(a) The commission shall employ an executive director.
(b) A person employed as executive director must:
(1) be a citizen of this state;
(2) have ability in organization, administration, and coordination of organizational work; and
(3) have particular qualities for carrying out the purposes of the commission.

(b-1) The executive director may not serve as a voting director on the board of directors of an affiliated nonprofit organization formed under § 442.005(p).
(c) The executive director may employ professional and clerical personnel as considered necessary. The number of employees, their compensation, and other expenditures shall be in accordance with appropriations to the commission by the legislature.
(d) The executive director or the executive director’s designee shall provide to members of the commission and to agency employees, as often as necessary, information regarding their qualification for office or employment under this chapter and their responsibilities under applicable laws relating to standards of conduct for state officers or employees.
(e) The executive director or the executive director’s designee shall develop an intra-agency career ladder program that addresses opportunities for mobility and advancement for employees within the commission. The program shall require intra-agency posting of all positions concurrently with any public posting.
(f) The executive director or the executive director’s designee shall develop a system of annual performance evaluations based on documented employee performance. All merit pay for commission employees must be based on the system established under this subsection.
(g) The executive director or the executive director’s designee shall prepare and maintain a written policy statement to assure implementation of a program of equal employment opportunity under which all personnel transactions are made without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. The policy statement must include:
(1) personnel policies, including policies relating to recruitment, evaluation, selection, appointment, training, and promotion of personnel, that are in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 21, Labor Code;
(2) a comprehensive analysis of the commission workforce that meets federal and state guidelines;
(3) procedures by which a determination can be made about the extent of underuse in the commission workforce of all persons for whom federal or state guidelines encourage a more equitable balance; and
(4) reasonable methods to appropriately address those areas of underuse.
(h) A policy statement prepared under Subsection (g) must cover an annual period, be updated annually, be reviewed by the Commission on Human Rights for compliance with Subsection (g), and be filed with the governor’s office.
(i) The governor’s office shall deliver a biennial report to the legislature based on the information received under Subsection (h). The report may be made separately or as a part of other biennial reports made to the legislature.
(j) Before the expiration of 30 days after April 1 and November 1 of each year the commission shall submit a progress report to the governor. The report must include a statement of the steps that the commission has taken during the previous six months to comply with the requirement of Subsection (g).
(k) The governor shall designate the executive director as the state historic preservation officer, and the executive director shall act in that capacity for the conduct of relations with the representatives of the federal government and the respective states concerning matters of historic preservation.
(l) The commission shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the commission and the management responsibilities of the executive director and the staff of the commission.