85R11907 JRR-D
 
  By: Gonzales of Williamson H.B. No. 3951
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the functions of the Texas Department of Transportation
  relating to aircraft owned or leased by the state; authorizing an
  increase in rates charged for the use of state aircraft to provide
  for the acquisition of replacement aircraft.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2167.001(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  This chapter applies to:
               (1)  office space;
               (2)  warehouse space;
               (3)  laboratory space;
               (4)  storage space exceeding 1,000 gross square feet;
               (5)  boat storage space;
               (6)  aircraft hangar space other than hangar space and
  adjacent space leased by the Texas Department of Transportation
  [State Aircraft Pooling Board] at Austin-Bergstrom International
  Airport and operated for the purpose of providing air
  transportation services for the State of Texas;
               (7)  vehicle parking space; and
               (8)  a combination of those kinds of space.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2175.191(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  Proceeds from the sale of surplus and salvage property
  of the Texas Department of Transportation relating to the
  department's duties under Chapter 2205 [State Aircraft Pooling
  Board] shall be deposited to the credit of the department [board].
         SECTION 3.  The heading to Subchapter A, Chapter 2205,
  Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER A. [STATE AIRCRAFT POOLING BOARD;] GENERAL PROVISIONS
         SECTION 4.  Section 2205.002(1), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Department [Board]" means the Texas Department of
  Transportation [State Aircraft Pooling Board].
         SECTION 5.  Section 2205.012, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.012.  STAFF. [(a)] The department [board] may
  employ and compensate staff as provided by legislative
  appropriation or may use staff provided by the comptroller or the
  state auditor's office.
         [(b)     The board shall develop and implement policies that
  clearly define the respective responsibilities of the board and the
  staff the board uses.]
         SECTION 6.  Section 2205.032, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.032.  CUSTODY, CONTROL, OPERATION, AND
  MAINTENANCE. (a) The department [board] shall operate a pool for
  the custody, control, operation, and maintenance of all aircraft
  owned or leased by the state.
         (b)  The department [board] may purchase aircraft with funds
  appropriated for that purpose.
         (c)  As part of the strategic plan that the department
  [board] develops and submits under Chapter 2056, the department
  [board] shall develop a long-range plan for its pool of aircraft.
  The department [board] shall include [appropriate portions of] the
  long-range plan in the department's [its] legislative
  appropriations request if the department identifies the need for
  additional appropriations and the additional appropriations are
  related to the department's duties under this chapter. The
  long-range plan must include:
               (1)  estimates of future aircraft replacement needs and
  other fleet management needs, including:
                     (A)  any projected need to increase or decrease
  the number of aircraft in the pool;
                     (B)  estimates of the remaining useful life for
  each aircraft in the pool; and
                     (C)  a proposed schedule for replacing aircraft in
  the pool;
               (2)  a range of alternatives and scenarios for the
  number and types of aircraft in the pool;
               (3)  an analysis of current usage of aircraft in the
  pool, including customer base and documented rationale for use;
               (4)  the status of maintenance time and costs and
  projected future trends regarding maintenance time and costs;
               (5)  any documented high-risk mechanical issues with
  aircraft in the pool;
               (6)  an analysis of the costs and benefits of different
  methods for meeting air transportation currently provided by the
  department under Section 2205.036, including:
                     (A)  the potential use of statewide contracts for
  private charter aircraft services; 
                     (B)  increased reliance on commercial carriers
  for routine travel; 
                     (C)  decreasing the number of aircraft in the pool
  and increasing the use of contracted flight services; and
                     (D)  any other method the department considers
  feasible; and 
               (7)  an analysis of the impact of including capital
  recovery costs in the rates the department charges under Section
  2205.040 that, at a minimum, includes the impact of those included
  costs on customer utilization and the department's schedule for
  replacing aircraft in the pool.
         (d)  In developing the long-range plan, the department
  [board] shall consider at a minimum for each aircraft in the pool:
               (1)  how much the aircraft is used and the purposes for
  which the aircraft [it] is used;
               (2)  the cost of operating the aircraft and the revenue
  generated by the aircraft; and
               (3)  the demand for the aircraft or for that type of
  aircraft.
