SECTION 131.7. Organization of the Board

(a) In accordance with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1001, the board shall consist of members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The board shall also have as a member the commissioner of the General Land Office or a licensed state land surveyor employee of the General Land Office designated by the commissioner as director of surveying who shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board.

(b) 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. The presiding officer shall be the Chair of the board.

(c) The terms of board members appointed by the Governor shall be six years in length and shall be staggered so that the terms of not more than one-third of the members shall expire in a single calendar year. The terms of two members who are either licensed engineers or registered land surveyors and one member who is a representative of the public expire on August 31 of each odd-numbered year. Upon completion of a term, a member may continue to serve until a successor has been appointed. A member may be reappointed to successive terms at the discretion of the Governor.

(d) The board shall elect from its own membership a vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. These officers shall serve from September 1 through August 31 and shall be elected annually at a board meeting prior to September 1.

(e) The board as a whole may act as an executive committee.

(f) Five voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum.

(g) The board may transact official business only when in session with a quorum present and shall not be bound in any way by any statement or action on the part of any individual member except when such statement or action is in pursuance of specific instructions of the board. No order or decree shall be adopted by the board except in open meeting and in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551.

Source Note: The provisions of this §131.7 adopted to be effective May 20, 2004, 29 TexReg 4871; amended to be effective December 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 10161; amended to be effective December 11, 2016, 41 TexReg 9704; amended to be effective December 24, 2020, 45 TexReg 9202