84R17585 DDT-F
	By: Parker, Capriglione	H.B. No. 2493
	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2493:
	By:  Longoria	C.S.H.B. No. 2493

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the self-directed and semi-independent status of the
	State Securities Board; authorizing fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  The Securities Act (Article 581-1 et seq.,
	Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Sections 44,
	45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52 to read as follows:
	Sec. 44.  SELF-DIRECTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATUS. A.
	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State Securities
	Board is self-directed and semi-independent as specified by this
	Act. Any Act of the 84th Legislature that relates to the Board and
	that is inconsistent with the agency being self-directed and
	semi-independent may be implemented by the Commissioner only on
	authorization by the members of the Board.
	B.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the State
	Securities Board is subject to a provision of law that applies to
	state agencies, including:
	(1)  state purchasing requirements under Subtitle D,
	Title 10, Government Code;
	(2)  interagency transfer voucher requirements under
	Section 2155.327, Government Code;
	(3)  travel requirements under Chapters 2171 and 2205,
	Government Code, using amounts provided by the General
	Appropriations Act to guide travel reimbursement rates; and
	(4)  prompt payment requirements under Chapter 2251,
	Government Code.
	Sec. 45.  BUDGET, REVENUES, AND EXPENSES. A. The
	Commissioner shall submit to the members of the Board an annual
	budget using generally accepted accounting principles.
	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including the General
	Appropriations Act, the budget shall be adopted and approved only
	by the members of the Board.
	B.  The State Securities Board is responsible for all direct
	and indirect costs of the agency's existence and operation. The
	agency may not directly or indirectly cause the general revenue
	fund to incur any cost.
	C.  Subject to any limitations in this Act, the Board may set
	the amounts of the respective fees, penalties, charges, and
	revenues required or permitted by statute or rule as necessary to
	carry out the agency's functions and to fund the budget adopted and
	approved under Subsection A of this section.
	D.  Periodically, the Commissioner shall submit to the
	members of the Board, as directed by the Board members, a report of
	the receipts and expenditures of the agency.
	E.  The fiscal year for the agency begins on September 1 and
	ends on August 31.
	F.  All fees and funds collected by the agency under
	Subsection A, Section 35, of this Act and any funds appropriated to
	the agency shall be deposited in interest-bearing deposit accounts
	in the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company to be used
	exclusively to pay costs incurred by the agency in administering
	this Act. The comptroller shall contract with the agency for the
	maintenance of the deposit accounts under terms comparable to a
	contract between a commercial banking institution and the
	institution's customers. The agency may not hold funds in an
	account that is not under the control of the comptroller.
	G.  Except as provided by Subsection F of this section, all
	other money collected by the Commissioner or Board and any other
	funds belonging to or under the control of the Board shall be
	deposited into the general revenue fund.
	H.  If the Commissioner or Board determines that all or part
	of a registration fee should be refunded, the refund shall be made
	by warrant on the state treasury from the fund into which the
	registration fee was deposited.
	I.  The agency shall use the comptroller's uniform statewide
	accounting system under Chapter 2101, Government Code, to make all
	payments, other than direct payments from the agency's account to
	the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company.
	Sec. 46.  RECORDS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. A. The
	Commissioner shall keep financial and statistical information as
	necessary to disclose completely and accurately the financial
	condition and operations of the agency.
	B.  Before the beginning of each regular session of the
	legislature, the Commissioner shall submit to the legislature and
	the governor a report describing all of the agency's activities in
	the previous biennium. The report must include:
	(1)  an audit;
	(2)  a financial report of the two preceding fiscal
	years, including reports on financial condition and operations;
	(3)  a description of all changes in fees imposed on
	regulated persons;
	(4)  a report on changes in the regulatory jurisdiction
	of the Board; and
	(5)  a list of all new rules adopted or repealed.
	C.  In addition to the reporting requirements of Subsection B
	of this section, not later than November 1 of each year, the
	Commissioner shall submit to the governor, the committee of each
	house of the legislature that has jurisdiction over appropriations,
	and the Legislative Budget Board a report that contains:
	(1)  the salary for Board employees and the total
	amount of per diem expenses and travel expenses paid for all Board
	employees, including trend performance data for the preceding five
	fiscal years;
	(2)  the total amount of per diem expenses and travel
	expenses paid for each member of the Board, including trend
	performance data for the preceding five fiscal years;
	(3)  the agency's operating plan covering a period of
	two fiscal years and operating budget, including revenues and a
	breakdown of expenditures by program and administrative expenses,
	showing:
	(a)  projected budget data for a period of two
	fiscal years; and
	(b)  trend performance data for the preceding five
	fiscal years regarding:
	(i)  the number of full-time equivalent
	positions at the agency;
	(ii)  the number of complaints received from
	the public and the number of complaints initiated by Board
	employees;
	(iii)  the number of complaints dismissed
	and the number of complaints resolved by enforcement action;
	(iv)  the number of enforcement actions by
	sanction type;
	(v)  the number of enforcement cases closed
	through voluntary compliance;
	(vi)  the amount of administrative penalties
	assessed and the rate of collection of assessed administrative
	penalties;
	(vii)  the number of enforcement cases that
	allege a threat to public health, safety, or welfare or a violation
	of professional standards of care and the disposition of those
	cases;
	(viii)  the average time to resolve a
	complaint;
	(ix)  the number of license holders or
	regulated persons broken down by type of license and license
	status, including inactive status or retired status;
	(x)  the fee charged to issue and renew each
	type of license, certificate, permit, or other similar
	authorization issued by the Commissioner under this Act;
	(xi)  the average time to issue a license;
	(xii)  litigation costs, broken down by
	administrative hearings, judicial proceedings, and outside counsel
	costs; and
	(xiii)  reserve fund balances; and
	(4)  a detailed report of all revenue received and all
	expenses incurred by the agency in the preceding 12 months.