         (e)  The department shall update the long-range plan
  annually and make the plan available on the department's Internet
  website.
         SECTION 7.  Section 2205.034, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.034.  FACILITIES. (a) The department [board] may
  acquire appropriate facilities for the accommodation of all
  aircraft owned or leased by the state. The facilities may be
  purchased or leased as determined by the department [board] to be
  most economical for the state and as provided by legislative
  appropriations. The facilities may include adequate hangar space,
  an indoor passenger waiting area, a flight-planning area,
  communications facilities, and other related and necessary
  facilities.
         (b)  A state agency that operates an aircraft may not use a
  facility in Austin other than a facility operated by the department
  [board] for the storage, parking, fueling, or maintenance of the
  aircraft, whether or not the aircraft is based in Austin. In a
  situation the department [board] determines to be an emergency, the
  department [board] may authorize a state agency to use a facility in
  Austin other than a department [board] facility for the storage,
  parking, fueling, or maintenance of an aircraft.
         SECTION 8.  Section 2205.035, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.035.  AIRCRAFT LEASES. (a) The department
  [board] by interagency contract may lease state-owned aircraft to a
  state agency.
         (b)  A state agency that is the prior owner or lessee of an
  aircraft has the first option to lease that aircraft from the
  department [board].
         (c)  The lease may provide for operation or maintenance by
  the department [board] or the state agency.
         (d)  A state agency may not expend appropriated funds for the
  lease of an aircraft unless the department [board] executes the
  lease or approves the lease [by board order].
         (e)  A state agency may not use money appropriated by the
  legislature to rent or lease aircraft except from the department
  [board] or as provided by Subsection (f). For purposes of this
  subsection and Subsection (f), payments of mileage reimbursements
  provided for by the General Appropriations Act are not rentals or
  leases of aircraft.
         (f)  If the department [board] determines that no
  state-owned aircraft is available to meet a transportation need
  that has arisen or that a rental or lease of aircraft would reduce
  the state's transportation costs, the department [board] shall
  authorize a state agency to expend funds for the rental or lease of
  aircraft, which may include a helicopter.
         SECTION 9.  Section 2205.036, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.036.  PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION. (a) The
  department [board] shall provide aircraft transportation, to the
  extent that its aircraft are available, to:
               (1)  state officers and employees who are traveling on
  official business according to the coordinated passenger
  scheduling system and the priority scheduling system developed as
  part of the aircraft operations manual under Section 2205.038;
               (2)  persons in the care or custody of state officers or
  employees described by Subdivision (1); and
               (3)  persons whose transportation furthers official
  state business.
         (b)  The department [board] may not provide aircraft
  transportation to a passenger if the passenger is to be transported
  to or from a place where the passenger:
               (1)  will make or has made a speech not related to
  official state business;
               (2)  will attend or has attended an event sponsored by a
  political party;
               (3)  will perform a service or has performed a service
  for which the passenger is to receive an honorarium, unless the
  passenger reimburses the department [board] for the cost of
  transportation;
               (4)  will attend or has attended an event at which money
  is raised for private or political purposes; or
               (5)  will attend or has attended an event at which an
  audience was charged an admission fee to see or hear the passenger.
         (c)  The department [board] may not provide aircraft
  transportation to a destination unless:
               (1)  the destination is not served by a commercial
  carrier;
               (2)  the aircraft transportation is the most
  cost-effective travel arrangement in accordance with Section
  660.007(a) [time required to use a commercial carrier interferes
  with passenger obligations]; [or]
               (3)  the number of passengers traveling makes the use
  of a state aircraft cost-effective; or
               (4)  emergency circumstances necessitate the use of a
  state aircraft.
         (d)  Before the executive director of the department or the
  director's designee may authorize a person to use a state-operated
  aircraft, the person must sign an affidavit stating that the person
  is traveling on official state business. On filing of the
  affidavit, the person may be authorized to use state-operated
  aircraft for official state business for a period of one year. A
  member of the legislature is not required to receive any other
  additional authorization to use a state-operated aircraft.
