Bill Text: TX SB1 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 3rd Special Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to the creation and functions of legislative select committees on transportation funding, expenditures, and finance and to the preservation of a sufficient balance in the economic stabilization fund.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-07-31 - Referred to Transportation Funding, Select [SB1 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB1-Engrossed.html
By: Nichols, et al. | S.B. No. 1 |
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relating to the creation and functions of legislative select | ||
committees on transportation funding, expenditures, and finance | ||
and to the preservation of a sufficient balance in the economic | ||
stabilization fund. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. (a) The speaker of the house of representatives | ||
shall appoint nine members to a House Select Committee on | ||
Transportation Funding, Expenditures, and Finance and designate | ||
one member as chair. The lieutenant governor shall appoint nine | ||
members to a Senate Select Committee on Transportation Funding, | ||
Expenditures, and Finance and designate one member as chair. The | ||
speaker and lieutenant governor shall make the appointments not | ||
later than December 15, 2013. | ||
(b) The committees established under this section may meet | ||
separately at the call of the chair of the committee or jointly at | ||
the call of both chairs. In joint meetings, the chairs shall act as | ||
joint chairs. | ||
(c) The committees established under this section, meeting | ||
separately or jointly, shall review, study, and evaluate: | ||
(1) the future reliability of all current state | ||
transportation funding sources; | ||
(2) alternatives that may increase available state | ||
funding for surface transportation, including an examination of | ||
increases to current surface-transportation-related funding | ||
streams and possible diversions of | ||
non-surface-transportation-related funding streams toward surface | ||
transportation funding; | ||
(3) the use of debt financing in state transportation | ||
funding, including the uses of the Texas Mobility Fund, and the | ||
effects on long-term transportation planning of using debt | ||
financing; | ||
(4) alternative transportation funding options in use | ||
nationally and internationally; | ||
(5) current and historic appropriations to the Texas | ||
Department of Transportation, including: | ||
(A) whether that agency's budget structure best | ||
maximizes the application of limited public funds toward highway | ||
maintenance and construction; | ||
(B) whether there are opportunities to reduce the | ||
use of money from the state highway fund by that agency for | ||
activities not related to highway maintenance and construction, | ||
including such uses as employee salaries and benefits; and | ||
(C) possible benefits of developing a budget for | ||
that agency for the 2016-2017 state fiscal biennium using | ||
zero-based budgeting principles; | ||
(6) the uses of the state highway fund for agencies | ||
other than the Texas Department of Transportation, including and | ||
emphasizing the use of that fund for the Department of Public Safety | ||
of the State of Texas; and | ||
(7) the original purpose of the economic stabilization | ||
fund established by Section 49-g, Article III, Texas Constitution, | ||
whether that purpose remains relevant, and whether it remains | ||
appropriate to continue using the net amount of oil and gas | ||
production taxes received in the 1987 state fiscal year as the basis | ||
for making general revenue transfers to the economic stabilization | ||
fund. | ||
(d) Following consideration of the factors described by | ||
Subsection (c) of this section, the committees established under | ||
this section shall jointly adopt recommendations related to the | ||
reviewed subjects and shall provide a written report of the | ||
committees' recommendations on the reviewed subjects to the | ||
legislature not later than November 1, 2014. | ||
(e) The committees established under this section may | ||
exercise any power of a committee of their respective chambers and | ||
any powers of a joint committee. For the purposes of this Act, the | ||
committees established under this section are considered a joint | ||
committee and the cost of operation of each committee may be borne | ||
in the same manner as the cost of a joint committee. The Texas | ||
Legislative Council may provide funding for the operations of the | ||
committees. To the extent not inconsistent with this Act, the joint | ||
rules adopted by the 83rd Legislature for the administration of | ||
joint interim legislative study committees apply to the committees | ||
established under this section. | ||
(f) This section expires January 13, 2015. | ||
SECTION 2. (a) Chapter 316, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subchapter H to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER H. PRESERVATION OF SUFFICIENT BALANCE IN ECONOMIC | ||
STABILIZATION FUND | ||
Sec. 316.091. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
(1) "Board" means the Legislative Budget Board. | ||
(2) "Fund" means the economic stabilization fund. | ||
Sec. 316.092. DETERMINATION OF SUFFICIENT BALANCE. | ||
