Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5125 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Metcalf (Senate Sponsor - Hancock) H.B. No. 5125
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023;
3	3	May 21, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Administration; May 22, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
5	5	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0;
6	6	May 22, 2023, sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 5125 By: Springer
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to the organization and operation of the legislative
14	14	branch of state government.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, is
17	17	amended by adding Sections 301.0161, 301.0291, 301.0321, and
18	18	301.036 to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 301.0161. ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEES. (a) By rule or
20	20	resolution, each house may establish an administration committee.
21	21	(b) The senate administration committee shall perform the
22	22	duties and functions assigned to the committee by rule or
23	23	resolution.
24	24	(c) The house administration committee shall:
25	25	(1) adopt policies and determine guidelines for the
26	26	effective and efficient operation of the house, including the
27	27	appointment and discharge of employees and the use of state
28	28	property and facilities; and
29	29	(2) not later than the 60th day after the convening of
30	30	a regular session, prepare and distribute to all members a manual of
31	31	policy statements to include, but not be limited to, policies
32	32	pertaining to members as a class.
33	33	Sec. 301.0291. ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD OF HOUSE OF
34	34	REPRESENTATIVES. (a) For purposes of any law applicable to the
35	35	legislature that requires an action by an administrative head of
36	36	agency and unless otherwise directed by resolution, the speaker is
37	37	the administrative head of agency for the house of representatives.
38	38	(b) As administrative head of the house of representatives,
39	39	the speaker may make any expenditures or transfers, including
40	40	expenditures and transfers necessary to discharge properly the
41	41	duties and responsibilities of the office of speaker, and perform
42	42	any function deemed necessary for the effective and efficient
43	43	operation of the house of representatives.
44	44	(c) The speaker may delegate all or part of the authority
45	45	granted under Subsections (a) and (b) to a house committee or
46	46	legislative officer as provided by law, rule, resolution, or
47	47	policy.
48	48	Sec. 301.0321. INTERNS. Notwithstanding Section 301.032 or
49	49	any other law, a member, officer, committee, or division of a house
50	50	of the legislature or the lieutenant governor may accept
51	51	uncompensated service from an individual participating in a bona
52	52	fide internship program approved by the committee on administration
53	53	of the respective house or for which the student receives academic
54	54	credit.
55	55	Sec. 301.036. COMMITTEES WITH LEGISLATIVE APPOINTEES. (a)
56	56	This section applies to any committee, council, board, commission,
57	57	or other body created or authorized by state law:
58	58	(1) that includes members appointed by the lieutenant
59	59	governor or the speaker; or
60	60	(2) for which the lieutenant governor or the speaker
61	61	designates the presiding officer.
62	62	(b) For an entity described by Subsection (a), the per diem
63	63	and travel expenses paid to a member of the entity shall be paid by
64	64	the state agency providing administrative support to the entity or
65	65	as otherwise directed by rider in the general appropriations act.
66	66	(c) An entity described by Subsection (a) is abolished on
67	67	the date of the sine die adjournment of the second regular session
68	68	of the legislature that begins after the date the entity is created.
69	69	This subsection does not apply to an entity that is created before
70	70	September 1, 2023.
71	71	(d) This section prevails to the extent of any conflict with
72	72	any other law. The application of this section to an entity
73	73	described by Subsection (a) may be altered only by an amendment to
74	74	this section.
75	75	(e) Subsection (c) does not apply to an entity that is a
76	76	state agency.
77	77	(f) In this section, "state agency" means a department,
78	78	commission, board, office, or other body that is in the executive or
79	79	judicial branch of state government and was created by the
80	80	constitution or statute, but does not include an advisory committee
81	81	administratively attached to a state agency.
82	82	SECTION 2. Section 301.035, Government Code, is amended to
83	83	read as follows:
84	84	Sec. 301.035. [JOINT] INTERIM COMMITTEE PER DIEM AND TRAVEL
85	85	EXPENSES. Unless a statute expressly provides otherwise, per diem
86	86	and travel expenses paid to a member of a joint committee
87	87	established by statute or an interim committee of a house created by
88	88	rule or resolution shall be paid by the house to which the member
89	89	belongs. The per diem and travel expenses paid to a public member of
90	90	the committee shall be paid by the office of the appointing entity.
91	91	SECTION 3. Section 301.072, Government Code, is amended by
92	92	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
93	93	(c) A state agency with charge and control of a state
94	94	building shall, as soon as practicable, notify each legislative
95	95	office or agency occupying the building of any planned or
96	96	anticipated activity described by Subsection (b)(4) that is
97	97	conducted, directed, or authorized by the state agency, including
98	98	an interruption in utilities, a maintenance or construction
99	99	activity likely to cause prolonged noise or vibration perceptible
100	100	in the space occupied by a legislative office or agency, a major
101	101	excavation project within 1,000 feet of any outer wall of the
102	102	building, or a change to or closure of a street or sidewalk adjacent
103	103	to the building or affecting vehicle or pedestrian access to the
104	104	building.
105	105	SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 301, Government Code, is
106	106	amended by adding Section 301.074 to read as follows:
107	107	Sec. 301.074. LEGISLATIVE AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS.
108	108	(a) In this section:
109	109	(1) "Financial system" includes an accounting system,
110	110	payroll system, purchasing system, human resources information
111	111	system, or enterprise resource planning system.
