81R13522 JJT-F
By: Hunter H.B. No. 3980
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility requirements for, selection criteria
for, and awarding of grants under programs of the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.124, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d) and (f) and adding Subsection (e-1) to
read as follows:
(d) A grant may be awarded to any person that meets the
eligibility requirements of the grant. The executive director
shall establish eligibility requirements for each grant
appropriate to the purposes of and activities under the grant and
the method of selecting the recipient. In establishing eligibility
requirements for a grant, the executive director shall ensure that
the requirements do not discriminate against a potential grant
recipient that is an entity exempt from federal income taxation
under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as an
organization described by Section 501(c)(3) of that code if the
potential recipient meets other eligibility requirements. The
executive director's eligibility requirements for a grant may
exclude an entity that is an exempt organization only if such an
entity is ineligible according to:
(1) a state or federal law that prohibits awarding a
grant under the grant program to an entity that is an exempt
organization; or
(2) a rule adopted by the commission during the 12
months preceding the entity's consideration for a grant under the
grant program that prohibits awarding a grant to an entity that is
an exempt organization.
(e-1) In determining and implementing the selection
criteria under Subsection (e), the executive director shall ensure
that a bias is not created against awarding a grant to an entity
exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as an organization described by Section
501(c)(3) of that code.
(f) A grant may be made by direct award only if:
(1) the executive director determines that:
(A) selection of recipients by the solicitation
of proposals or applications is not feasible; and
(B) awarding the grant directly is in the best
interest of the state;
(2) eligibility for the grant is limited to:
(A) an agency or political subdivision of this
state or of another state;
(B) a state institution of higher learning of
this state or of another state, including any part or service of the
institution; [or]
(C) an agency of the United States; or
(D) an entity exempt from federal income taxation
under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as an
organization described by Section 501(c)(3) of that code that is
already receiving funds from another state or federal agency for
the same purposes or project as those of the grant; or
(3) the grant is awarded to a person established or
authorized to develop or implement a comprehensive conservation and
management plan under Section 320, Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1330), for a national estuary in this state.
SECTION 2. To the extent permissible under state statutes
and federal law, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
shall delay awarding grants subject to Section 5.124, Water Code,
as amended by this Act, until grant program rules, eligibility
requirements, and selection criteria conform to that section.
SECTION 3. 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. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.