87R5565 MCK-D
 
  By: Buckingham S.B. No. 712
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain provisions applicable to state agencies subject
  to review by the Sunset Advisory Commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 325, Government Code, is amended by
  designating Sections 325.001 through 325.025 as Subchapter A and
  adding a subchapter heading to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER A. SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION AND SUNSET REVIEW PROCESS
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 325, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR STATE AGENCIES
         Sec. 325.051.  APPLICABILITY; CONFLICTS. (a)  This
  subchapter applies to a state agency subject to review by the
  commission under this chapter.
         (b)  To the extent of any conflict between this subchapter
  and any law relating to a state agency subject to review by the
  commission under this chapter, this subchapter controls.
         Sec. 325.052.  PUBLIC MEMBERSHIP ON STATE AGENCY
  POLICYMAKING BODY. A person may not be a public member of the
  policymaking body of a state agency if the person or the person's
  spouse:
               (1)  is registered, certified, or licensed by a
  regulatory agency in a field regulated by the state agency;
               (2)  is employed by or participates in the management
  of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
  receiving money from the state agency;
               (3)  owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
  than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
  organization regulated by or receiving money from the state agency;
  or
               (4)  uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
  goods, services, or money from the state agency other than
  compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for the state
  agency's policymaking body membership, attendance, or expenses.
         Sec. 325.053.  PROVISIONS RELATING TO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
  (a) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a cooperative
  and voluntarily joined statewide association of business or
  professional competitors in this state designed to assist its
  members and its industry or profession in dealing with mutual
  business or professional problems and in promoting their common
  interest.
         (b)  A person may not be a member of the policymaking body of
  a state agency and may not be an employee of the state agency
  employed in a "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional
  capacity," as that phrase is used for purposes of establishing an
  exemption to the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor
  Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) if:
               (1)  the person is an officer, employee, or paid
  consultant of a Texas trade association in a field regulated by the
  state agency; or
               (2)  the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
  consultant of a Texas trade association in a field regulated by the
  state agency.
         (c)  A person may not be a member of a state agency's
  policymaking body or act as the general counsel to the state
  agency's policymaking body or the state agency if the person is
  required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the
  person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession
  related to the operation of the state agency.
         Sec. 325.054.  GOVERNOR DESIGNATES PRESIDING OFFICER. The
  governor shall designate a member of a state agency's policymaking
  body as the presiding officer of the policymaking body to serve in
  that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
         Sec. 325.055.  GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL OF MEMBERS FROM
  POLICYMAKING BODIES. (a) It is a ground for removal from a state
  agency's policymaking body that a member:
               (1)  does not have at the time of taking office the
  qualifications required by law to be a member of the policymaking
  body;
               (2)  does not maintain during service on the
  policymaking body the qualifications required by law to be a member
  of the policymaking body; 
               (3)  is ineligible for membership on the policymaking
  body under law, including provisions relating to public membership,
  conflicts of interest, and lobbying; 
               (4)  cannot, because of illness or disability,
  discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
  term; or
               (5)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
  scheduled meetings of the policymaking body that the member is
  eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse
  approved by a majority vote of the policymaking body.
         (b)  The validity of an action of a state agency's
  policymaking body is not affected by the fact that it is taken when
  a ground for removal of a member of the policymaking body exists.
         (c)  If the executive head of a state agency has knowledge
  that a potential ground for removal exists, the executive head
  shall notify the presiding officer of the state agency's
  policymaking body of the potential ground. The presiding officer
  shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
  potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for
  removal involves the presiding officer, the executive head shall
  notify the next highest ranking officer of the policymaking body,
  who shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
  potential ground for removal exists.
         Sec. 325.056.  TRAINING FOR MEMBERS OF POLICYMAKING BODIES.
  (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a
  member of the policymaking body of a state agency may not vote,
  deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
  the policymaking body 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 the state agency's operations;
               (2)  the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
  state agency;
               (3)  the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
  authority of the policymaking body;
               (4)  the results of the most recent formal audit of the
  state agency;
               (5)  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
  agency policymaking body in performing their duties; and
               (6)  any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
  state agency or the Texas Ethics Commission.
         (c)  A person appointed to the state agency's policymaking
  body 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 executive head of the state agency shall create a
  training manual that includes the information required by
  Subsection (b). The executive head shall distribute a copy of the
  training manual annually to each member of the policymaking body.
  Each member of the policymaking body shall sign and submit to the
  executive head a statement acknowledging that the member received
  and reviewed the training manual.
         Sec. 325.057.  POLICIES TO SEPARATE POLICYMAKING AND STAFF
  FUNCTIONS. The policymaking body of a state agency shall develop
  and implement policies that clearly separate the policymaking
  responsibilities of the policymaking body and the management
  responsibilities of the executive head and the staff of the state
  agency.
         Sec. 325.058.  PUBLIC TESTIMONY AT MEETINGS OF POLICYMAKING
  BODIES. The policymaking body of a state agency shall develop and
  implement policies that provide the public with a reasonable
  opportunity to appear before the policymaking body and to speak on
  any issue under the jurisdiction of the state agency. 
         Sec. 325.059.  COMPLAINT INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
  state agency shall maintain a system to promptly and efficiently
  act on complaints filed with the state agency. The state agency
  shall maintain information about parties to and the subject matter
  of the complaint and a summary of the results of the review or
  investigation of the complaint and the disposition of the
  complaint.
         (b)  The state agency shall make information available
  describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
  resolution.
         (c)  The state agency shall periodically notify the
  complaint parties of the status of the complaint until final
  disposition unless the notice would jeopardize the investigation.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.