81R3637 JRD-D
By: Watson S.B. No. 738
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a state agency review and analysis of the revenue
sources that pay for the agency's functions and the adjustment by
certain agencies of fee amounts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2056, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 2056.0023 to read as follows:
Sec. 2056.0023. ANALYSIS OF REVENUE SOURCES. As part of the
strategic plan required under Section 2056.002, a state agency
shall:
(1) review the agency's functions that are paid for
wholly by general revenue and determine whether any of those
functions could appropriately be paid for wholly or partly by fees
or other sources of revenue;
(2) review the agency's functions that currently are
paid for wholly or partly by sources of revenue other than general
revenue, including fee revenue, and determine whether those sources
of revenue could appropriately be increased; and
(3) for an agency function that the agency determines
could appropriately be paid for wholly or partly by charging a new
fee or by increasing the amount of an existing fee:
(A) recommend the appropriate fee amounts;
(B) describe who would pay the new fee or the
increased fee; and
(C) estimate the amount of revenue that would be
received from the recommended fee amounts.
SECTION 2. Section 316.045(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If the agency determines that the fees are set at a level
that [exceeds the administrative costs of the agency] as of the date
of the review exceeds the sum of the direct costs to the agency to
provide the services or regulate the activities for which the fees
are charged and the indirect costs to state government that could
appropriately be allocated to the provision of those services or
the regulation of those activities, the agency shall reduce the
amount of the affected fees to the appropriate level and shall
charge the reduced fees during the subsequent biennium. Each
agency shall give specific recognition to reductions in salary
expenses resulting from statutorily directed employee attrition.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.