| 1 | 1 | | 84R6884 EES-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Howard H.B. No. 1354 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the creation of a select interim committee to undertake |
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| 8 | 8 | | a comprehensive review of personal financial disclosures made to |
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| 9 | 9 | | the Texas Ethics Commission and certain other authorities. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. INTERIM STUDY REGARDING PERSONAL FINANCIAL |
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| 12 | 12 | | DISCLOSURES. (a) A select interim committee is created to study |
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| 13 | 13 | | and review the procedures and effects of the filing of personal |
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| 14 | 14 | | financial statements with the Texas Ethics Commission or other |
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| 15 | 15 | | authorities under Chapter 572, Government Code, or other similar |
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| 16 | 16 | | laws. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) The study must consider: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) the purposes of the current disclosure statutes |
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| 19 | 19 | | and whether the statutes accomplish those purposes; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) the effectiveness of the current disclosure |
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| 21 | 21 | | scheme; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) what changes, if any, should be made to more |
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| 23 | 23 | | effectively accomplish the purposes of personal financial |
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| 24 | 24 | | disclosures. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) The committee is composed of: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) five members appointed by the lieutenant governor |
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| 27 | 27 | | as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (A) two senators; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (B) one representative of an open government |
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| 30 | 30 | | advocacy organization; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (C) one representative of an organization |
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| 32 | 32 | | representing professional media; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (D) one member of the public; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) five members appointed by the speaker of the house |
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| 35 | 35 | | of representatives as follows: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (A) two state representatives; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (B) one representative of an open government |
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| 38 | 38 | | advocacy organization; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (C) one representative of an organization |
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| 40 | 40 | | representing professional media; and |
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| 41 | 41 | | (D) one member of the public; and |
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| 42 | 42 | | (3) one member of the Texas Ethics Commission, |
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| 43 | 43 | | appointed by the presiding officer of the Texas Ethics Commission, |
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| 44 | 44 | | who shall serve as the presiding officer of the committee. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (d) The committee shall convene at the call of the presiding |
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| 46 | 46 | | officer. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (e) The committee has all other powers and duties provided |
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| 48 | 48 | | to a special or select committee by the rules of the senate and |
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| 49 | 49 | | house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government |
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| 50 | 50 | | Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees on |
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| 51 | 51 | | administration. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (f) Not later than January 15, 2017, the committee shall |
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| 53 | 53 | | report the committee's findings and recommendations to the |
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| 54 | 54 | | lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
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| 55 | 55 | | and the governor. The committee shall include in its |
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| 56 | 56 | | recommendations specific statutory and rule changes that appear |
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| 57 | 57 | | necessary from the results of the committee's study under |
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| 58 | 58 | | Subsection (a) of this section. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (g) Not later than the 60th day after the effective date of |
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| 60 | 60 | | this Act, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
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| 61 | 61 | | representatives, and the presiding officer of the Texas Ethics |
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| 62 | 62 | | Commission shall appoint the members of the committee created under |
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| 63 | 63 | | this section. |
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| 64 | 64 | | (h) The Texas Legislative Council and the Texas Ethics |
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| 65 | 65 | | Commission shall provide any necessary staff and resources to the |
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| 66 | 66 | | committee created under this section. |
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| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMITTEE. The committee is |
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| 68 | 68 | | abolished and this Act expires January 20, 2017. |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
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| 70 | 70 | | immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members |
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| 71 | 71 | | elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas |
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| 72 | 72 | | Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
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| 73 | 73 | | immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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