Sec. 2054.021. COMPOSITION OF BOARD; TERMS; TRAINING. (a) The department is governed by a board composed of seven voting members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. One member must be employed by an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.

(b) Voting members of the board serve for staggered six-year terms with two or three members' terms expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(c) Two groups each composed of three ex officio members serve on the board on a rotating basis. The ex officio members serve as nonvoting members of the board. Only one group serves at a time. The first group is composed of the commissioner of insurance, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, and the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. Members of the first group serve for two-year terms that begin February 1 of every other odd-numbered year and that expire on February 1 of the next odd-numbered year. The second group is composed of the commissioner of education, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the executive director of the Parks and Wildlife Department. Members of the second group serve for two-year terms that begin February 1 of the odd-numbered years in which the terms of members of the first group expire and that expire on February 1 of the next odd-numbered year.

(d) An ex officio member may designate an employee on the management or senior staff level of the member's agency to serve in the member's place.

(e) Appointments to the board shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the appointees.

(f) To be eligible to take office or serve as a voting or nonvoting member of the board, a person appointed to or scheduled to serve as an ex officio member of the board must complete at least one course of a training program that complies with this section. A voting or nonvoting board member must complete a training program that complies with Subsection (g) not later than the 180th day after the date on which the person takes office or begins serving as a member of the board.

(g) The training program must provide information to the person regarding:

(1) this chapter and the board to which the person is appointed to serve;

(2) the programs operated by the department;

(3) the role and functions of the department;

(4) the rules of the department, with an emphasis on the rules that relate to disciplinary and investigatory authority;

(5) the current budget for the department;

(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the department;

(7) the requirements of the:

(A) open meetings law, Chapter 551;

(B) open records law, Chapter 552; and

(C) administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001;

(8) the requirements of the conflict of interest laws and other laws relating to public officials;

(9) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the department or the Texas Ethics Commission; and

(10) contract management training.

(h) A person appointed to the board is entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in attending the training program, as provided by the General Appropriations Act and as if the person were a member of the board.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 606, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, Sec. 22.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 265 (H.B. 7), Sec. 6.011, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 9 (H.B. 675), Sec. 1, eff. April 23, 2007.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 48 (H.B. 2472), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.