Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4009 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R11644 JG-F
2	2	By: Thierry H.B. No. 4009
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of the Texas Slavery and Segregation
8	8	Commission.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Chapter 451 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 451. TEXAS SLAVERY AND SEGREGATION COMMISSION
13	13	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
14	14	Sec. 451.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Slavery and
16	16	Segregation Commission.
17	17	(2) "Segregation" means the legally or socially
18	18	enforced separation of facilities, services, and opportunities,
19	19	such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and
20	20	transportation, on the basis of race or ethnicity.
21	21	(3) "Slavery" means the enslavement of approximately
22	22	six million Africans and thousands of other persons in the United
23	23	States before the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States
24	24	Constitution. It includes state-sponsored, systematic acts of
25	25	persecution, discrimination, violence, and other human rights
26	26	violations committed against those persons by former slaveholders
27	27	and slave traders.
28	28	Sec. 451.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Slavery and
29	29	Segregation Commission is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset
30	30	Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
31	31	the commission is abolished and this chapter expires September 1,
32	32	2029.
33	33	Sec. 451.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
34	34	administratively attached to the office of the secretary of state.
35	35	Sec. 451.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
36	36	commission is composed of the following 18 members:
37	37	(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
38	38	(A) five public members appointed by the
39	39	governor;
40	40	(B) five public members appointed by the
41	41	lieutenant governor; and
42	42	(C) five public members appointed by the speaker
43	43	of the house of representatives; and
44	44	(2) three ex officio members as follows:
45	45	(A) the commissioner of education;
46	46	(B) the commissioner of higher education; and
47	47	(C) the executive director of the Texas Veterans
48	48	Commission.
49	49	(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
50	50	designate a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall
51	51	designate a member of the senate to advise the commission.
52	52	Sec. 451.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
53	53	VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
54	54	commission under Section 451.004 must be a resident of this state.
55	55	(b) Public members of the commission must include:
56	56	(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of
57	57	or spokespersons for public or private organizations that serve
58	58	members of racial and ethnic groups that were victims of slavery or
59	59	segregation;
60	60	(2) persons who have significant professional
61	61	experience in the field of slavery or segregation education; and
62	62	(3) persons who have demonstrated a significant,
63	63	particular interest in slavery or segregation education.
64	64	(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall
65	65	be made:
66	66	(1) without regard to the race, color, disability,
67	67	sex, religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
68	68	(2) so that each geographic area of this state is
69	69	represented on the commission.
70	70	(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any
71	71	vacancy in an appointed position by appointing a new public member
72	72	for the unexpired portion of the term.
73	73	Sec. 451.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION
74	74	OF REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
75	75	vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
76	76	ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service on
77	77	the commission.
78	78	(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
79	79	serve on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
80	80	designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee of
81	81	the state agency that employs the ex officio member.
82	82	Sec. 451.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
83	83	for removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
84	84	(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
85	85	451.005(a);
86	86	(2) cannot, because of illness or disability,
87	87	discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for
88	88	which the member is appointed; or
89	89	(3) is absent from more than three consecutive
90	90	regularly scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible
91	91	to attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by a
92	92	majority vote of the commission.
93	93	(b) The validity of an action taken by the commission is not
94	94	affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
95	95	public member exists.
96	96	(c) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
97	97	potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
98	98	presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
99	99	presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
100	100	general that a potential ground for removal exists.
101	101	Sec. 451.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
102	102	of the commission serves a four-year term expiring February 1 of
103	103	every other odd-numbered year.
104	104	(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
105	105	term or part of a term.
106	106	(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
107	107	terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered to
108	108	have served a term only if the member has served more than half of
109	109	the term.
110	110	Sec. 451.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor
111	111	shall designate a public member of the commission as presiding
112	112	officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
113	113	(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
114	114	subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
115	115	commission under this chapter.
116	116	Sec. 451.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
117	117	of the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
118	118	reimbursement for travel expenses incurred by the member while
119	119	transacting commission business, as provided by the General
120	120	Appropriations Act.
121	121	(b) An ex officio member's service on the commission is an
122	122	additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
123	123	member for service on the commission. The entitlement of an ex
124	124	officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
125	125	expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
126	126	governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
127	127	underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
128	128	purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose and
129	129	is available to the state agency that the member serves in that
130	130	underlying position.
131	131	Sec. 451.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a)
132	132	The commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
133	133	in this state that the commission designates.
134	134	(b) Seven voting members of the commission constitute a
135	135	quorum for transacting commission business. An ex officio member
136	136	of the commission may not vote on commission business.
137	137	(c) The commission shall develop and implement policies
138	138	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
139	139	before the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction
140	140	of the commission.
141	141	Sec. 451.012. COORDINATOR. The office of the secretary of
142	142	state shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the
143	143	coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
144	144	SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
145	145	Sec. 451.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
146	146	implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
147	147	commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
148	148	the commission does not constitute a public office.
149	149	(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
150	150	Sec. 451.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a)
151	151	The commission shall:
152	152	(1) provide advice and assistance to public and
153	153	private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
154	154	education in this state regarding the implementation of courses and
155	155	awareness programs about slavery and segregation;
156	156	(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public
157	157	and private organizations, including service organizations, to
158	158	provide information on and to assist in planning, coordinating, or
159	159	modifying courses and awareness programs about slavery and
160	160	segregation;
161	161	(3) determine which, if any, existing memorials,
162	162	exhibits, or other resources on slavery or segregation could be
163	163	included in or used to support courses and awareness programs about
164	164	slavery and segregation;
165	165	(4) compile a list of volunteers who have agreed to
166	166	share their verifiable knowledge and experiences regarding slavery
167	167	or segregation;
168	168	(5) coordinate events in this state on days designated
169	169	for memorializing slavery and segregation; and
170	170	(6) solicit volunteers to participate in
171	171	commemorative events designed to enhance public awareness of the
172	172	continuing impact of slavery and segregation.
173	173	(b) In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
174	174	contact and cooperate with:
175	175	(1) existing public or private resource organizations
176	176	dedicated to slavery or segregation, including museums, centers,
177	177	and organizations based in this state;
178	178	(2) state agencies that carry out the educational
179	179	functions of the state, including the Texas Education Agency and
180	180	the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
181	181	(3) members of the United States Congress and of the
182	182	legislature of this state.
183	183	(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its
184	184	own procedures.
185	185	(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to
186	186	advise the commission.
187	187	Sec. 451.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts
188	188	and grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
189	189	in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
190	190	chapter.
191	191	(b) The office of the secretary of state may provide staff
192	192	and support commission functions and activities with money
193	193	available to the office that may be used for that purpose. The
194	194	legislature may also specifically appropriate money to the office
195	195	of the secretary of state to provide staff and to otherwise support
196	196	commission functions and activities.
197	197	SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
198	198	date of this Act, the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
199	199	speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint public
200	200	members to the Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission as provided
201	201	by Chapter 451, Governmental Code, as added by this Act.
202	202	(b) The terms of the initial public members appointed to the
203	203	Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission expire February 1, 2021.
204	204	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.