Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The board. A
Radiation Advisory Board shall be appointed under and governed by this section.
(1) The name of the board shall be the
Radiation Advisory Board (board).
(2) The board is required to be established
by Health and Safety Code, §
401.015.
(b) Applicable law. The board is
subject to the Government Code, Chapter 2110, concerning state agency advisory
committees.
(c) Purpose. The
purpose of the board is to provide advice to the Executive Commissioner of the
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Executive Commissioner), the Texas
Department of State Health Services' (department) radiation program, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality, the Railroad Commission of Texas, and
other state entities in the area of state radiation policies and
programs.
(d) Tasks. The board
shall advise the Executive Commissioner in accordance with Health and Safety
Code, §
401.019.
(e) Composition. The board shall be composed
of 18 members appointed by the governor. The composition of the board shall
include representatives from those areas as delineated in Health and Safety
Code, §
401.015.
(f) Terms of office. The term of office of
each member shall be six years. Members shall serve after expiration of their
term until a replacement is appointed.
(1)
Members shall be appointed for staggered terms so that the terms of a
substantial equivalent number of members will expire at the discretion of the
governor.
(2) If a vacancy occurs,
a person shall be appointed by the governor to serve the unexpired portion of
that term.
(g) Officers.
The board shall elect a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary at its first
meeting after August 31st of each year.
(1)
Each officer shall serve until the next regular election of officers.
(2) The chairman shall preside at all board
meetings at which he or she is in attendance, call meetings in accordance with
this section, appoint subcommittees of the board as necessary, and cause proper
reports to be made to the board. The chairman may serve as an ex-officio member
of any subcommittee of the board.
(3) The vice-chairman shall perform the
duties of the chairman in case of the absence or disability of the chairman. In
case the office of chairman becomes vacant, the vice-chairman will serve until
a successor is elected to complete the unexpired portion of the term of the
office of chairman.
(4) A vacancy
which occurs in the offices of chairman, vice-chairman or secretary may be
filled at the next board meeting.
(h) Meetings. The board shall meet quarterly
on dates set by the board to conduct board business.
(1) A special meeting may be called by the
chairman or at least five members of the board.
(2) Meeting arrangements shall be made by
department staff.
(3) The advisory
board is not a "governmental body" as defined in the Open Meetings Act.
However, in order to promote public participation, each meeting of the board
shall be announced and conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act,
Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, with the exception that the provisions
allowing executive sessions shall not apply.
(4) Each member of the board shall be
informed of a board meeting in a timely manner.
(5) A simple majority of the members of the
board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting official
business.
(6) The board is
authorized to transact official business only when in a legally constituted
meeting with quorum present.
(7)
The agenda for each board meeting shall include an item entitled public comment
under which any person will be allowed to address the board on matters relating
to board business. The chairman may establish procedures for public comment,
including a time limit on each comment.
(i) Attendance. Members shall attend board
meetings as scheduled. Members shall attend meetings of subcommittees to which
the member is assigned.
(1) A member shall
notify the chairman or appropriate department staff if he or she is unable to
attend a scheduled meeting.
(2) It
is grounds for removal from the board if a member cannot discharge the member's
duties for a substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed
because of illness or disability, or is absent from more than half of the board
meetings during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
of the advisory board.
(3) The
validity of an action of the board is not affected by the fact that it is taken
when a ground for removal of a member exists.
(j) Staff. Staff support for the board shall
be provided by the department.
(k)
Procedures. Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall be the basis of
parliamentary decisions except where otherwise provided by law or rule.
(1) Any action taken by the board must be
approved by a majority vote of the members present once quorum is
established.
(2) Each member shall
have one vote.
(3) A member may not
authorize another individual to represent the member by proxy.
(4) The board shall make decisions in the
discharge of its duties without discrimination based on any person's race,
creed, gender, religion, national origin, age, physical condition, or economic
status.
(5) Minutes of each board
meeting shall be taken by department staff.
(A) A summary of the meeting shall be
provided to each member of the board within 30 days of each meeting.
(B) After approval by the board, the minutes
shall be signed by the secretary.
(l) Subcommittees. The board may establish
subcommittees as necessary to assist the board in carrying out its duties.
(1) The chairman shall appoint members of the
board to serve on subcommittees and to act as subcommittee chairpersons. The
chairman may also appoint nonmembers of the board to serve on subcommittees as
the need for additional expertise arises.
(2) Subcommittees shall meet when called by
the subcommittee chairperson or when so directed by the board.
(3) A subcommittee chairperson shall make
regular reports to the board at each board meeting or in interim written
reports as needed. The reports shall include an executive summary or minutes of
each subcommittee meeting.
(m) Statement by members.
(1) The Executive Commissioner, the
department, and the board shall not be bound in any way by any statement or
action on the part of any board member except when a statement or action is in
pursuit of specific instructions from the Executive Commissioner, department,
or board.
(2) The board and its
members may not participate in legislative activity in the name of the
Executive Commissioner or the department except with approval through the
department's legislative process. Board members are not prohibited from
representing the board's decisions, themselves, or other entities in the
legislative process.
(3) A board
member should not accept or solicit any benefit that might reasonably tend to
influence the member in the discharge of the member's official
duties.
(4) A board member should
not disclose confidential information acquired through his or her board
membership.
(5) A board member
should not knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having
exercised the member's official powers or duties in favor of another
person.
(6) A board member who has
a personal or private interest in a matter pending before the board shall
publicly disclose the fact in a board meeting and may not vote or otherwise
participate in the matter. The phrase "personal or private interest" means the
board member has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter but does not include
the board member's engagement in a profession, trade, or occupation when the
member's interest is the same as all others similarly engaged in the
profession, trade, or occupation.
(n) Reports to the department. The board
shall file an annual written report with the Commissioner of the department or
his designee.
(o) Reimbursement for
expenses. In accordance with the requirements set forth in the Government Code,
Chapter 2110, a board member may receive reimbursement for the member's
expenses incurred for each day the member engages in official board business.
(1) No compensatory per diem shall be paid to
board members unless required by law, but members shall be reimbursed for
travel, meals, lodging, and incidental expenses in accordance with the General
Appropriations Act.
(2) A board
member who is an employee of a state agency, other than the department, may not
receive reimbursement for expenses from the department if he or she is
reimbursed by that state agency.
(3) A nonmember of the board who is appointed
to serve on a subcommittee may not receive reimbursement for expenses from the
department.
(4) Each member who is
to be reimbursed for expenses shall submit to staff the member's receipts for
expenses and any required official forms no later than 14 days after each board
meeting.
(5) Requests for
reimbursement of expenses shall be made on official state travel vouchers
prepared by department staff.
