Bill Text: TX HB3552 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-16 - Referred to State Affairs [HB3552 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB3552-Introduced.html
  88R14016 JON-F
 
  By: Thierry H.B. No. 3552
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the Texas Slavery and Segregation
  Commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
  by adding Chapter 452 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 452. TEXAS SLAVERY AND SEGREGATION COMMISSION
  SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
         Sec. 452.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Slavery and
  Segregation Commission.
               (2)  "Segregation" means the legally or socially
  enforced separation of facilities, services, and opportunities,
  such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and
  transportation, on the basis of race or ethnicity.
               (3)  "Slavery" means the enslavement of approximately
  six million Africans and thousands of other persons in the United
  States before the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States
  Constitution. It includes state-sponsored, systematic acts of
  persecution, discrimination, violence, and other human rights
  violations committed against those persons by former slaveholders
  and slave traders.
         Sec. 452.002.  SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Slavery and
  Segregation 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,
  2035.
         Sec. 452.003.  ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
  administratively attached to the office of the secretary of state.
         Sec. 452.004.  COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
  commission is composed of the following 18 members:
               (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.
         Sec. 452.005.  PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
  VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
  commission under Section 452.004 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 racial and ethnic groups that were victims of slavery or
  segregation;
               (2)  persons who have significant professional
  experience in the field of slavery or segregation education; and
               (3)  persons who have demonstrated a significant,
  particular interest in slavery or segregation 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 by appointing a new public member
  for the unexpired portion of the term.
         Sec. 452.006.  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.
         Sec. 452.007.  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
  452.005(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 a
  majority vote of the commission.
         (b)  The validity of an action taken by the commission is not
  affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
  public 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.
         Sec. 452.008.  TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
  of the commission serves a four-year term expiring February 1 of
  every other odd-numbered year.
         (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.
         Sec. 452.009.  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.
         Sec. 452.010.  COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
  of the commission is not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
  reimbursement for 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.
         Sec. 452.011.  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. An ex officio member
  of the commission may not vote on commission business.
         (c)  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.
         Sec. 452.012.  COORDINATOR. The office of the secretary of
  state shall provide one part-time employee to serve as the
  coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
  SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
         Sec. 452.051.  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.
         Sec. 452.052.  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 the implementation of courses and
  awareness programs about slavery and segregation;
               (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 courses and awareness programs about slavery and
  segregation;
               (3)  determine which, if any, existing memorials,
  exhibits, or other resources on slavery or segregation could be
  included in or used to support courses and awareness programs about
  slavery and segregation;
               (4)  compile a list of volunteers who have agreed to
  share their verifiable knowledge and experiences regarding slavery
  or segregation;
               (5)  coordinate events in this state on days designated
  for memorializing slavery and segregation; and
               (6)  solicit volunteers to participate in
  commemorative events designed to enhance public awareness of the
  continuing impact of slavery and segregation.
         (b)  In implementing Subsection (a)(3), the commission may
  contact and cooperate with:
               (1)  existing public or private resource organizations
  dedicated to slavery or segregation, including museums, centers,
  and organizations based in this state;
               (2)  state agencies that carry out the educational
  functions of the state, including the Texas Education Agency and
  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
               (3)  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.
         Sec. 452.053.  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 office of the secretary of state may provide staff
  and support commission functions and activities with money
  available to the office that may be used for that purpose. The
  legislature may also specifically appropriate money to the office
  of the secretary of state to provide staff and to otherwise support
  commission functions and activities.
         SECTION 2.  (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the
  speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint public
  members to the Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission as provided
  by Chapter 452, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The terms of the initial public members appointed to the
  Texas Slavery and Segregation Commission expire February 1, 2027.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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