HBA-ALS H.B. 1151 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1151 By: McCall Public Health 3/15/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1989, the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities (OPDD) was created to coordinate the agencies and organizations involved in preventing developmental disabilities. Currently, OPDD is governed by an executive committee (committee) whose responsibilities include: promoting the development and coordination of statewide policies to benefit disabled persons; overseeing and updating a long-range plan for disabled persons; promoting a demographic survey of disabled persons; and promoting laws benefitting disabled persons. OPDD is subject to the Sunset Act and will be abolished on September 1, 1999, unless it is continued in existence by the legislature. The purpose of this bill is to continue the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities until the year 2007. H.B.1151 relates to the continuation and functions of OPDD. This bill requires that all appointments to the committee be made without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. This bill specifies the required procedures for designating the committee's presiding officer and removing committee members. H.B.1151 establishes committee members' training requirements and their required standards of conduct. This bill requires the executive director of OPDD to create and maintain an annual written policy statement to implement a program of equal employment opportunity. H.B.1151 also continues OPDD's existence until the year 2007. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 112.045, Human Resources Code, to require that appointments to the executive committee of the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities (committee) be made without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. Requires the governor to designate a committee member to serve as presiding officer of the committee at the will of the governor. Deletes language requiring the committee members to elect one member of the committee to serve as presiding officer. Makes a nonsubstantive change. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 112, Human Resources Code, by adding Sections 112.0451 through 112.0454, 112.0471, and 112.0472, as follows: Sec.112.0451. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Prohibits a person from being a member of the committee or acting as the committee's general counsel if the person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code (Registration of Lobbyists), due to the person's compensated activities on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the office. Sec. 112.0452. REMOVAL OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER. (a) Provides for specified grounds for removal of committee members from the committee. (b) Provides that a committee action taken while a ground for removal of a committee member exists does not affect the validity of that action. (c) Requires the executive director of the developmental disabilities program (director) to notify the committee's presiding officer of any knowledge of a potential ground for removal, and the presiding officer to then notify the governor and attorney general. Requires the director to notify the next highest ranking officer of the committee if the potential ground for removal involves the presiding officer. Requires that next highest ranking officer to then notify the governor and attorney general of the potential ground for removal. Sec. 112.0453. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER TRAINING. (a) Prohibits a person appointed to and qualified for office as a committee member from voting, deliberating, or being counted as an attending member at a committee meeting until that person completes a training program pursuant to this section. (b) Provides that the training program must provide the person specified information. (c) Entitles a person who is appointed to the committee to reimbursement for travel expenses in attending the training program regardless of whether the attendance occurs before or after the person qualifies for office. Sec. 112.0454. PUBLIC ACCESS. Requires the committee to develop and implement policies providing the public reasonable opportunity to appear and speak before the committee on an issue under the office's jurisdiction. Sec. 112.0471. QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT. Requires the director or the director's designee to provide members and employees information regarding the requirements for office or employment under this subchapter, including information regarding applicable standards of conduct. Sec. 112.0472. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICIES. (a) Requires the director to prepare and maintain a policy statement implementing an equal employment opportunity program to ensure personnel decisions are made without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. (b) Provides that the policy statement must include specified personnel policies and an analysis relating to the office's compliance with state and federal requirements. (c) Provides that the policy statement must be updated annually and be reviewed by the state Commission on Human Rights for compliance concerning personnel policies, and be filed with the governor's office. SECTION 3. Amends Section 112.052, Human Resources Code, to provide that the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), and is abolished and expires September 1, 2007, unless it is continued in existence under this chapter. SECTION 4.Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 5.Emergency clause.