82R4725 NC-F
By: Geren H.B. No. 1680
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to self-directed and semi-independent status of the Texas
Real Estate Commission; making an appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS OF
COMMISSION
Sec. 1101.081. SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission is
self-directed and semi-independent as specified by this
subchapter. Any Act of the 82nd Legislature that relates to the
commission and that is inconsistent with the commission being
self-directed and semi-independent may be implemented by the
administrator of the commission only on authorization by the
commission.
Sec. 1101.082. BUDGET, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES. (a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the General
Appropriations Act, the commission shall adopt a budget annually
using generally accepted accounting principles.
(b) The commission shall be responsible for all direct and
indirect costs of the commission's existence and operation. The
commission may not directly or indirectly cause the general revenue
fund to incur any cost.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the commission may set the amounts of fees, penalties, charges, and
revenues required or permitted by statute or rule as necessary for
the purpose of carrying out the functions of the commission and
funding the budget adopted and approved under Subsection (a).
(d) All fees and funds collected by the commission and any
funds appropriated to the commission shall be deposited in
interest-bearing deposit accounts in the Texas Treasury
Safekeeping Trust Company. The comptroller shall contract with the
commission for the maintenance of the deposit accounts under terms
comparable to a contract between a commercial banking institution
and the institution's customers.
(e) The fiscal year for the commission begins on September 1
and ends on August 31.
Sec. 1101.083. AUDITS. This subchapter does not affect the
duty of the state auditor to audit the commission. The state
auditor shall enter into a contract and schedule with the
commission to conduct audits. The commission shall reimburse the
state auditor for all costs incurred in performing the audits and
shall provide to the governor a copy of any audit performed.
Sec. 1101.084. RECORDS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) The
commission shall keep financial and statistical information as
necessary to disclose completely and accurately the financial
condition and results of operations of the commission.
(b) Before the beginning of each regular session of the
legislature, the commission 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 as required by Section 1101.083;
(2) a financial report of the previous fiscal year,
including reports on the 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 commission; 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 commission 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 all commission personnel and the
total amount of per diem expenses and travel expenses paid for all
commission employees;
(2) the total amount of per diem expenses and travel
expenses paid for each member of the commission;
(3) the commission's operating plan and annual budget;
and
(4) a detailed report of all revenue received and all
expenses incurred by the commission in the previous 12 months.
Sec. 1101.085. ABILITY TO CONTRACT. (a) To carry out and
promote the objectives of this chapter, the commission may enter
into contracts and do all other acts incidental to those contracts
that are necessary for the administration of the commission's
affairs and for the attainment of the commission's purposes, except
as limited by Subsection (b).
(b) Any indebtedness, liability, or obligation of the
commission incurred under this section may not:
(1) create a debt or other liability of this state or
another entity other than the commission; or
(2) create any personal liability on the part of the
members or employees of the commission.
Sec. 1101.086. PROPERTY. The commission 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 commission;
(2) sell or otherwise dispose of any real, personal,
or mixed property, or any interest in property, that the commission
determines is not necessary or convenient to the exercise of the
commission'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 commission; and
(4) borrow money, as may be authorized from time to
time by an affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the
commission, for a period not to exceed five years if necessary or
convenient to the exercise of the commission's powers, rights,
privileges, or functions.
Sec. 1101.087. SUITS. The office of the attorney general
shall represent the commission in any litigation. The attorney
general may assess and collect from the commission reasonable
attorney's fees associated with any litigation under this section.
Sec. 1101.088. POST-PARTICIPATION LIABILITY. (a) If the
commission no longer has status under this subchapter as a
self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason, the
commission shall be liable for any expenses or debts incurred by the
commission during the time the commission was a self-directed
semi-independent agency. The commission's liability under this
section includes liability for any lease entered into by the
commission. 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 commission no longer has status under this
subchapter as a self-directed semi-independent agency for any
reason, ownership of any property or other asset acquired by the
commission during the time the commission 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. 1101.089. DUE PROCESS; OPEN GOVERNMENT. The
commission 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. 1101.090. MEMBERSHIP IN EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
Employees of the commission are members of the Employees Retirement
System of Texas under Chapter 812, Government Code, and the
commission's transition to independent status as provided by this
chapter has no effect on their membership or any benefits under that
system.
SECTION 2. Section 1101.059(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A person appointed to the commission 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 3. Section 1101.101(d), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The commission shall determine the salaries of the
administrator, officers, and employees of the commission. [The
amounts of the salaries may not exceed the amounts specified by the
General Appropriations Act.]
SECTION 4. To provide a reasonable period for the Texas Real
Estate Commission to establish itself as a self-directed and
semi-independent agency under Subchapter B-1, Chapter 1101,
Occupations Code, as added by this Act, for the two-year period
following the effective date of this Act, the commission is
appropriated out of the general revenue fund an amount equal to 50
percent of the amount of general revenue appropriated to the
commission for the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011.
Subject to Section 1101.082, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act, this appropriation may be spent as the commission directs and
shall be repaid not later than August 31, 2016, to the general
revenue fund by the commission as funds become available.
SECTION 5. The transfer of the Texas Real Estate Commission
to self-directed and semi-independent status under Subchapter B-1,
Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, as added by 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 commission;
(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 commission in the
administration or enforcement of the commission's duties.
SECTION 6. The Texas Real Estate Commission shall continue
to have and exercise the powers and duties allocated to the
commission in the commission's enabling legislation, except as
specifically amended by this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.