By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 2305
(Senate Sponsor - Creighton)
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 12, 2021;
April 13, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on
Business & Commerce; May 19, 2021, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Real Estate Research Center, the Real Estate
Research Advisory Committee, and the Texas Real Estate Commission;
increasing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 86,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. TEXAS REAL ESTATE RESEARCH CENTER
SECTION 2. Section 86.51, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 86.51. TEXAS REAL ESTATE RESEARCH CENTER. The Texas
Real Estate Research Center [There] is established at Texas A&M
University [a Real Estate Research Center, hereinafter referred to
as the center]. The operating budget, staffing, and activities of
the center shall be approved by the board of regents of The Texas
A&M University System.
SECTION 3. Section 86.52, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l)
and adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(c) Members [Except for the initial appointees, members] of
the advisory committee hold office for staggered terms of six
years, with the terms of three members expiring on January 31 of
each odd-numbered year. [In making the initial appointments, the
governor shall designate three members, including two
representatives of the real estate industry and one representative
of the general public, for terms expiring in 1973, three for terms
expiring in 1975, and three for terms expiring in 1977.] Any
vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired portion of
the term. Each member shall serve until the member's [his]
successor is qualified.
(d) The presiding officer [chairman] of the Texas Real
Estate Commission, or a member of the commission designated by the
presiding officer [him], shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting
member of the advisory committee.
(e) The advisory committee shall elect a presiding officer
and an assistant presiding officer from the committee's [its]
membership, and each officer shall serve for a term of one year.
(f) [The first meeting of the advisory committee shall be
called by the president of Texas A & M University or his designated
representative.] The advisory committee shall meet not less than
semiannually, and in addition on call of the committee's presiding
officer [its chairman], or on petition of any six of the committee's
[its] members, or on call of the president of Texas A&M [A & M]
University or the president's [his] designated representative.
(h) The president of Texas A&M [A & M] University or the
president's [his] designated representative shall submit to the
advisory committee in advance of each fiscal year a proposed budget
for expenditures of all funds provided for the center in a form that
is related to the proposed schedule of activities for the review and
approval of the advisory committee. The proposed budget approved
by the advisory committee shall be forwarded with the comments of
the committee to the board of directors of The Texas A&M [A & M]
University System prior to its action on the proposed budget, and
the board of directors of The Texas A&M [A & M] University System
shall not authorize any expenditure that has not had the prior
approval of the advisory committee.
(i) The president of Texas A&M [A & M] University or the
president's [his] designated representative shall submit to the
advisory committee for its review and approval a research agenda at
the beginning of each fiscal year and shall continuously inform the
advisory committee of changes in its substance and scheduling.
(j) Each member of the advisory committee [board] is
entitled to a per diem as provided in the center's budget [set by
legislative appropriation] for each day that the member engages in
the business of the committee [board]. A member may not receive any
compensation for travel expenses, including expenses for meals and
lodging, other than transportation expenses. A member is entitled
to compensation for transportation expenses as provided in
[prescribed by] the center's budget [General Appropriations Act].
(k) Except as provided by Subsection (l), the [The] advisory
committee is subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, Chapter 2001,
Government Code, and the provisions of Chapter 572, Government
Code.
(l) The advisory committee may conduct a meeting by
conference call or virtually through a third-party Internet
application as long as members of the general public are able to
participate in the meeting, and any discussions during the meeting,
if the meeting is not permitted to be conducted as a closed meeting
under Chapter 551, Government Code.
(m) The financial transactions of the center are subject to
audit by the state auditor in accordance with Chapter 321,
Government Code.
SECTION 4. Section 1101.054, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1101.054. OFFICIAL OATH. Not later than the 15th
calendar day after the date of appointment, each appointee must
take the constitutional oath of office.
SECTION 5. Section 1101.154(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The fee for the issuance or renewal of a:
(1) broker license is the amount of the fee set under
Section 1101.152 and an additional $70 fee for each year of the term
for which the license is issued or renewed;
(2) sales agent license is the amount of the fee set
under Section 1101.152 and an additional $20 fee for each year of
the term for which the license is issued or renewed; and
(3) certificate of registration is the amount of the
fee set under Section 1101.152 and an additional $20 fee for each
year of the term for which the certificate is issued or renewed.
SECTION 6. Section 1101.154(a), Occupations Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to the issuance or renewal of a
license or certificate of registration under Chapter 1101,
Occupations Code, on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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