	Sec. 47.  ABILITY TO CONTRACT. A. To carry out and promote
	the objectives of this Act, the Commissioner may enter into
	contracts and do all other acts incidental to those contracts that
	are necessary for the administration of the agency's affairs and
	for the attainment of the agency's purposes, except as limited by
	Subsection B of this section.
	B.  Any indebtedness, liability, or obligation of the agency
	incurred under this section may not:
	(1)  create a debt or other liability of this state or
	another entity other than the agency; or
	(2)  create any personal liability on the part of the
	members of the Board or the Board's employees.
	Sec. 48.  PROPERTY. The Commissioner, on behalf of the
	agency, may:
	(1)  acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or any other
	manner provided by law and maintain, use, and operate any real,
	personal, or mixed property, or any interest in property, necessary
	or convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, or
	functions of the agency;
	(2)  sell or otherwise dispose of any real, personal,
	or mixed property, or any interest in property, that the
	Commissioner determines is not necessary or convenient to the
	exercise of the agency's powers, rights, privileges, or functions;
	(3)  construct, extend, improve, maintain, and
	reconstruct, or cause to construct, extend, improve, maintain, and
	reconstruct, and use and operate all facilities necessary or
	convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, or
	functions of the agency; and
	(4)  borrow money, as may be authorized from time to
	time by an affirmative vote of a three-fifths majority of the Board,
	for a period not to exceed five years if necessary or convenient to
	the exercise of the agency's powers, rights, privileges, or
	functions.
	Sec. 49.  POST-PARTICIPATION LIABILITY. A. If the State
	Securities Board no longer has status under this Act as a
	self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason, the agency
	shall be liable for any expenses or debts incurred by the agency
	during the time the agency was a self-directed semi-independent
	agency. The agency's liability under this section includes
	liability for any lease entered into by the agency. This state is
	not liable for any expense or debt covered by this subsection, and
	money from the general revenue fund may not be used to repay the
	expense or debt.
	B.  If the Board no longer has status under this Act as a
	self-directed semi-independent agency for any reason, ownership of
	any property or other asset acquired by the agency during the time
	the agency was a self-directed semi-independent agency, including
	unexpended fees in a deposit account in the Texas Treasury
	Safekeeping Trust Company, shall be transferred to this state.
	Sec. 50.  DUE PROCESS; OPEN GOVERNMENT. The State Securities
	Board is:
	(1)  a governmental body for purposes of Chapters 551
	and 552, Government Code; and
	(2)  a state agency for purposes of Chapters 2001 and
	2005, Government Code.
	Sec. 51.  MEMBERSHIP IN EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
	Employees of the State Securities Board are members of the
	Employees Retirement System of Texas under Chapter 812, Government
	Code, and the Board's transition to independent status as provided
	by this Act has no effect on their membership or any benefits under
	that system.
	Sec. 52.  GIFTS. A. Notwithstanding any other law, the
	Commissioner may not accept a gift, grant, or donation on behalf of
	the agency:
	(1)  from a party to an enforcement action; or
	(2)  to pursue a specific investigation or enforcement
	action.
	B.  The Commissioner must:
	(1)  report each gift, grant, or donation that the
	agency receives as a separate item in the agency's report required
	under Subsection B, Section 46, of this Act; and
	(2)  include with the report a statement indicating the
	purpose for which each gift, grant, or donation was donated and
	used.
	SECTION 2.  Subsections D, G, K, and O, Section 2, The
	Securities Act (Article 581-2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are
	amended to read as follows:
	D.  Each member of the Board is entitled to reimbursement for
	travel expenses incurred [per diem as set by legislative
	appropriation] for each day that the member engages in the business
	of the Board.
	The Governor shall designate a member of the Board as the
	presiding officer of the Board to serve in that capacity at the will
	of the Governor. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum
	for the transaction of any business.
