(a) The Texas Historical Commission may establish and administer the Texas Heritage Trails Program to promote tourism to heritage and cultural attractions in this state.
(b) The commission may contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to fulfill the commission’s duties under this section.

(c) The commission shall adopt rules to administer the Texas Heritage Trails Program, including rules defining the principles of heritage tourism and relating to contracts the commission enters into with nonprofit organizations. Rules adopted under this subsection relating to contracts with nonprofit organizations must require each contract to clearly establish:
(1) the role of the nonprofit organization in promoting heritage tourism;
(2) the nature of the relationship between the commission and the nonprofit organization;
(3) the performance expectations for the nonprofit organization;
(4) requirements and expectations regarding the nonprofit organization’s employees;
(5) the commission’s expectations regarding ownership of any literature, media, or other products developed or produced by the nonprofit organization to promote heritage tourism during the course of the contract;
(6) the commission’s long-term goals for the program and the nonprofit organization’s role in meeting those goals;
(7) a system for evaluating the nonprofit organization’s overall performance, including the organization’s effectiveness in meeting the performance expectations described by Subdivision (3); and
(8) the types of support, other than financial support, the commission will provide to the nonprofit organization to assist in the implementation and administration of the Texas Heritage Trails Program.