1. (a) Name. The name of this organization shall be the State Board of Review for the National Register of Historic Places, Texas.
2. (b) Purpose. The purpose of this organization is to review and make recommendations to the state historic preservation officer regarding nominations from Texas to the National Register of Historic Places, and to perform other duties and responsibilities as prescribed in the Federal Register.
3. (c) Membership. The voting membership of the state board of review shall consist of 11 Texas residents. The board shall include one professional in the disciplines of history, prehistoric archeology, and historic archeology, and two professionals each in architectural history and architecture. All professional members shall meet the minimum standards of professional qualifications as set forth in the Federal Register (Part V: 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 61, §61.4(e)) and verified by the state historic preservation officer (state liaison officer). Professionals from closely related fields are eligible to serve on the board of review in lieu of the above specified professionals subject to the approval of the National Park Service. The senior appointed representative from Texas serving as advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation shall serve as an ex-officio, voting member of the board. Three citizen members with a demonstrated interest, competence, and knowledge in historic preservation will be selected and shall serve as voting members.
4. (d) Appointments. Appointments to the state board of review shall be by majority vote of the Texas Historical Commission. The term of office for board of review members shall be two years, with five members to be appointed one year and six to be appointed on alternate years. Terms shall begin October 1. Appointments by the Texas Historical Commission to fill vacancies may occur at any time during the year. No member of the state board of review shall be appointed to more than three consecutive terms.
5. (e) Election and duties of officers. A chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary will be elected by the review board annually by a majority vote at the first meeting of each federal fiscal year. The chairperson shall perform such duties as are properly required of him or her by the board. He/she shall have general supervision of the affairs of the board, and shall have authority to interpret and carry out all policies established by its members. The vice-chairperson shall perform such duties as the board or chairperson directs, and shall preside in the absence of the chairperson. The secretary shall certify the minutes of all meetings of the board and shall perform other duties as may be prescribed by the chairperson or board. The secretary shall preside in the absence of both the chairperson and the vice-chairperson. The secretary shall complete an evaluation form for each nomination presented by staff at each board meeting. The form will become a part of the commission's permanent record of opinions and decisions by the board, and will be filed in the National Register programs office of the Texas Historical Commission.
6. (f) Meetings. Meetings of the state board of review shall be held as many times per year as prescribed in the Federal Register (Part V: 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 61, §61.4(e)) pertaining to the National Register of Historic Places. Other meetings may be called by the chairperson as needed. The majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum and the chairperson shall vote only to break a tie. The chairperson may appoint members to committees for specific purposes and committee meetings may be required. Committee reports, if any, shall be given to the full board. If the elected secretary is absent from a board meeting, the chairperson shall appoint a member of the board to serve as the secretary.
7. (g) Rules. The board of review shall adopt these written procedures as required by the federal guidelines for the National Register as published in the Federal Register (Part V: 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 61, §61.4(e)). The adoption of, and amendments to, these rules shall be subject to approval and adoption as rules by the Texas Historical Commission.

8. (h) Code of conduct.

   1. (1) No member of the state board of review may vote upon the consideration of a property for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places if the member has a conflict of interest, real or potential, in that vote.

   2. (2) A member of the board of review has a conflict of interest in such a vote if there is likely to be a financial benefit from the property being considered to any of the following:

      1. (A) the member of the board of review; or
      2. (B) any person of the member's immediate family, which includes spouse and any minor children; or
      3. (C) a business partner of the member; or
      4. (D) any organization for profit in which the member, or any person of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph is serving or is about to serve as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee.
   3. (3) A financial benefit includes, but is not limited to, grant money, contract, subcontract, royalty, commission, contingency, brokerage fee, gratuity, favor, or any other things of real or potential value.
   4. (4) A member of the state board of review who has a conflict of interest may not participate as a private citizen in the deliberations concerning the property being considered for nomination to the National Register.
   5. (5) Prior to any deliberations concerning the property in which a member of the state board of review has a conflict of interest, the member with a conflict shall announce, for the record, that such a conflict exists and physically recuse himself/herself from the decision-making process and not vote directly, in absentia, or by proxy in that matter. Review board minutes must indicate which member recused himself/herself and the reasons for the recusal.
   6. (6) The nomination of any property passed by the board of review in which a member of the board has announced a conflict of interest will be forwarded to the United States Department of the Interior with a request for an intensive review of that nomination.
9. (i) Conduct of meetings. Parliamentary authority shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, except where specifically provided for otherwise in these rules.

Source Note:The provisions of this §15.3 adopted to be effective December 31, 1984, 9 TexReg 6315; amended to be effective March 5, 1992, 17 TexReg 1459; amended to be effective July 9, 1996, 21 TexReg 5972.