Sec. 403.1042.  TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PERMANENT TRUST ACCOUNT INVESTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.  (a)  The tobacco settlement permanent trust account investment advisory committee shall advise the comptroller with respect to managing the assets of the tobacco settlement permanent trust account.  The committee shall provide the comptroller guidance with respect to the investment philosophy that should be pursued in managing these assets and the extent to which, at any particular time, the assets should be managed to maximize growth of the corpus or to maximize earnings.  Except as provided by Section 403.1041(h), the advisory committee serves in an advisory capacity only and is not a fiduciary with respect to the account.
(b)  The advisory committee is composed of 11 members appointed as follows:
(1)  one member appointed by the comptroller to represent a public hospital or hospital district located in a county with a population of 50,000 or less or a public hospital owned or maintained by a municipality;
(2)  one member appointed by the political subdivision that, in the year preceding the appointment, received the largest annual distribution paid from the account;
(3)  one member appointed by the political subdivision that, in the year preceding the appointment, received the second largest annual distribution paid from the account;
(4)  four members appointed by the Texas Conference of Urban Counties from nominations received from political subdivisions that,  in the year preceding the appointment, received the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th largest annual distribution paid from the account;
(5)  one member appointed by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas;
(6)  one member appointed by the North and East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association;
(7)  one member appointed by the South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association; and
(8)  one member appointed by the West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association.
(c)  A commissioners court that sets the tax rate for a hospital district must approve any person appointed by the hospital district to serve on the advisory committee.
(d)  The advisory committee shall elect the officers of the committee from among the members of the committee.
(e)  Except as provided by this subsection, members of the advisory committee serve staggered six-year terms expiring on August 31 of each odd-numbered year.  A member of the advisory committee whose term expires or who attempts to resign from the committee remains a member of the committee until the member's successor is appointed.
(f)  An individual or entity authorized to make an appointment to the advisory committee created under this section shall attempt to appoint persons who represent the gender composition, minority populations, and geographic regions of the state.
(g)  Members of the advisory committee serve without compensation from the trust fund or the state and may not be reimbursed from the trust fund or the state for travel expenses incurred while conducting the business of the advisory committee.
(h)  The comptroller shall provide administrative support and resources to the advisory committee as necessary for the advisory committee to perform the advisory committee's duties under this section and Section 403.1041.
(i)  Chapter 2110 does not apply to the advisory committee.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 753, Sec. 1.01, eff. Aug. 30, 1999.  Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1310, Sec. 20, eff. June 20, 2003.
Amended by: 
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1094 (H.B. 2120), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2005.