By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1613
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the abolition of the Office of State-Federal Relations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 37.012, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The office of the governor [Office of State-Federal
Relations] shall assist a local juvenile probation department in
identifying additional state or federal funds to assist local
juvenile probation departments conducting educational or job
training programs within juvenile justice alternative education
programs.
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 401, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.106 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.106. CONTRACTS FOR LOCATION OF STATE AGENCY STAFF.
The governor may enter into a contract with a state agency to locate
staff of the agency in Washington, D.C. A contract entered into
under this section must include provisions under which the state
agency's staff:
(1) report directly to that agency's administrative
head or the presiding officer of that agency's governing body;
(2) have an officially recognized role in that
agency's budget planning process; and
(3) provide periodic updates of the staff's activities
at meetings of that agency's governing body.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 421.021, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Homeland Security Council is composed of the
governor or the governor's designee, the speaker of the house of
representatives or the speaker's designee, the lieutenant governor
or the lieutenant governor's designee, and one representative of
each of the following entities, appointed by the single statewide
elected or appointed governing officer, administrative head, or
chair, as appropriate, of the entity:
(1) Department of Agriculture;
(2) office of the attorney general;
(3) General Land Office;
(4) Public Utility Commission of Texas;
(5) Department of State Health Services;
(6) Department of Information Resources;
(7) Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas;
(8) Texas Division of Emergency Management;
(9) adjutant general's department;
(10) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(11) Railroad Commission of Texas;
(12) Texas Strategic Military Planning Commission;
(13) Texas Department of Transportation;
(14) Commission on State Emergency Communications;
(15) [Office of State-Federal Relations;
[(16)] secretary of state;
(16) [(17)] Senate Committee on Transportation and
Homeland Security;
(17) [(18)] House Committee on Defense and Veterans'
Affairs;
(18) [(19)] Texas Animal Health Commission;
(19) [(20)] Texas Association of Regional Councils;
(20) [(21)] Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education;
(21) [(22)] state fire marshal's office;
(22) [(23)] Texas Education Agency;
(23) [(24)] Texas Commission on Fire Protection;
(24) [(25)] Parks and Wildlife Department;
(25) [(26)] Texas Forest Service; and
(26) [(27)] Texas Water Development Board.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 493.013, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The board shall require the committee to:
(1) maximize federal grant and entitlement funding
available to the state;
(2) submit biennially to the board a detailed report
that includes information on all federal grants and entitlements
identified and applied for by the committee and the results of the
applications; and
(3) work in conjunction with the governor's office and
the Health and [Office of State-Federal Relations and the Texas
Department of] Human Services Commission to investigate the
applicability of:
(A) the national school lunch program to inmates
who are pursuing a primary or secondary education while confined in
the institutional division; and
(B) the food stamp program administered under
Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, to inmates who are confined and
treated in substance abuse felony punishment facilities.
SECTION 5. Subsection (b), Section 535.051, Government
Code, as amended by Chapters 298 (H.B. 1965) and 1176 (H.B. 3278),
Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, is reenacted
and amended to read as follows:
(b) The chief administrative officer of each of the
following state agencies, in consultation with the governor, shall
designate one employee from the agency to serve as a liaison for
faith- and community-based organizations:
(1) the Texas Department of Rural Affairs;
(2) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(3) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
(4) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs;
(5) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department [Probation
Commission];
(6) the Texas Veterans Commission;
(7) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(8) [the Texas Youth Commission;
[(10)] the office of the governor;
(9) [(11)] the Department of Public Safety;
(10) [(12)] the Texas Department of Insurance;
(11) [(13)] the Public Utility Commission of Texas;
(12) [(14)] the office of the attorney general;
(13) [(15)] the Department of Agriculture;
(14) [(16)] the office of the comptroller;
(15) [(17)] the Department of Information Resources;
(16) [(18) the Office of State-Federal Relations;
[(19)] the office of the secretary of state; and
(17) [(20)] other state agencies as determined by the
governor.
SECTION 6. Section 772.0101, Government Code, as added by
Chapter 1215 (H.B. 925), Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2005, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 772.0101. BORDER INSPECTION, TRADE, AND
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The border commerce
coordinator shall establish and appoint the members of the Border
Inspection, Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee. The
members must include representatives of the Texas Department of
Transportation, the Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas, [the Office of State-Federal Relations,] the United States
Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, and other representatives of state and federal
agencies involved in border crossing issues. Chapter 2110 does not
apply to the size, composition, or duration of the Border
Inspection, Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee.
(b) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee
and the interagency work group established under Section 772.011
to:
(1) identify problems involved with border truck
inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure;
and
(2) develop recommendations for addressing those
problems.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee
and appropriate agencies of Texas, the United States, and Mexico to
develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of entry at the
Mexican border by conducting in Mexico inspections of trucks
entering Texas. In developing the initiatives, the coordinator
shall give consideration to similar initiatives proposed or
implemented at the border of the United States and Canada.
(d) The coordinator shall report quarterly to the presiding
officer of each house of the legislature on the findings and
recommendations of the advisory committee.
SECTION 7. Subsection (b), Section 772.011, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The work group is composed of the heads of the following
agencies or their designees:
(1) the Texas Department of Rural Affairs;
(2) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs;
(3) the Texas Water Development Board;
(4) the Texas Department of Transportation;
(5) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(6) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(7) the Department of State Health Services;
(8) the Health and Human Services Commission;
(9) the General Land Office;
(10) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
Office;
(11) [the Office of State-Federal Relations;
[(12)] the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(12) [(13)] the attorney general's office;
(13) [(14)] the secretary of state's office;
(14) [(15)] the Department of Public Safety; and
(15) [(16)] the Railroad Commission of Texas.