         (e)  Before the executive director of the department or the
  director's designee may authorize an employee of a state agency to
  use a state-operated aircraft, the administrative head of the state
  agency must certify that the employee's transportation complies
  with the requirements of this section.
         SECTION 10.  Section 2205.038, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.038.  AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS MANUAL. (a) The
  department [board] shall:
               (1)  prepare a manual that establishes minimum
  standards for the operation of aircraft by state agencies; and
               (2)  adopt procedures for the distribution of the
  manual to state agencies.
         (b)  The manual must include provisions for:
               (1)  pilot certification standards, including medical
  requirements for pilots;
               (2)  recurring training programs for pilots;
               (3)  general operating and flight rules;
               (4)  coordinated passenger scheduling; and
               (5)  other issues the department [board] determines are
  necessary to ensure the efficient and safe operation of aircraft by
  a state agency.
         (c)  The department [board] shall confer with and solicit the
  written advice of state agencies the department [board] determines
  are principal users of aircraft operated by the department [board]
  and, to the extent practicable, incorporate that advice in the
  development of the manual and subsequent changes to the manual.
         (d)  The department [board] shall give an officer normally
  elected by statewide election priority in the scheduling of
  aircraft. The department [board] by rule may require a 12-hour
  notice by the officer to obtain the priority in scheduling.
         SECTION 11.  Section 2205.039, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.039.  TRAVEL LOG. (a) The Legislative Budget
  Board, in cooperation with the department [board], shall prescribe:
               (1)  a travel log form for gathering information about
  the use of state-operated aircraft;
               (2)  procedures to ensure that individuals who travel
  as passengers on or operate state-operated aircraft provide in a
  legible manner the information requested of them by the form; and
               (3)  procedures for each state agency that operates an
  aircraft for sending the form to the department [board] and the
  Legislative Budget Board.
         (b)  The travel log form must request the following
  information about a state-operated aircraft each time the aircraft
  is flown:
               (1)  a mission statement, which may appear as a
  selection to be identified from general categories appearing on the
  form;
               (2)  the name, state agency represented, destination,
  and signature of each person who is a passenger or crew member of
  the aircraft;
               (3)  the date of each flight;
               (4)  a detailed and specific description of the
  official business purpose of each flight; and
               (5)  other information determined by the Legislative
  Budget Board and the department [board] to be necessary to monitor
  the proper use of the aircraft.
         (c)  A state agency other than the department [Texas
  Department of Transportation] shall send the agency's travel logs
  to the department on an annual basis.  An agency is not required to
  file a travel log with the department if the agency did not operate
  an aircraft during the period covered by the travel log.
         SECTION 12.  Section 2205.040, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.040.  RATES AND BILLING PROCEDURES; ACCOUNT FOR
  CAPITAL REPLACEMENT COSTS. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the
  department [The board] shall adopt rates for interagency aircraft
  services that are sufficient to recover, in the aggregate and to the
  extent possible, all direct costs for the services provided,
  including a state agency's pro rata share of major maintenance,
  overhauls of equipment and facilities, and pilots' salaries.
         (b)  If the department's most recent long-term plan contains
  an analysis under Section 2205.032(c)(7) that finds that including
  capital recovery costs in the rates the department charges under
  this section is a practicable fleet replacement strategy, the
  department may adopt rates for interagency aircraft services
  provided by the department that are sufficient to recover, in the
  aggregate and to the extent possible: 
               (1)  all direct costs for services provided, as
  provided by Subsection (a); and
               (2)  the capital costs of replacing aircraft in the
  pool. 
         (c)  The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the
  department [board] and the state auditor, shall prescribe a billing
  procedure for passenger travel on state-operated aircraft.
