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.