	G.  The Board shall appoint a Securities Commissioner who
	serves at the pleasure of the Board and who shall, under the
	supervision of the Board, administer the provisions of this Act.
	The Board shall determine the Commissioner's salary. Each member of
	the Board shall have access to all offices and records under his
	supervision, and the Board, or a majority thereof, may exercise any
	power or perform any act authorized to the [Securities]
	Commissioner by the provisions of this Act.
	K.  The Commissioner shall determine the number of Board
	employees and the employees' salaries. The Commissioner or his
	designee shall develop an intraagency career ladder program, one
	part of which shall be the intraagency posting of all nonentry level
	positions for at least ten (10) days before any public posting. The
	Commissioner or his designee shall develop a system of annual
	performance evaluations based on measurable job tasks. All merit
	pay for Board employees must be based on the system established
	under this section.
	O.  The Sunset Advisory Commission shall examine the State
	Securities Board's performance as a self-directed and
	semi-independent agency as part of the commission's periodic review
	of the agency under [The State Securities Board is subject to]
	Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act).  The agency shall
	pay the cost incurred by the commission in performing a review of
	the agency. The commission shall determine the cost and submit to
	the agency a statement detailing the cost. The agency shall pay the
	amount promptly after receiving the statement. Unless continued in
	existence as provided by that chapter, the State Securities Board
	[board] is abolished and this Act expires September 1, 2019.
	SECTION 3.  Subsection C, Section 2-3, The Securities Act
	(Article 581-2-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
	read as follows:
	C.  A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
	reimbursement[, as provided by the General Appropriations Act,] for
	the travel expenses incurred in attending the training program
	regardless of whether the attendance at the program occurs before
	or after the person qualifies for office.
	SECTION 4.  Subsection A, Section 35, The Securities Act
	(Article 581-35, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
	as follows:
	A.  The Board shall establish the following fees to produce
	[in amounts so that the aggregate amount that exceeds the amount of
	the fees on September 1, 2002, produces] sufficient revenue to
	cover the costs of administering and enforcing this Act:
	(1)  for the filing of any original, amended, or
	renewal application to sell or dispose of securities[, an amount
	not to exceed $100];
	(2)  for the filing of any original application of a
	dealer or investment adviser or for the submission of a notice
	filing for a federal covered investment adviser[, an amount not to
	exceed $100];
	(3)  for the filing of any renewal application of a
	dealer or investment adviser or for the submission of a renewal
	notice filing for a federal covered investment adviser[, an amount
	not to exceed $100];
	(4)  for the filing of any original application for
	each agent, officer, or investment adviser representative or for
	the submission of a notice filing for each representative of a
	federal covered investment adviser[, an amount not to exceed $100];
	and
	(5)  for the filing of any renewal application for each
	agent, officer, or investment adviser representative or for the
	submission of a renewal notice filing for each representative of a
	federal covered investment adviser[, an amount not to exceed $100].
	SECTION 5.  The following provisions of The Securities Act
	(Article 581-l et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) are
	repealed:
	(1)  Subsections J and N, Section 2;
	(2)  Subsections C and D, Section 35; and
	(3)  Section 36.
	SECTION 6.  Subject to Section 45, The Securities Act
	(Article 581-45, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this
	Act, the appropriations made by an Act of the 84th Legislature,
	Regular Session, 2015, may be spent by the State Securities Board as
	the Securities Commissioner directs. The board shall repay to the
	general revenue fund the appropriation made to the agency for the
	state fiscal year ending August 31, 2016, not later than that date
	and as funds become available. The board shall repay to the general
	revenue fund the appropriation made to the board for the state
	fiscal year ending August 31, 2017, not later than that date and as
	funds become available.
	SECTION 7.  The transfer of the State Securities Board to
	self-directed and semi-independent status under this Act, and the
	expiration of self-directed and semi-independent status may not act
	to cancel, suspend, or prevent:
	(1)  any debt owed to or by the State Securities Board;
	(2)  any fine, tax, penalty, or obligation of any
	party;
	(3)  any contract or other obligation of any party; or
	(4)  any action taken by the State Securities Board,
	the Securities Commissioner, or the board's employees in the
	administration or enforcement of the agency's duties.
	SECTION 8.  The State Securities Board shall continue to
	have and exercise the powers and duties allocated to the board in
	the board's enabling legislation, except as specifically amended by
	this Act.
	SECTION 9.  Title to or ownership of all supplies,
	materials, records, equipment, books, papers, and furniture used by
	the State Securities Board is transferred to the State Securities
	Board in fee simple. This Act does not affect any property owned by
	the State Securities Board on or before the effective date of this
	Act.
	SECTION 10.  Beginning September 1, 2015, the State
	Securities Board shall pay rent to this state in a reasonable amount
	to be determined by the Texas Facilities Commission for its use and
	occupancy of state-owned office space.
	SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.