By: Cyrier H.B. No. 1575
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain provisions applicable to state agencies subject
to review by the Sunset Advisory Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 325, Government Code, is amended by
designating Sections 325.001 through 325.025 as Subchapter A and
adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION AND SUNSET REVIEW PROCESS
SECTION 2. Chapter 325, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR STATE AGENCIES
Sec. 325.051. APPLICABILITY; CONFLICTS. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), this subchapter applies to a state
agency in the executive branch of state government that is subject
to review by the commission under this chapter.
(b) This subchapter does not apply to:
(1) an advisory committee as defined by Section
2110.001;
(2) a river authority listed in Section 325.025;
(3) an entity subject to a one time review by the
commission;
(4) a division of a state agency that is reviewed
independently of the state agency as a whole;
(5) a state agency that does not have a policymaking
body but is governed by a single elected or appointed officer;
(6) an office of inspector general, ombudsman, or
counsel; or
(7) the following state agencies:
(A) the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute
of Texas;
(B) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
Office;
(C) the Electric Reliability Council of Texas;
(D) state employee charitable campaign policy
committee;
(E) the Texas Health Services Authority;
(F) the State Preservation Board;
(G) the Office of State-Federal Relations;
(H) the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association;
or
(I) the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Disposal Compact Commission.
(c) To the extent of any conflict between this subchapter
and any law relating to a state agency subject to review by the
commission under this chapter, this subchapter controls.
Sec. 325.052. PUBLIC MEMBERSHIP ON STATE AGENCY
POLICYMAKING BODY. A person may not be a public member of the
policymaking body of a state agency if the person or the person's
spouse:
(1) is registered, certified, or licensed by a
regulatory agency in a field regulated by the state agency;
(2) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving money from the state agency;
(3) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
organization regulated by or receiving money from the state agency;
or
(4) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money from the state agency other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for the state
agency's policymaking body membership, attendance, or expenses.
Sec. 325.053. PROVISIONS RELATING TO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
(a) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a cooperative
and voluntarily joined statewide association of business or
professional competitors in this state designed to assist its
members and its industry or profession in dealing with mutual
business or professional problems and in promoting their common
interest.
(b) A person may not be a member of the policymaking body of
a state agency and may not be an employee of the state agency
employed in a "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional
capacity," as that phrase is used for purposes of establishing an
exemption to the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in a field regulated by the
state agency; or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in a field regulated by the
state agency.
(c) A person may not be a member of a state agency's
policymaking body or act as the general counsel to the state
agency's policymaking body or the state agency if the person is
required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the
person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession
related to the operation of the state agency.
Sec. 325.054. GOVERNOR DESIGNATES PRESIDING OFFICER. The
governor shall designate a member of a state agency's policymaking
body as the presiding officer of the policymaking body to serve in
that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
Sec. 325.055. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL OF MEMBERS FROM
POLICYMAKING BODIES. (a) It is a ground for removal from a state
agency's policymaking body that a member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by law to be a member of the policymaking
body;
(2) does not maintain during service on the
policymaking body the qualifications required by law to be a member
of the policymaking body;
(3) is ineligible for membership on the policymaking
body under law, including provisions relating to public membership,
conflicts of interest, and lobbying;
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled meetings of the policymaking body that the member is
eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse
approved by a majority vote of the policymaking body.
(b) The validity of an action of a state agency's
policymaking body is not affected by the fact that it is taken when
a ground for removal of a member of the policymaking body exists.
(c) If the executive head of a state agency has knowledge
that a potential ground for removal exists, the executive head
shall notify the presiding officer of the state agency's
policymaking body of the potential ground. The presiding officer
shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for
removal involves the presiding officer, the executive head shall
notify the next highest ranking officer of the policymaking body,
who shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
potential ground for removal exists.
Sec. 325.056. TRAINING FOR MEMBERS OF POLICYMAKING BODIES.
(a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a
member of the policymaking body of a state agency may not vote,
deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
the policymaking body until the person completes a training program
that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the law governing the state agency's operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
state agency;
(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the policymaking body;
(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
state agency;
(5) the requirements of:
(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
information, administrative procedure, and disclosure of conflicts
of interest; and
(B) other laws applicable to members of a state
agency policymaking body in performing their duties; and
(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
state agency or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the state agency's policymaking
body 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.
(d) The executive head of the state agency shall create a
training manual that includes the information required by
Subsection (b). The executive head shall distribute a copy of the
training manual annually to each member of the policymaking body.
Each member of the policymaking body shall sign and submit to the
executive head a statement acknowledging that the member received
and reviewed the training manual.
Sec. 325.057. POLICIES TO SEPARATE POLICYMAKING AND STAFF
FUNCTIONS. The policymaking body of a state agency shall develop
and implement policies that clearly separate the policymaking
responsibilities of the policymaking body and the management
responsibilities of the executive head and the staff of the state
agency.
Sec. 325.058. PUBLIC TESTIMONY AT MEETINGS OF POLICYMAKING
BODIES. The policymaking body of a state agency shall develop and
implement policies that provide the public with a reasonable
opportunity to appear before the policymaking body and to speak on
any issue under the jurisdiction of the state agency.
Sec. 325.059. COMPLAINT INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
state agency shall maintain a system to promptly and efficiently
act on complaints filed with the state agency. The state agency
shall maintain information about parties to and the subject matter
of the complaint and a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint and the disposition of the
complaint.
(b) The state agency shall make information available
describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
resolution.
(c) The state agency shall periodically notify the
complaint parties of the status of the complaint until final
disposition unless the notice would jeopardize the investigation.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.