88R14016 JON-F
By: Thierry H.B. No. 3552
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the Texas Slavery and Segregation
Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 452 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 452. TEXAS SLAVERY AND SEGREGATION COMMISSION
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 452.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Slavery and
Segregation Commission.
(2) "Segregation" means the legally or socially
enforced separation of facilities, services, and opportunities,
such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and
transportation, on the basis of race or ethnicity.
(3) "Slavery" means the enslavement of approximately
six million Africans and thousands of other persons in the United
States before the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States
Constitution. It includes state-sponsored, systematic acts of
persecution, discrimination, violence, and other human rights
violations committed against those persons by former slaveholders
and slave traders.
Sec. 452.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Slavery and
Segregation Commission is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset
Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
the commission is abolished and this chapter expires September 1,
2035.
Sec. 452.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
administratively attached to the office of the secretary of state.
Sec. 452.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
commission is composed of the following 18 members:
(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
(A) five public members appointed by the
governor;
(B) five public members appointed by the
lieutenant governor; and
(C) five public members appointed by the speaker
of the house of representatives; and
(2) three ex officio members as follows:
(A) the commissioner of education;
(B) the commissioner of higher education; and
(C) the executive director of the Texas Veterans
Commission.
(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
designate a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall
designate a member of the senate to advise the commission.
Sec. 452.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
commission under Section 452.004 must be a resident of this state.
(b) Public members of the commission must include:
(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of
or spokespersons for public or private organizations that serve
members of racial and ethnic groups that were victims of slavery or
segregation;
(2) persons who have significant professional
experience in the field of slavery or segregation education; and
(3) persons who have demonstrated a significant,
particular interest in slavery or segregation education.
(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall
be made:
(1) without regard to the race, color, disability,
sex, religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
(2) so that each geographic area of this state is
represented on the commission.
(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any
vacancy in an appointed position by appointing a new public member
for the unexpired portion of the term.
Sec. 452.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION
OF REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service on
the commission.
(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
serve on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee of
the state agency that employs the ex officio member.
Sec. 452.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
for removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
452.005(a);
(2) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for
which the member is appointed; or
(3) is absent from more than three consecutive
regularly scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible
to attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by a
majority vote of the commission.
(b) The validity of an action taken by the commission is not
affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
public member exists.
(c) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
general that a potential ground for removal exists.
Sec. 452.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
of the commission serves a four-year term expiring February 1 of
every other odd-numbered year.
(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
term or part of a term.
(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered to
have served a term only if the member has served more than half of
the term.
Sec. 452.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor
shall designate a public member of the commission as presiding
officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
commission under this chapter.
Sec. 452.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
of the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
reimbursement for travel expenses incurred by the member while
transacting commission business, as provided by the General
Appropriations Act.
(b) An ex officio member's service on the commission is an
additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
member for service on the commission. The entitlement of an ex
officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose and
is available to the state agency that the member serves in that
underlying position.
Sec. 452.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a)
The commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
in this state that the commission designates.
(b) Seven voting members of the commission constitute a
quorum for transacting commission business. An ex officio member
of the commission may not vote on commission business.
(c) The commission shall develop and implement policies
that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
before the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction
of the commission.
Sec. 452.012. COORDINATOR. The office of the secretary of
state shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the
coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
Sec. 452.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
the commission does not constitute a public office.
(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
Sec. 452.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a)
The commission shall:
(1) provide advice and assistance to public and
private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
education in this state regarding the implementation of courses and
awareness programs about slavery and segregation;
(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public
and private organizations, including service organizations, to
provide information on and to assist in planning, coordinating, or
modifying courses and awareness programs about slavery and
segregation;
(3) determine which, if any, existing memorials,
exhibits, or other resources on slavery or segregation could be
included in or used to support courses and awareness programs about
slavery and segregation;
(4) compile a list of volunteers who have agreed to
share their verifiable knowledge and experiences regarding slavery
or segregation;
(5) coordinate events in this state on days designated
for memorializing slavery and segregation; and
(6) solicit volunteers to participate in
commemorative events designed to enhance public awareness of the
continuing impact of slavery and segregation.
(b) In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
contact and cooperate with:
(1) existing public or private resource organizations
dedicated to slavery or segregation, including museums, centers,
and organizations based in this state;
(2) state agencies that carry out the educational
functions of the state, including the Texas Education Agency and
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
(3) members of the United States Congress and of the
legislature of this state.
(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its
own procedures.
(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to
advise the commission.
Sec. 452.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts
and grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
chapter.
(b) The office of the secretary of state may provide staff
and support commission functions and activities with money
available to the office that may be used for that purpose. The
legislature may also specifically appropriate money to the office
of the secretary of state to provide staff and to otherwise support
commission functions and activities.
SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint public
members to the Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission as provided
by Chapter 452, Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The terms of the initial public members appointed to the
Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission expire February 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.