2005 Texas Government Code CHAPTER 448. TEXAS EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL COMMISSION

GOVERNMENT CODE

CHAPTER 448. TEXAS EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL 
COMMISSION

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS


	§ 448.001. DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                                   
		(1)  "Commission" means the Texas Emancipation 
Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission.
		(2)  "Juneteenth" means the anniversary of the event of 
emancipation from slavery that occurred in Texas on June 19, 1865.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.002. SUNSET PROVISION.  The Texas Emancipation 
Juneteenth Cultural and Historical 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, 2011.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 
1999.


	§ 448.003. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.  The commission is 
composed of:     
		(1)  five public members appointed by the governor with 
the advice and consent of the senate;
		(2)  two members of the senate appointed by the 
lieutenant governor to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members;
		(3)  two members of the house of representatives 
appointed by the speaker of the house to serve as ex officio, 
nonvoting members;  and
		(4)  the executive director of the Texas Historical 
Commission to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, § 13.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
2003.


	§ 448.004. APPOINTMENT.  (a) Appointments to the 
commission shall be made without regard to the race, color, 
disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the 
appointees.
	(b)  Appointments of the public members to the commission 
shall be made so that each geographic area of the state is 
represented on the commission.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.005. ELIGIBILITY OF EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.  (a) An ex 
officio member of the commission vacates the person's position on 
the commission if the person ceases to hold the underlying position 
that qualifies the person for service on the commission.  A vacancy 
in the office is filled in the same manner as originally.
	(b)  An ex officio member may designate a representative to 
serve in the member's absence.  A representative designated under 
this subsection must be an officer or employee of the member's state 
agency or house of the legislature.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.006. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST;  REMOVAL 
PROVISIONS.  (a) A person may not serve as a member of the 
commission 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 commission.
	(b)  An officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas 
trade association in the field of historic preservation may not be a 
member of the commission and may not be an employee of the 
commission who is exempt from the state's position classification 
plan or is compensated at or above the amount prescribed by the 
General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group 17, of the 
position classification salary schedule.
	(c)  A person who is the spouse of an officer, manager, or 
paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of 
historic preservation may not be a member of the commission and may 
not be an employee of the commission who is exempt from the state's 
position classification plan or is compensated at or above the 
amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, 
salary group 17, of the position classification salary schedule.
	(d)  It is a ground for removal from the commission if a 
member:             
		(1)  violates a prohibition established by this 
section;                    
		(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 half of the regularly 
scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible to attend 
during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by majority 
vote of the commission.
	(e)  The validity of an action of the commission is not 
affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a 
commission member exists.
	(f)  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.
	(g)  For the purposes of this section, a Texas trade 
association is a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined 
association of business or professional competitors in this state 
designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in 
obtaining public money or influencing governmental policy.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.007. TERMS.  Public members of the commission serve 
staggered terms of six years with the terms of approximately 
one-third of the members expiring on February 1 of each 
odd-numbered year.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, § 13.02, eff. Sept. 1, 
2003.


	§ 448.008. OFFICERS;  SUBCOMMITTEES.  (a) The commission 
shall elect one of its members as the presiding officer of the 
commission.
	(b)  The presiding officer of the commission may appoint 
subcommittees for any purpose consistent with the duties of the 
commission under this chapter.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 
1999.


	§ 448.009. COMPENSATION;  EXPENSES.  (a) A public member 
of the commission is not entitled to compensation, but is entitled 
to reimbursement, from commission funds, for the travel expenses 
incurred by the member while conducting the business of the 
commission, as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
	(b)  The service to the commission of an ex officio member is 
an additional duty of the member's underlying position that 
qualifies the member for service on the commission.  The 
entitlement of an ex officio member to compensation or 
reimbursement for travel expenses is governed by the law applying 
to the member's service in that underlying position, and any 
payments to the member shall be made from the appropriate funds of 
the state agency or house of the legislature with which the member 
serves.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.010. MEETINGS;  PUBLIC ACCESS.  (a) The commission 
may meet at the times and places within the state that the 
commission designates.
	(b)  The commission shall develop and implement policies 
that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear 
before the commission and to speak on any issue under the 
jurisdiction of the commission.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.011. ANNUAL REPORT.  The commission shall prepare 
annually a complete and detailed written report accounting for all 
funds received and disbursed by the commission during the preceding 
fiscal year.  The annual report must meet the reporting 
requirements applicable to financial reporting provided in the 
General Appropriations Act.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           

SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES;  FUNDING


	§ 448.031. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE 
COMMISSION.  (a) The commission shall:
		(1)  adopt rules as necessary for its own procedures;                         
		(2)  coordinate state and local activities relating to 
the cultural and historical celebration of Juneteenth;
		(3)  establish a Juneteenth memorial monument on the 
grounds of the State Capitol in cooperation with the State 
Preservation Board, establish other Juneteenth memorial monuments 
at appropriate locations throughout the state, and establish an 
advisory committee to advise the commission on all matters relating 
to the construction, dedication, and maintenance of the monuments, 
including:
			(A)  site selection;                                                         
			(B)  fund-raising from public and private 
sources;                         
			(C)  establishing a schedule for the design, 
construction, and dedication of each monument;
			(D)  procedures for soliciting designs for each 
monument;                  
			(E)  selecting the final design of each monument;                            
			(F)  procedures for selecting a contractor to 
construct each monument;     
			(G)  selecting the contractor to construct each 
monument;  and             
			(H)  reviewing and monitoring the design and 
construction process;         
		(4)  prepare and distribute publications that relate to 
the cultural or historical significance of Juneteenth or that 
otherwise promote Juneteenth;  and
		(5)  encourage individuals, private organizations, and 
local governmental bodies to organize appropriate activities.
	(b)  The State Preservation Board shall cooperate with the 
commission in establishing a monument on the grounds of the State 
Capitol under Subsection (a)(3).

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.  
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 
1999.


	§ 448.032. DONATIONS;  APPROPRIATIONS;  AUDIT.  (a) The 
commission may accept, on behalf of the state, donations, gifts, 
grants, property, or matching funds from a public or private source 
for the use of the commission in performing its functions under this 
chapter.
	(b)  The commission by rule shall establish an acquisition 
policy for accepting property or art objects related to the 
commission's purpose.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.033. EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND 
HISTORICAL COMMISSION ACCOUNT.  The Emancipation Juneteenth 
Cultural and Historical Commission Account is created as an account 
in the general revenue fund.  The commission shall remit all money 
collected under this chapter to the comptroller for deposit to the 
credit of the account.  Money in the account may be appropriated 
only to the commission for administration of this chapter.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 563, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.           


	§ 448.034. LOCATION OF MONUMENT.  The site of the 
monument established under this chapter shall be on the State 
Capitol grounds, subject to approval by the State Preservation 
Board of the monument location and design.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 781, § 1, eff. June 18, 1999.