SECTION 8. Subsection (d), Section 775.002, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The following agencies shall designate an officer or
employee of the agency to serve as the agency's liaison for colonia
initiatives:
(1) the office of the attorney general;
(2) the Department of State Health Services;
(3) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs;
(4) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(5) the Texas Water Development Board;
(6) the Texas Department of Rural Affairs;
(7) [the Office of State-Federal Relations;
[(8)] the Texas Department of Insurance; and
(8) [(9)] the Texas Department of Transportation.
SECTION 9. Subsection (b), Section 361.423, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission and the comptroller, on an ongoing basis,
shall jointly:
(1) identify existing economic and regulatory
incentives and disincentives for creating an optimal market
development strategy;
(2) analyze or take into consideration the market
development implications of:
(A) the state's waste management policies and
regulations;
(B) existing and potential markets for plastic,
glass, paper, lead-acid batteries, tires, compost, scrap gypsum,
coal combustion by-products, and other recyclable materials; and
(C) the state's tax structure and overall
economic base;
(3) examine and make policy recommendations regarding
the need for changes in or the development of:
(A) economic policies that affect
transportation, such as those embodied in freight rate schedules;
(B) tax incentives and disincentives;
(C) the availability of financial capital
including grants, loans, and venture capital;
(D) enterprise zones;
(E) managerial and technical assistance;
(F) job-training programs;
(G) strategies for matching market supply and
market demand for recyclable materials, including intrastate and
interstate coordination;
(H) the state recycling goal;
(I) public-private partnerships;
(J) research and development;
(K) government procurement policies;
(L) educational programs for the public,
corporate and regulated communities, and government entities; and
(M) public health and safety regulatory
policies;
(4) establish a comprehensive statewide strategy to
expand markets for recycled products in Texas;
(5) provide information and technical assistance to
small and disadvantaged businesses, business development centers,
chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and nonprofit
associations on market opportunities in the area of recycling; and
(6) with the cooperation of the office of the governor
[Office of State-Federal Relations], assist communities and
private entities in identifying state and federal grants pertaining
to recycling and solid waste management.
SECTION 10. Subsection (d), Section 132.001, Human
Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) The governor shall submit the agenda to the Texas
congressional delegation [and to the Office of State-Federal
Relations] and shall annually amend the agenda and rank agenda
items. The agenda must identify issues of federal law, rules and
regulations, or programs of common concern to different state
agencies and programs.
SECTION 11. Subsection (c), Section 344.152, Local
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The board may seek the assistance of the office of the
governor [Office of State-Federal Relations] in identifying and
applying for federal grants for fire control, prevention, and
emergency medical services programs.
SECTION 12. Subsection (c), Section 363.152, Local
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The board may seek the assistance of the office of the
governor [Office of State-Federal Relations] in identifying and
applying for federal grants for criminal justice programs. The
board shall notify the appropriate council of government of any
intent to submit applications for federal funds and for inclusion
in the regional criminal justice planning process.
SECTION 13. Subsection (b), Section 201.053,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The chair shall:
(1) preside over commission meetings, make rulings on
motions and points of order, and determine the order of business;
(2) represent the department in dealing with the
governor;
(3) report to the commission the governor's
suggestions for department operations;
(4) designate one or more employees of the department
as a civil rights division of the department and receive regular
reports from the division on the department's efforts to comply
with civil rights legislation and administrative rules;
(5) create subcommittees, appoint commissioners to
subcommittees, and receive the reports of subcommittees to the
commission as a whole;
(6) appoint a commissioner to act in the chair's
absence; and
(7) serve as the departmental liaison with the
governor [and the Office of State-Federal Relations] to maximize
federal funding for transportation.
SECTION 14. Subsection (b), Section 1001.023,
Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The chair shall:
(1) preside over board meetings, make rulings on
motions and points of order, and determine the order of business;
(2) represent the department in dealing with the
governor;
(3) report to the governor on the state of affairs of
the department at least quarterly;
(4) report to the board the governor's suggestions for
department operations;
(5) report to the governor on efforts, including
legislative requirements, to maximize the efficiency of department
operations through the use of private enterprise;
(6) periodically review the department's
organizational structure and submit recommendations for structural
changes to the governor, the board, and the Legislative Budget
Board;
(7) designate one or more employees of the department
as a civil rights division of the department and receive regular
reports from the division on the department's efforts to comply
with civil rights legislation and administrative rules;
(8) create subcommittees, appoint board members to
subcommittees, and receive the reports of subcommittees to the
board as a whole;
(9) appoint a member of the board to act in the absence
of the chair and vice chair; and
(10) serve as the departmental liaison with the
governor [and the Office of State-Federal Relations] to maximize
federal funding for transportation.
SECTION 15. Chapter 751, Government Code, is repealed.
SECTION 16. On January 1, 2014:
(1) the Office of State-Federal Relations is
abolished;
(2) all obligations, rights, contracts, records, real
and personal property, funds, appropriations, and money of the
Office of State-Federal Relations are transferred to the office of
the governor;
(3) the executive director of the Office of
State-Federal Relations becomes an employee of the office of the
governor;
(4) an employee of the Office of State-Federal
Relations becomes an employee of the office of the governor; and
(5) a reference in other law to the Office of
State-Federal Relations means the office of the governor.
SECTION 17. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.