Bill Text: TX SB608 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the continuation and functions of the School Land Board.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-07 - Effective on 9/1/19 [SB608 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB608-Enrolled.html

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S.B. No. 608

AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the School Land
Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.003, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.003. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. The School Land
Board is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset
Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
the board is abolished September 1, 2031 [2019].
SECTION 2. Section 32.012, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.012. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. (a) The board is
composed of:
(1) the commissioner; and
(2) four citizens [a citizen] of the state appointed
by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate[; and
[(3) a citizen of the state appointed by the attorney
general with the advice and consent of the senate].
(b) Two citizens appointed by the governor must be selected
from lists of nominees submitted by the State Board of Education.
The State Board of Education shall submit to the governor a list of
six nominees for a vacant position described by this subsection.
The governor may request that the State Board of Education submit a
second list of six nominees if the governor does not choose to
appoint a nominee from the first list.
(c) At least one of the citizens appointed under Subsection
(a) must be a resident of a county with a population of less than
200,000. The governor and the State Board of Education shall
collaborate to ensure that the membership of the board complies
with this subsection.
(d) [The authority of the attorney general to appoint one of
the members of the board, including the authority to make
appointments during the recess of the senate, is the same as the
authority of the governor to fill vacancies in state offices under
the Texas Constitution.
[(c)] Each appointment made by the governor [and the
attorney general] shall be made in accordance with and subject to
the provisions of the Texas Constitution authorizing the filling of
vacancies in state offices by appointment of the governor.
SECTION 3. Section 32.013, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.013. TERMS OF APPOINTED MEMBERS. The appointed
members of [appointed to] the board [by the governor and the
attorney general] serve for terms of two years.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 32.0161 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0161. ANNUAL JOINT MEETING. (a) The board and the
State Board of Education shall hold an annual joint public meeting
to discuss the allocation of the assets of the permanent school fund
and the investment of the money in the fund.
(b) Each member of the board must attend the annual joint
public meeting, unless the member's absence is excused by majority
vote of the board.
(c) Each member of the State Board of Education must attend
the annual joint public meeting, unless the member's absence is
excused by majority vote of the State Board of Education. If the
State Board of Education delegates powers and duties relating to
the investment of the permanent school fund to a committee of the
State Board of Education, only a majority of the committee members
must attend the meeting.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 32.0191 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0191. SEPARATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES. The board
shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the
policymaking responsibilities of the board and the management
responsibilities of the commissioner and the staff of the land
office.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 32.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.027. MEMBER TRAINING. (a) A person who is
appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the board may
not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a
meeting of the board 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 board operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
board;
(3) the board's investment programs and strategies;
(4) the permanent school fund, including a
comprehensive overview of the law governing the fund;
(5) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the board;
(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
board;
(7) 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
policymaking body in performing their duties; and
(8) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
board or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the board 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 commissioner shall create a training manual that
includes the information required by Subsection (b).
(e) The commissioner shall distribute a copy of the training
manual annually to each appointed member of the board. Each of
those members shall sign and submit to the commissioner a statement
acknowledging that the member received and has reviewed the
training manual.
SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 32, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 32.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.028. COMPLAINTS. (a) The board shall maintain a
system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
board. The board shall maintain information about parties to the
complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
disposition.
(b) The board shall make information available describing
its procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
(c) The board shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
SECTION 8. Sections 51.402(a) and (c), Natural Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The] board
may use funds [the money] designated under Section 51.401 for any of
the following purposes:
(1) to add to a tract of public school land to form a
tract of sufficient size to be manageable;
(2) to add contiguous land to public school land;
(3) to acquire, as public school land, interests in
real property for biological, commercial, geological, cultural, or
recreational purposes;
(4) to acquire mineral and royalty interests for the
use and benefit of the permanent school fund;
(5) to protect, maintain, or enhance the value of
public school land;
(6) to acquire interests in real estate;
(7) to pay reasonable fees for professional services
related to a permanent school fund investment; or
(8) to acquire, sell, lease, trade, improve, maintain,
protect, or use land, mineral and royalty interests, or real estate
investments, an investment or interest in public infrastructure, or
other interests, at such prices and under such terms and conditions
the board determines to be in the best interest of the permanent
school fund.
