Bill > A1345

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the Department of Commerce as a principal department in the Executive Branch of State government. The administrator and chief executive officer of the department will be known as the Secretary of Commerce, and who is to be a person qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the office. The secretary will be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and will serve at the pleasure of the Governor during the Governor's term of office and until the appointment and qualification of the secretary's successor. The secretary will devote their entire time to the duties of the office and will receive a salary as provided by law. Any vacancy occurring in the office of the secretary will be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The department and the secretary are to be responsible for the activities of the State government in the support and development of business, industry, and innovation through aid, promotion, and advertising, domestic and foreign commerce, business and technological growth, and any program as determined by the department. The Business Action Center in the Department of State is transferred, together with its functions, powers, and duties, to the department. The bill requires the secretary to submit an annual State of Commerce report to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the department's operations, business trends, key metrics, and recommendations for improving State economic policy. This bill provides that, within three months of the effective date of the bill, after consultation with all division directors, the secretary, after consultation with all division directors, the State Treasurer, and the commissioners of appropriate commissions and executive departments, including but not limited to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of State, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, is to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature identifying: those functions and duties currently exercised by other departments, divisions, agencies, commissions, councils, boards, offices, or bureaus of State government relating to commerce, economic development, and innovation that may be appropriately transferred to the department and those functions and duties transferred to the department pursuant to the provisions of this bill that may be appropriately transferred to other departments. The transfers may be effectuated by executive order or law, as is necessary. Within six months of the effective date of the bill, the secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, the State Treasurer, and the Secretary of State, is required to jointly review the operations, personnel, and staff organization of those agencies transferred from the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State to the Department of Commerce and, with the approval of the Civil Service Commission and the Office of Management and Budget, establish a plan, if needed, for the reorganization and transfer of personnel.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Cody Miller (D)*,  Dan Hutchison (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document