Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4263 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 4263
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the creation of the Texas Recovery Accountability and
7	7	Transparency Board.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Chapter 327 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 327. TEXAS RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD
12	12	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
13	13	Sec. 327.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Board" means the Texas Recovery Accountability
15	15	and Transparency Board.
16	16	(2) "Recovery funds" means any funds distributed to
17	17	the State of Texas through the American Recovery and Reinvestment
18	18	Act of 2009 ("ARRA").
19	19	(3) "New jobs" means jobs created in excess of what
20	20	would have been created operating business as usual.
21	21	(4) "Distressed areas" means disaster-affected areas
22	22	as well as areas in persistent economic distress.
23	23	Sec. 327.002. SUNSET PROVISION. Unless continued in
24	24	existence by subsequent legislation, the board is abolished and
25	25	this chapter expires September 1, 2012.
26	26	Sec. 327.003. BOARD; COMPOSITION. (a) The Texas Recovery
27	27	Accountability and Transparency Board is created to provide
28	28	oversight on the expenditure of recovery funds and provide vital
29	29	information to the public on the expenditure of recovery funds.
30	30	(b) The board is composed of 11 members consisting of:
31	31	(1) four members appointed by the lieutenant governor,
32	32	consisting of:
33	33	(A) two members of the senate republican caucus;
34	34	and
35	35	(B) two members of the senate democratic caucus;
36	36	(2) four members appointed by the speaker of the house
37	37	of representatives, consisting of:
38	38	(A) two members of the house of representatives
39	39	republican caucus; and
40	40	(B) two members of the house of representatives
41	41	democratic caucus;
42	42	(3) two public members appointed by the governor; and
43	43	(4) the governor or the governor's designee.
44	44	SEC. 327.004. BOARD MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY, VACANCY. (a) A
45	45	person appointed as a public member of the board must be a resident
46	46	of this state.
47	47	(b) Public members of the board must be persons who have
48	48	significant professional experience or persons who specialize in
49	49	issues relating to economic recovery and development of distressed
50	50	areas.
51	51	(c) The original appointing authority shall appoint a
52	52	replacement to fill any vacancy in an appointed position on the
53	53	board.
54	54	SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES
55	55	SEC. 327.005. DUTIES; QUARTERLY REPORTS. (a) The board
56	56	shall:
57	57	(1) require each state agency that receives recovery
58	58	funds to submit a report at the end of each fiscal quarter. The
59	59	details of this report are set out in Section 327.006, Government
60	60	Code, as added by this Act.
61	61	(2) The board shall issue a report containing the
62	62	information described by Subsection (1) of this Section not later
63	63	than 30 days after receiving the reports described by that
64	64	Subsection. The board shall post the report on the Internet and
65	65	link it to the website described in Section 327.007, Government
66	66	Code, as added by this Act. In addition, the board shall provide a
67	67	paper copy of the report to the House Select Committee on Federal
68	68	Economic Stabilization Funding.
69	69	(3) The board may add additional performance measures
70	70	to those set out in Section 327.006, Government Code, as added by
71	71	this Act.
72	72	(4) The board may make recommendations concerning
73	73	interagency coordination, cross-cutting opportunities across
74	74	multiple units of government, and opportunities for public/private
75	75	partnerships for the use of recovery funds.
76	76	(5) The board shall adopt rules as necessary for its
77	77	own procedures.
78	78	(6) The board may appoint advisory committees to
79	79	advise the board.
80	80	SEC. 327.006. RECIPIENT AGENCY REPORTS; PERFORMANCE
81	81	MEASURES. (a) Beginning with the first full fiscal quarter after
82	82	the effective date of this Act, not later than 10 days after the end
83	83	of each fiscal quarter, each agency that receives recovery funds
84	84	from the State or a Federal agency shall submit a report to the
85	85	board that contains:
86	86	(1) the total amount of recovery funds received from
87	87	each source; and
88	88	(2) the amount of recovery funds received that were
89	89	expended or obligated to projects or activities; and
90	90	(3) a detailed list of all projects or activities for
91	91	which recovery funds were expended or obligated, including:
92	92	(A) the name of the project or activity;
93	93	(B) a description of the project or activity;
94	94	(C) an evaluation of the completion status of the
95	95	project or activity; and
96	96	(4) the level of performance of all recovery funds
97	97	expended or obligated on a list of specific performance measures,
98	98	including:
99	99	(A) the number of new jobs created in the state of
100	100	Texas;
101	101	(B) the number of new jobs created in small- and
102	102	medium-sized businesses;
103	103	(C) the estimated economic benefit for small- and
104	104	medium-sized businesses;
105	105	(D) the number of new jobs created in women- and
106	106	minority-owned businesses;
107	107	(E) the estimated economic benefit for women- and
108	108	minority-owned businesses;
109	109	(F) the number of new jobs created in distressed
110	110	areas;
111	111	(G) the estimated economic benefit in distressed
112	112	areas;
113	113	(H) the number of new jobs created at or above the
114	114	median hourly wage in Texas;
115	115	(I) the increase in jobs providing access to
116	116	employer-sponsored health insurance;
117	117	(J) any other performance measures promulgated
118	118	by the board pursuant to Subsection (a)(3), Section 327.005,
119	119	Government Code, as added by this Act; and
120	120	(5) an impact statement detailing any impact of
121	121	recovery funds expended or obligated on a number of energy
122	122	efficiency goals, including-
123	123	(A) the extent to which Texas electric utility
124	124	customers have increased access to renewable energy;
125	125	(B) reductions in Texas's carbon emissions
126	126	resulting from energy and transportation projects;
127	127	(C) the extent to which per capita electric usage
128	128	in Texas drops as a result of energy efficiency initiatives.
129	129	SEC. 327.007. WEBSITE. (a) The board shall establish a
130	130	comprehensive website that includes the reports required by
131	131	Subsection (a)(2), Section 327.005, Government Code, as added by
132	132	this Act.
133	133	SECTION 2. This act takes effect immediately if it receives
134	134	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
135	135	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
136	136	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
137	137	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.