Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB482 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R2119 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Ellis, Shapiro S.B. No. 482
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Chapter 449 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 449. TEXAS HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE COMMISSION
12	12	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
13	13	Sec. 449.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Holocaust and
15	15	Genocide Commission.
16	16	(2) "Genocide" means any of the following acts
17	17	committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
18	18	ethnical, racial, or religious group as such:
19	19	(A) killing members of the group;
20	20	(B) causing serious bodily or mental harm to
21	21	members of the group;
22	22	(C) deliberately inflicting on the group
23	23	conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical
24	24	destruction in whole or in part;
25	25	(D) imposing measures intended to prevent births
26	26	within the group; or
27	27	(E) forcibly transferring children of the group
28	28	to another group.
29	29	(3) "Holocaust" means the killing of approximately six
30	30	million Jews and millions of other persons during World War II by
31	31	the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) and Nazi
32	32	collaborators as part of a state-sponsored, systematic program of
33	33	genocide and other actions of persecution, discrimination,
34	34	violence, or other human rights violations committed by the Nazis
35	35	and Nazi collaborators against those persons.
36	36	Sec. 449.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Holocaust and
37	37	Genocide Commission is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
38	38	Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the
39	39	commission is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2021.
40	40	Sec. 449.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
41	41	administratively attached to the office of the secretary of state.
42	42	Sec. 449.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
43	43	commission is composed of 18 members as follows:
44	44	(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
45	45	(A) five public members appointed by the
46	46	governor;
47	47	(B) five public members appointed by the
48	48	lieutenant governor; and
49	49	(C) five public members appointed by the speaker
50	50	of the house of representatives; and
51	51	(2) three ex officio members as follows:
52	52	(A) the commissioner of education;
53	53	(B) the commissioner of higher education; and
54	54	(C) the executive director of the Texas Veterans
55	55	Commission.
56	56	(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
57	57	designate a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall
58	58	designate a member of the senate to advise the commission.
59	59	Sec. 449.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
60	60	VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
61	61	commission must be a resident of this state.
62	62	(b) Public members of the commission must include:
63	63	(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of
64	64	or spokespersons for public or private organizations that serve
65	65	members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or social groups
66	66	that were subjected to the Holocaust or other genocides;
67	67	(2) persons who have significant professional
68	68	experience in the field of Holocaust or genocide education;
69	69	(3) persons who represent liberators of Holocaust or
70	70	other genocide victims; and
71	71	(4) persons who have demonstrated a significant,
72	72	particular interest in Holocaust or genocide education.
73	73	(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall
74	74	be made:
75	75	(1) without regard to the race, color, disability,
76	76	sex, religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
77	77	(2) so that each geographic area of this state is
78	78	represented on the commission.
79	79	(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any
80	80	vacancy in an appointed position on the commission for the
81	81	unexpired portion of the term.
82	82	Sec. 449.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION
83	83	OF REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
84	84	vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
85	85	ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service on
86	86	the commission.
87	87	(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
88	88	serve on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
89	89	designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee of
90	90	the state agency that employs the ex officio member.
91	91	Sec. 449.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
92	92	for removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
93	93	(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
94	94	449.005(a);
95	95	(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
96	96	the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the
97	97	member is appointed; or
98	98	(3) is absent from more than three consecutive
99	99	regularly scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible
100	100	to attend during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by
101	101	majority vote of the commission.
102	102	(b) The validity of an action of the commission is not
103	103	affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
104	104	commission member exists.
105	105	(c) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
106	106	potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
107	107	presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
108	108	presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
109	109	general that a potential ground for removal exists.
110	110	Sec. 449.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
111	111	of the commission serves a term of four years.
112	112	(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
113	113	term or part of a term.
114	114	(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
115	115	terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered to
116	116	have served a term only if the member has served more than half of
117	117	the term.
118	118	Sec. 449.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor
119	119	shall designate a public member of the commission as presiding
120	120	officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
121	121	(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
122	122	subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
123	123	commission under this chapter.