         (d)  If the department adopts rates under Subsection (b), the
  portion of the rates collected for the capital costs of replacing
  aircraft in the pool shall be deposited in a separate account in the
  state highway fund. Money in the account may be used only for the
  acquisition of aircraft for the pool operated by the department
  under Section 2205.032.
         SECTION 13.  Section 2205.041, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.041.  AIRCRAFT USE FORM. (a)  The department
  [Texas Department of Transportation] shall prescribe:
               (1)  an annual aircraft use form for gathering
  information about the use of state-operated aircraft, including the
  extent to which and the methods by which the goal provided by
  Section 2205.031(b) is being met; and
               (2)  procedures for each state agency that operates an
  aircraft for sending the form to the department.
         (b)  The aircraft use form must request the following
  information about each aircraft a state agency operates:
               (1)  a description of the aircraft;
               (2)  the date purchased or leased and the purchase
  price or lease cost;
               (3)  the number of annual hours flown;
               (4)  the annual operating costs;
               (5)  the number of flights and the destinations;
               (6)  the travel logs prepared under Section 2205.039;
  and
               (7)  any other information the department [Texas
  Department of Transportation] requires to document the proper or
  cost-efficient use of the aircraft.
         SECTION 14.  Section 2205.042, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.042.  PILOTS. An individual who is not a pilot
  employed by the department [board] may not operate a state-operated
  aircraft unless the department [board] grants the individual a
  specific exemption from that requirement.
         SECTION 15.  Section 2205.043(b), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department [board] shall adopt rules, consistent
  with federal regulations and Section 3101.001, governing the color,
  size, and location of marks of identification required by this
  section.
         SECTION 16.  Section 2205.044, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.044.  FUEL AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS. The
  department [board] may contract with a state or federal
  governmental agency or a political subdivision to provide aircraft
  fuel or to provide aircraft maintenance services.
         SECTION 17.  Section 2205.045(a), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department [board] may purchase insurance to
  protect the department [board] from loss caused by damage, loss,
  theft, or destruction of aircraft owned or leased by the state and
  shall purchase liability insurance to protect the officers and
  employees of each state agency from loss arising from the operation
  of state-owned aircraft.
         SECTION 18.  Section 2205.046, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.046.  AIRCRAFT FOR FLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMS. (a)
  The department [board] may transfer aircraft to a public technical
  institute or other public postsecondary educational institution
  for use in the institution's flight training program. Except as
  provided by this section, the department [board] has no
  responsibility for continued maintenance of aircraft transferred
  under this section.
         (b)  As a condition to the transfer of the aircraft, the
  institution must certify in writing to the department [board] that
  the institution will accept full responsibility for maintenance of
  the aircraft and that it will be properly maintained while in the
  custody and control of the institution. The department [board] is
  entitled to inspect the aircraft without notice for the purpose of
  ensuring [insuring] that the aircraft is [are] properly maintained.
         (c)  The department [board] may immediately reassume custody
  and control of a transferred aircraft on a finding by the department
  [board] that:
               (1)  the aircraft is not being properly maintained;
               (2)  the aircraft is being used for a purpose other than
  flight training; or
               (3)  the institution has discontinued its flight
  training program.
         SECTION 19.  Section 2205.047, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2205.047.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE INTERNET. The
  department [board] shall post information related to travel and
  other services provided by the department [board] on an Internet
  website [site] maintained by or for the department [board]. The
  site must be generally accessible to state agencies, persons who
  use the department's [board's] services, and, to the extent
  appropriate, the general public.
         SECTION 20.  Section 21.069(a), Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The department[, in consultation with the State
  Aircraft Pooling Board,] shall establish a state airport in Central
  Texas that is open to the general public.
         SECTION 21.  Sections 2205.003, 2205.004, 2205.005,
  2205.006, 2205.007, 2205.008, 2205.009, 2205.010, 2205.011,
  2205.013, 2205.014, 2205.015, and 2205.017, Government Code, are
  repealed.
         SECTION 22.  Not later than September 1, 2018, the Texas
  Department of Transportation shall adopt the first long-range plan
  containing the information required by Section 2205.032(c),
  Government Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 23.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.