83R269 MTB-D
 
  By: Larson H.B. No. 117
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the composition of the Texas Transportation Commission
  and the selection of members of that commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 201.051(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The Texas Transportation Commission consists of three
  [five] members elected statewide [appointed by the governor with
  the advice and consent of the senate].
         SECTION 2.  Section 201.052, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 201.052.  TERMS. Members of the commission serve
  staggered six-year terms, with the term [terms] of [either] one
  member [or two members] expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered
  year.
         SECTION 3.  Section 201.053(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The members of the commission shall elect from among
  their membership [governor shall designate one commissioner as] the
  chair of the commission, who shall serve as presiding officer of the
  commission.
         SECTION 4.  Section 201.057(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  It is a ground for removal from the commission if a
  commissioner:
               (1)  does not have at the time of taking office or
  maintain during service on the commission the qualifications
  required by Section 201.051;
               (2)  violates a prohibition provided by Section
  201.051;
               (3)  cannot discharge the commissioner's duties for a
  substantial part of the term for which the commissioner is elected
  or appointed because of illness or disability; or
               (4)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
  scheduled commission meetings that the commissioner is eligible to
  attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by
  majority vote of the commission.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 201.059(a) and (c), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  To be eligible to take office as a member of the
  commission, a person elected or appointed to the commission must
  complete at least one course of a training program that complies
  with this section.
         (c)  A person elected or appointed to the commission is
  entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in attending
  the training program, as provided by the General Appropriations Act
  and as if the person were a member of the commission.
         SECTION 6.  Section 52.092(c), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  Statewide offices of the state government shall be
  listed in the following order:
               (1)  governor;
               (2)  lieutenant governor;
               (3)  attorney general;
               (4)  comptroller of public accounts;
               (5)  commissioner of the General Land Office;
               (6)  commissioner of agriculture;
               (7)  commissioner of transportation;
               (8)  railroad commissioner;
               (9) [(8)]  chief justice, supreme court;
               (10) [(9)]  justice, supreme court;
               (11) [(10)]  presiding judge, court of criminal
  appeals;
               (12) [(11)]  judge, court of criminal appeals.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 201.051(b), (b-1), (c), and (i),
  Transportation Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 8.  (a) The first members of the Texas
  Transportation Commission elected under the changes in law made by
  this Act shall be elected at the general election held in November
  2014 to serve for a term that begins February 1, 2015.  The members
  elected at that election shall draw lots to determine which
  member's term expires February 1, 2017, which member's term expires
  February 1, 2019, and which member's term expires February 1, 2021.
         (b)  Until the members of the Texas Transportation
  Commission elected under this Act take office, the governor will
  continue to appoint members to the Texas Transportation Commission
  and those members shall, unless otherwise removed as provided by
  law, continue in office under the prior law that governed the
  composition of the Texas Transportation Commission, and that prior
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.