Board members must represent the public, and several conflicts make a person ineligible for board membership or related roles.
Sec. 492.003. ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP; REMOVAL. (a) Each member of the board must be representative of the general public. A person is not eligible for appointment as a member if the person or the person's spouse: (1) is a person, other than a judge participating in the management of a community supervision and corrections department, who is employed by or participates in the management of a business entity or other organization regulated by the department or receiving funds from the department; (2) owns, or controls directly or indirectly, more than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other organization regulated by the department or receiving funds from the department, including an entity or organization with which the department contracts under Subchapter C, Chapter 497; (3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible goods, services, or funds from the department, other than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board membership, attendance, or expenses; or (4) owns, controls directly or indirectly, or is employed by a business entity or other organization with which the department contracts concerning a private sector prison industries program approved and certified by the board under Subchapter C, Chapter 497. (b) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily joined association of business or professional competitors in this state designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in dealing with mutual business or professional problems and in promoting their common interests. (c) A person may not be a member of the board and may not be a department employee employed in a "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, if: (1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal justice or private sector prison industries; or (2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal justice or private sector prison industries. (d) A person who is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the person's activities for compensation in or on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the board may not serve as a member of the board or act as the general counsel to the board or the department. (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) It is a ground for removal from the board if a member: (1) does not have at the time of taking office the qualifications required by Subsection (a) for appointment to the board; (2) does not maintain during the member's service on the board the qualifications required by Subsection (a) for appointment to the board; (3) is ineligible for membership under Subsection (c) or (d); (4) is unable to discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the member was appointed because of illness or disability; or (5) is absent from more than half of the regularly scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend during each calendar year or is absent from more than two consecutive regularly scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend, except when the absence is excused by majority vote of the board. (g) The validity of an action of the board is not affected by the fact that it was taken when a ground for removal of a member of the board existed. (h) If the executive director has knowledge that a potential ground for removal exists, the director shall notify the chairman of the board of the ground. The chairman shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal involves the chairman, the executive director shall notify the next highest ranking officer of the board, who shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 212, Sec. 2.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1188, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1282 (H.B. 1914), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2009.