CHAPTER 449. TEXAS HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE COMMISSION
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE D. HISTORY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION
CHAPTER 449. TEXAS HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE COMMISSION
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 449.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Holocaust and Genocide
Commission.
(2) "Genocide" means any of the following acts committed with
intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial, or religious group as such:
(A) killing members of the group;
(B) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the
group;
(C) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction in
whole or in part;
(D) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the
group; or
(E) forcibly transferring children of the group to another
group.
(3) "Holocaust" means the killing of approximately six million
Jews and millions of other persons during World War II by the
National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) and Nazi
collaborators as part of a state-sponsored, systematic program of
genocide and other actions of persecution, discrimination,
violence, or other human rights violations committed by the Nazis
and Nazi collaborators against those persons.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Holocaust and
Genocide 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,
2021.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
administratively attached to the Texas Historical Commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The commission is
composed of 18 members as follows:
(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
(A) five public members appointed by the governor;
(B) five public members appointed by the lieutenant governor;
and
(C) five public members appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives; and
(2) three ex officio members as follows:
(A) the commissioner of education;
(B) the commissioner of higher education; and
(C) the executive director of the Texas Veterans Commission.
(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall designate
a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall designate
a member of the senate to advise the commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
commission must be a resident of this state.
(b) Public members of the commission must include:
(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of or
spokespersons for public or private organizations that serve
members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or social groups
that were subjected to the Holocaust or other genocides;
(2) persons who have significant professional experience in the
field of Holocaust or genocide education;
(3) persons who represent liberators of Holocaust or other
genocide victims; and
(4) persons who have demonstrated a significant, particular
interest in Holocaust or genocide education.
(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall be
made:
(1) without regard to the race, color, disability, sex,
religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
(2) so that each geographic area of this state is represented on
the commission.
(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any vacancy in
an appointed position on the commission for the unexpired portion
of the term.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION OF
REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service
on the commission.
(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to serve
on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee
of the state agency that employs the ex officio member.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground for
removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
449.005(a);
(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 three consecutive 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.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member of
the commission serves a term of four years.
(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
term or part of a term.
(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered
to have served a term only if the member has served more than
half of the term.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor shall
designate a public member of the commission as presiding officer
to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
commission under this chapter.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member of
the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred by the member
while transacting commission business, as provided by the General
Appropriations Act.
(b) An ex officio member's service on the commission is an
additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
member for service on the commission. The entitlement of an ex
officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose
and is available to the state agency that the member serves in
that underlying position.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a) The
commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
in this state that the commission designates.
(b) Seven voting members of the commission constitute a quorum
for transacting commission business.
(c) An ex officio member of the commission may not vote on
commission business.
(d) The commission shall develop and implement policies that
provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before
the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
the commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.012. COORDINATOR. The Texas Historical Commission
shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the coordinator
for the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission to transact
commission business.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
Sec. 449.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
the commission does not constitute a public office.
(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a) The
commission shall:
(1) provide advice and assistance to public and private primary
and secondary schools and institutions of higher education in
this state regarding implementation of Holocaust and genocide
courses of study and awareness programs;
(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public and private
organizations, including service organizations, to provide
information on and to assist in planning, coordinating, or
modifying Holocaust and genocide courses of study and awareness
programs;
(3) determine which, if any, existing Holocaust or other
genocide memorials, exhibits, or other resources could be
included in or used to support Holocaust and genocide courses of
study and awareness programs;
(4) compile a list of volunteers, such as Holocaust or other
genocide survivors, liberators of concentration camps, scholars,
and members of the clergy, who have agreed to share, in
classrooms, seminars, exhibits, or workshops, their verifiable
knowledge and experiences regarding the Holocaust or other
genocide;
(5) coordinate events in this state memorializing the Holocaust
and other genocides on January 27, International Holocaust
Remembrance Day, on the Days of Remembrance established by the
United States Congress, or on any other day designated by the
commission for that purpose; and
(6) solicit volunteers to participate in commemorative events
designed to enhance public awareness of the continuing
significance of the Holocaust and other genocides.
(b) In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
contact and cooperate with:
(1) existing public or private Holocaust or other genocide
resource organizations, including the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum;
(2) other museums, centers, and organizations based in this
state;
(3) state agencies that carry out the educational functions of
the state delegated under the Education Code, including the Texas
Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board; and
(4) members of the United States Congress and of the legislature
of this state.
(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its own
procedures.
(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to advise the
commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 449.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts and
grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
chapter.
(b) The Texas Historical Commission may provide staff and may
support functions and activities of the Texas Holocaust and
Genocide Commission from money available to the Texas Historical
Commission that may be used for this purpose. The legislature
may also specifically appropriate money to the Texas Historical
Commission to provide staff and to otherwise support functions
and activities of the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1352, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.