112	112	(2) "Legislative agency" has the meaning assigned by
113	113	Sections 326.001(1)(A)-(B) and (D)-(H).
114	114	(b) The administrative head of a legislative agency shall
115	115	oversee the agency's central business and administrative functions
116	116	and other matters vested in or delegated to the administrative
117	117	head.
118	118	(c) For purposes of this section, the administrative head of
119	119	the senate is the highest ranking officer or employee of the senate
120	120	with responsibility for the senate's financial functions.
121	121	(d) The director or other highest ranking employee, or that
122	122	person's designee, is the administrative head of a legislative
123	123	agency other than the senate or house of representatives.
124	124	(e) A legislative agency may use an internal financial
125	125	system selected by the administrative head of the agency.
126	126	(f) The comptroller shall provide an application
127	127	programming interface or other means mutually acceptable to the
128	128	administrative head of a legislative agency and the comptroller for
129	129	the legislative agency's internal financial system to exchange the
130	130	requisite financial and other data with the financial system of
131	131	record for this state necessary for the comptroller to pay each
132	132	agency's expenses from that agency's funds as held by the
133	133	comptroller.
134	134	(g) A legislative agency may use all or any part of a
135	135	financial system provided by the comptroller under Chapter 2101 or
136	136	other law as mutually agreed to by the administrative head of the
137	137	agency and the comptroller.
138	138	(h) This section prevails to the extent of a conflict
139	139	between this section and Chapter 2101.
140	140	SECTION 5. Section 323.006(b), Government Code, is amended
141	141	to read as follows:
142	142	(b) By agreement with either house of the legislature or a
143	143	legislative agency, the council may perform administrative,
144	144	accounting, purchasing, facilities management, or other services
145	145	or functions for or on behalf of the house or agency.
146	146	SECTION 6. Section 323.009(a), Government Code, is amended
147	147	to read as follows:
148	148	(a) The council may reimburse members-elect of the
149	149	legislature for travel expenses incurred in attending an
150	150	orientation program [conducted by the council] between the date of
151	151	the general election and the convening of the regular legislative
152	152	session.
153	153	SECTION 7. Section 325.003(a-1), Government Code, is
154	154	amended to read as follows:
155	155	(a-1) A public member acts on behalf of the legislature when
156	156	participating on the commission in furtherance of the legislature's
157	157	duty to provide oversight of state [executive branch] agencies'
158	158	implementation of legislative priorities.
159	159	SECTION 8. Section 325.004(a), Government Code, is amended
160	160	to read as follows:
161	161	(a) The commission shall employ an individual selected by
162	162	the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
163	163	representatives as executive director of the commission. The
164	164	executive director acts [to act] as the executive head of the
165	165	commission.
166	166	SECTION 9. Section 325.012(c), Government Code, is amended
167	167	to read as follows:
168	168	(c) The commission shall have drafts of legislation
169	169	prepared to carry out the commission's recommendations under this
170	170	section. The commission may include in legislation prepared for the
171	171	commission that continues a state agency or advisory committee only
172	172	those recommendations that relate to the efficient functioning of
173	173	or procedural changes in the day-to-day administration,
174	174	management, or operation of the state agency or advisory committee.
175	175	The commission may include any recommendation authorized by this
176	176	chapter in legislation prepared for the commission that does not
177	177	continue a state agency or advisory committee.
178	178	SECTION 10. Section 468.003(b), Government Code, is amended
179	179	to read as follows:
180	180	(b) The Texas Legislative Council may [shall] provide
181	181	office space and other support in Austin necessary for the state
182	182	demographer to perform the demographer's duties for the
183	183	legislature.
184	184	SECTION 11. Section 2052.205(a), Government Code, is
185	185	amended to read as follows:
186	186	(a) A state agency shall send to the Legislative Reference
187	187	Library three physical [five] copies and one electronic copy of
188	188	each publication that it distributes.
189	189	SECTION 12. Section 6, Article 38.01, Code of Criminal
190	190	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
191	191	Sec. 6. ASSISTANCE. The [Texas Legislative Council, the
192	192	Legislative Budget Board, and The] University of Texas at Austin
193	193	shall assist the commission in performing the commission's duties.
194	194	SECTION 13. Section 31, Chapter 1250 (H.B. 4181), Acts of
195	195	the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is amended to read as
196	196	follows:
197	197	Sec. 31. Records described by Section 301.041(b) or
198	198	301.043, Government Code, as added by this Act, or Section
199	199	301.020(e) or 323.018, Government Code, as amended by this Act, are
200	200	not subject to request, inspection, or duplication under Chapter
201	201	552, Government Code. A governmental body may withhold the records
202	202	without the necessity of requesting a decision from the attorney
203	203	general under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code.
204	204	SECTION 14. The following provisions of the Government Code
205	205	are repealed:
206	206	(1) Sections 325.019(b) and (c);
207	207	(2) Section 325.022;
208	208	(3) Section 2053.004;
209	209	(4) Chapter 2060; and
210	210	(5) Section 2206.101(e).
211	211	SECTION 15. This Act takes effect immediately if it
212	212	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
213	213	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
214	214	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
215	215	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
216	216	* * * * *