(a) For the purposes of Section 49-g(c-2), Article III, Texas | ||
Constitution, before the board submits the budget as prescribed by | ||
Section 322.008(c), the board shall determine and adopt for the | ||
next state fiscal biennium a sufficient balance of the fund in an | ||
amount that the board estimates will ensure an appropriate amount | ||
of revenue available in the fund. In determining the sufficient | ||
balance for that fiscal biennium, the board shall consider: | ||
(1) the history of fund balances; | ||
(2) the history of transfers to the fund; | ||
(3) estimated fund balances during that fiscal | ||
biennium; | ||
(4) estimated transfers to the fund to occur during | ||
that fiscal biennium; | ||
(5) information available to the board regarding state | ||
highway congestion and funding demands; and | ||
(6) any other information requested by the board | ||
regarding the state's financial condition. | ||
(b) On or before October 1 of each even-numbered year, the | ||
comptroller shall provide to the board the comptroller's projection | ||
of the amounts to be transferred to the fund during the next state | ||
fiscal biennium. | ||
Sec. 316.093. ADJUSTMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL ALLOCATIONS TO | ||
FUND AND STATE HIGHWAY FUND. (a) Before the comptroller makes | ||
transfers for a state fiscal year in accordance with Section | ||
49-g(c), Article III, Texas Constitution, the comptroller shall | ||
determine whether the sum of the balance of the fund on the | ||
preceding August 31, any projected transfer to the fund under | ||
Section 49-g(b) of that article, and any projected transfer to the | ||
fund under Section 49-g(c) of that article in accordance with the | ||
allocations for the transfer as provided by Section 49-g(c-1) of | ||
that article is less than the sufficient balance adopted under | ||
Section 316.092. | ||
(b) If the sum described by Subsection (a) is less than the | ||
sufficient balance adopted under Section 316.092, the comptroller | ||
shall adjust the allocation of amounts to be transferred to the fund | ||
and to the state highway fund as provided by Section 49-g(c), | ||
Article III, Texas Constitution, so that: | ||
(1) the amount allocated for transfer to the fund is | ||
increased by an additional amount equal to the lesser of the | ||
remaining one-half of the sum of the amounts allocated for transfer | ||
under Sections 49-g(d) and (e) of that article or the amount | ||
necessary for the sufficient balance to be reached when considered | ||
together with other estimated transfers to the fund during the | ||
then-current fiscal year; and | ||
(2) the amount allocated for transfer to the state | ||
highway fund is reduced by the amount of the increased allocation to | ||
the fund under Subdivision (1). | ||
(c) If the board has not adopted under Section 316.092 a | ||
sufficient balance for the comptroller to consider under this | ||
section, the comptroller shall adjust the allocation of amounts to | ||
be transferred to the fund and to the state highway fund as provided | ||
by Section 49-g(c), Article III, Texas Constitution, so that the | ||
total of those amounts is transferred to the economic stabilization | ||
fund, except that the comptroller shall reduce a transfer made | ||
under this subsection as necessary to prevent the amount in the fund | ||
from exceeding the limit in effect for that biennium under Section | ||
49-g(g) of that article. | ||
(d) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this | ||
section, the board shall determine and adopt a sufficient balance | ||
of the fund applicable to the transfers to be made under Section | ||
49-g(c), Article III, Texas Constitution, for the state fiscal year | ||
beginning September 1, 2014, and a sufficient balance of the fund | ||
applicable to the transfers to be made under that subsection for the | ||
next fiscal biennium. The comptroller may not make the transfers | ||
required under Section 49-g(c) of that article for the state fiscal | ||
year beginning September 1, 2014, until the board has adopted a | ||
sufficient balance under this subsection. However, if the board | ||
has not adopted the balance before the 30th day after the effective | ||
date of this section, the comptroller shall make that transfer on | ||
the 30th day after the effective date of this section in accordance | ||
with Subsection (c) of this section. This subsection expires | ||
September 1, 2015. | ||
(b) This section takes effect immediately on the final | ||
canvass of the election on the constitutional amendment proposed by | ||
the 83rd Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2013, to provide for the | ||
transfer of certain general revenue to the economic stabilization | ||
fund and the state highway fund and for the dedication of the | ||
revenue transferred to the state highway fund, but only if that | ||
amendment is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not | ||
approved by the voters, this section has no effect. | ||
SECTION 3. Except as otherwise provided by this Act: | ||
(1) this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a | ||
vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution; and | ||
(2) if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for | ||
immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
last day of the legislative session. |