124	124	Sec. 449.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
125	125	of the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
126	126	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred by the member while
127	127	transacting commission business, as provided by the General
128	128	Appropriations Act.
129	129	(b) An ex officio member's service on the commission is an
130	130	additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
131	131	member for service on the commission. The entitlement of an ex
132	132	officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
133	133	expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
134	134	governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
135	135	underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
136	136	purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose and
137	137	is available to the state agency that the member serves in that
138	138	underlying position.
139	139	Sec. 449.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a)
140	140	The commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
141	141	in this state that the commission designates.
142	142	(b) Seven voting members of the commission constitute a
143	143	quorum for transacting commission business.
144	144	(c) An ex officio member of the commission may not vote on
145	145	commission business.
146	146	(d) The commission shall develop and implement policies
147	147	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
148	148	before the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction
149	149	of the commission.
150	150	Sec. 449.012. COORDINATOR. The office of the secretary of
151	151	state shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the
152	152	coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
153	153	[Sections 449.013-449.050 reserved for expansion]
154	154	SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
155	155	Sec. 449.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
156	156	implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
157	157	commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
158	158	the commission does not constitute a public office.
159	159	(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
160	160	Sec. 449.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a)
161	161	The commission shall:
162	162	(1) provide advice and assistance to public and
163	163	private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
164	164	education in this state regarding implementation of Holocaust and
165	165	genocide courses of study and awareness programs;
166	166	(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public
167	167	and private organizations, including service organizations, to
168	168	provide information on and to assist in planning, coordinating, or
169	169	modifying Holocaust and genocide courses of study and awareness
170	170	programs;
171	171	(3) determine which, if any, existing Holocaust or
172	172	other genocide memorials, exhibits, or other resources could be
173	173	included in or used to support Holocaust and genocide courses of
174	174	study and awareness programs;
175	175	(4) compile a list of volunteers, such as Holocaust or
176	176	other genocide survivors, liberators of concentration camps,
177	177	scholars, and members of the clergy, who have agreed to share, in
178	178	classrooms, seminars, exhibits, or workshops, their verifiable
179	179	knowledge and experiences regarding the Holocaust or other
180	180	genocide;
181	181	(5) coordinate events in this state memorializing the
182	182	Holocaust and other genocides on January 27, International
183	183	Holocaust Remembrance Day, on the Days of Remembrance established
184	184	by the United State Congress, or on any other day designated by the
185	185	commission for that purpose; and
186	186	(6) solicit volunteers to participate in
187	187	commemorative events designed to enhance public awareness of the
188	188	continuing significance of the Holocaust and other genocides.
189	189	(b) In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
190	190	contact and cooperate with:
191	191	(1) existing public or private Holocaust or other
192	192	genocide resource organizations, including the United States
193	193	Holocaust Memorial Museum;
194	194	(2) other museums, centers, and organizations based in
195	195	this state;
196	196	(3) state agencies that carry out the educational
197	197	functions of the state delegated under the Education Code,
198	198	including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education
199	199	Coordinating Board; and
200	200	(4) members of the United States Congress and of the
201	201	legislature of this state.
202	202	(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its
203	203	own procedures.
204	204	(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to
205	205	advise the commission.
206	206	Sec. 449.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts
207	207	and grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
208	208	in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
209	209	chapter.
210	210	(b) The secretary of state may provide staff and may support
211	211	functions and activities of the commission from money available to
212	212	the secretary of state that may be used for this purpose. The
213	213	legislature may also specifically appropriate money to the
214	214	secretary of state to provide staff and to otherwise support
215	215	functions and activities of the commission.
216	216	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
217	217	of this Act, appointments of public members shall be made to the
218	218	Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission as provided by Chapter 449,
219	219	Government Code, as added by this Act. Notwithstanding Section
220	220	449.008, Government Code, as added by this Act, the terms of initial
221	221	public members appointed to the Texas Holocaust and Genocide
222	222	Commission expire February 1, 2015.
223	223	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.