	the secretary of state that may be used for this purpose. The
214	214	legislature may also specifically appropriate money to the
215	215	secretary of state to provide staff and to otherwise support
216	216	functions and activities of the commission.
217	217	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
218	218	of this Act, appointments of public members shall be made to the
219	219	Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission as provided by Chapter 449,
220	220	Government Code, as added by this Act. Notwithstanding Section
221	221	449.008, Government Code, as added by this Act, the terms of initial
222	222	public members appointed to the Texas Holocaust and Genocide
223	223	Commission expire February 1, 2015.
224	224	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.