(c) On January 1 of each even-numbered year
[Notwithstanding Subsection (a)], the market value of the
investments made [in real estate] under Subsections (a)(6) and (8)
[this section on January 1 of each even-numbered year] may not
exceed an amount that is equal to 15 percent of the market value of
the assets held by the board and the State Board of Education as
part of the permanent school fund [on that date].
SECTION 9. Sections 51.4021(a) and (b), Natural Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The board may appoint investment managers, consultants,
or advisors to invest or assist the board in investing funds [the
money] designated under Section 51.401 by contracting for
professional investment management or investment advisory services
with one or more organizations that are in the business of managing
or advising on the management of real estate investments.
(b) To be eligible for appointment under this section, an
investment manager, consultant, or advisor shall agree to abide by
the policies, requirements, or restrictions, including ethical
standards and disclosure policies and criteria for determining the
quality of investments and for the use of standard rating services,
that the board adopts for real estate investments of the permanent
school fund. Funds [Money] designated under Section 51.401 may not
be invested in a real estate investment trust, as defined by Section
200.001, Business Organizations Code.
SECTION 10. Section 51.412, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 51.412. REPORTS TO LEGISLATURE. (a) Not later than
September 1 of each even-numbered year, the board shall submit to
the legislature a report that, specifically and in detail, assesses
the direct and indirect economic impact, as anticipated by the
board, of the investment of funds designated under Section 51.401
for deposit in the real estate special fund account of the permanent
school fund.
(b) The board may not disclose information under this
section that is confidential under applicable state or federal law.
(c) The report must include the following information:
(1) the total amount of the funds [money] designated
by Section 51.401 for deposit in the real estate special fund
account of the permanent school fund that the board intends to
invest;
(2) the rate of return the board expects to attain on
the investment;
(3) the amount of the funds [money] the board expects
to distribute to the available school fund or the State Board of
Education for investment in the permanent school fund after making
the investments;
(4) the distribution of the board's investments by
county;
(5) the effect of the board's investments on the level
of employment, personal income, and capital investment in the
state; [and]
(6) the amounts of all fees or other compensation paid
by the board to investment managers, consultants, or advisors
appointed or organizations contracted with under Section 51.4021;
and
(7) any other information the board considers
necessary to include in the report.
[(b) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
board shall submit to the legislature a report that assesses the
return and economic impact of the investments reported to the
legislature before the preceding regular legislative session.]
SECTION 11. Section 51.413(b), Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The board shall adopt rules to establish the procedure
that will be used by the board to determine the date a transfer will
be made and the amount of the funds [money] that will be transferred
to the available school fund or to the State Board of Education for
investment in the permanent school fund from the real estate
special fund account as provided by Subsection (a).
SECTION 12. Section 51.4131, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 51.4131. REPORT ON ANTICIPATED TRANSFER OF FUNDS. Not
later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, the board shall
submit to the legislature, comptroller, State Board of Education,
and Legislative Budget Board a report that, specifically and in
detail, states the date a transfer will be made and the amount of
the funds [money] the board will transfer during the subsequent
state fiscal biennium from the real estate special fund account of
the permanent school fund established under Section 51.401 to the
available school fund or the State Board of Education for
investment in the permanent school fund.
SECTION 13. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Section 32.012, Natural Resources Code, relating to the membership
of the School Land Board do not affect the eligibility of a member
of the board serving immediately before the effective date of this
Act to continue to serve on the board for the term to which the
member was appointed.
(b) As soon as possible after the effective date of this
Act, the governor and the State Board of Education shall
collaborate to appoint members of the board as necessary to ensure
that the composition of the board complies with Section 32.012,
Natural Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 14. Section 32.027, Natural Resources Code, as
added by this Act, applies to a member of the School Land Board
appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. A
member of the School Land Board may not vote, deliberate, or be
counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of the board held on
or after December 1, 2019, until the member completes the training.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 608 passed the Senate on
April 30, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 21, 2019, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 608 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 17, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 142,
Nays 1, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor