By: Crownover (Senate Sponsor - Estes) H.B. No. 2549
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2011;
May 9, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Government Organization; May 19, 2011, reported adversely, with
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6,
Nays 0; May 19, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2549 By: Nelson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a state employee to authorize a
deduction from the employee's salary or wage payment for a
charitable contribution to certain entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 450 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 450. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADVANCE THE TEACHING OF TEXAS
HISTORY
Sec. 450.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. In this chapter
"charitable historical organization" means an entity that:
(1) is organized as a nonprofit organization;
(2) has its main office at an institution of higher
education, as that term is defined under Section 61.003, Education
Code; and
(3) maintains an established educational department
that provides:
(A) opportunities for students in this state to
study and work to preserve the history, heritage, and symbols of
this state; and
(B) training and resources to assist educators in
developing effective strategies to teach students about the
heritage, history, and symbols of this state.
Sec. 450.002. FUNDING. For the purposes of Subchapter I,
Chapter 659:
(1) a charitable historical organization is
considered an eligible charitable organization entitled to
participate in a state employee charitable campaign; and
(2) a state employee is entitled to authorize a
deduction for contributions to a charitable historical
organization as a charitable contribution under Section 659.132,
and the organization may use the contributions for the purpose of
administering and providing educational outreach programs
established by the organization.
SECTION 2. Sections 659.140 and 659.134, Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 659.140. STATE EMPLOYEE CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN POLICY
COMMITTEE. (a) The state employee charitable campaign policy
committee shall consist [consists] of 13 [not more than 10]
members.
(b) The governor with the advice and consent of the senate
shall [may] appoint four members who are state employees at the time
of their appointment and three members who are retired state
employees receiving benefits under Chapter 814 [not more than four
members]. The lieutenant governor and the comptroller may appoint
not more than three members each. An appointment to the committee
shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex,
religion, age, or national origin of the appointee. The state
policy committee shall elect a chairman biennially from its own
membership.
(c) A [Each] member of the state policy committee may not
receive compensation for serving on the committee and is not
entitled to reimbursement from state funds for expenses incurred in
performing functions as a member of the committee [must be a state
employee]. The membership must represent employees at different
levels of employee classification.
(d) A person may not be a member of the committee if the
person or the person's spouse is employed by or participates in the
management or sits on the board of any entity or organization
including any federation or fund that receives money through the
state employee charitable campaign [Appointments shall be made to
the state policy committee to ensure that the committee reflects
the race, ethnicity, and national origin of the residents of this
state].
(e) The state policy committee shall:
(1) establish local campaign areas based on
recommendations by the state advisory committee;
(2) select as the state campaign manager:
(A) a federated community campaign organization;
or
(B) [in the absence of an application by an
organization described by Paragraph (A),] a charitable
organization determined by the state policy committee to have
demonstrated the capacity to conduct a state campaign;
(3) determine the eligibility of a federation or fund
and its affiliated agencies for statewide participation in the
state employee charitable campaign;
(4) approve the recommended campaign plan, budget, and
generic materials to be used by campaign managers;
(5) oversee the state employee charitable campaign to
ensure that all campaign activities are conducted fairly and
equitably to promote unified solicitation on behalf of all
participants; and
(6) perform other duties prescribed by the
comptroller's rules.
(f) The state employee charitable campaign policy committee
is subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government Code.
(g) The state employee charitable campaign policy committee
is subject to the public information law, Chapter 552, Government
Code.
(h) Any contract entered into under Chapter 659, Subchapter
I must require the contracting vendor, institution, individual,
corporation, or other business or charitable entity to provide all
information maintained by the entity related to the expenditure of
public funds to the state employee charitable campaign policy
committee upon request.
(i) The state employee charitable campaign policy committee
is subject to the Texas Sunset Act. Unless continued in existence
as provided by that chapter, the committee is abolished and
Government Code Chapter 659, Subchapter I, and Sections 814.0095
and 814.0096 expire on September 1, 2013.
Sec. 659.134. DESIGNATION OF AN ELIGIBLE CHARITABLE
ORGANIZATION. (a) A state employee or retired state employee
receiving benefits under Chapter 814 who chooses to make a
deduction must [may] designate in the authorization an eligible
charitable organization to receive the deductions.
[(b) If a state employee does not designate an eligible
charitable organization, the employee's deductions shall be
distributed to each participating federation or fund and eligible
local charitable organization in the proportion that the deductions
designated for that charitable organization bear to the total of
designated deductions in the local state employee charitable
campaign.]
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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