CHAPTER 448. TEXAS EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL COMMISSION

GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

SUBTITLE D. HISTORY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION

CHAPTER 448. TEXAS EMANCIPATION JUNETEENTH CULTURAL AND

HISTORICAL COMMISSION

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, 2013.

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

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., 1st C.S., Ch.

2, Sec. 2.02, eff. July 10, 2009.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, Sec. 13.01, eff.

Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, Sec. 13.02, eff.

Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, Sec. 2, eff.

Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1396, Sec. 3, eff.

Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. June 18,

1999.