By: Schwertner S.B. No. 1214
(In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2013; March 12, 2013, read
first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs,
and Homeland Security; March 20, 2013, reported adversely, with
favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 3,
Nays 0; March 20, 2013, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1214 By: Schwertner
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain economic development programs administered by
the Department of Agriculture.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.027, Agriculture Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read
as follows:
(b) In administering the program, the department shall:
(1) promote economic growth in rural areas;
(2) identify potential opportunities for business in
rural areas and assist rural communities in maximizing those
opportunities;
(3) work with rural communities to identify economic
development needs and direct those communities to persons who can
address and assist in meeting those needs;
(4) encourage communication between organizations,
industries, and regions to improve economic and community
development services to rural areas;
(5) coordinate meetings with public and private
entities to distribute information beneficial to rural areas;
(6) enter into a memorandum of agreement to work
cooperatively with the Texas [Department of] Economic Development
and Tourism Office, the Texas A&M AgriLife [Agricultural] Extension
Service, and other entities the department deems appropriate to
further program objectives; and
(7) perform any other functions necessary to carry out
the program.
(d) The department by rule may charge a membership fee to a
[each] participant in the program.
(g) In addition to the department's authority under
Subsection (a), the department may request, accept, and use any
gift, grant, loan, donation, aid, appropriation, guaranty,
allocation, subsidy, or contribution of any item of value to
further an economic development program in this state.
SECTION 2. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Section 12.0272 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.0272. TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND. (a) The
Texas economic development fund is a fund in the state treasury.
The fund consists of:
(1) all interest, income, revenue, and other assets
associated with economic development programs established using
money allocated and paid to the department under the August 15,
2011, allocation agreement between the department and the United
States Department of the Treasury, as amended, to implement the
State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C.
Section 5701 et seq.);
(2) all money, deposits, distributions, dividends,
earnings, gain, income, interest, proceeds, profits, program
income, rents, returns of capital, returns on investments,
royalties, revenue, or yields received or realized by the
department as a result of an investment made by or on behalf of the
department pursuant to the August 15, 2011, allocation agreement
between the department and the United States Department of the
Treasury, as amended;
(3) gifts, loans, donations, aid, appropriations,
guaranties, allocations, subsidies, grants, or contributions
received under Section 12.027(g);
(4) interest and income earned on the investment of
money in the fund; and
(5) other money required by law to be deposited in the
fund.
(b) Money in the Texas economic development fund may be
appropriated only to the department for the purpose of
administering, establishing, implementing, or maintaining an
economic development program under this section and is dedicated to
and may be used only for the administration, establishment,
implementation, or maintenance of one or more of the department's
economic development programs.
(c) The Texas economic development fund is exempt from
Section 403.095, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Subsections (d), (g), and (i), Section 12.040,
Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) To be eligible to be a Texas certified retirement
community, a community shall:
(1) through a board or panel that serves as the
community's official program sponsor:
(A) complete a retiree desirability assessment,
as developed by the department, to include facts regarding crime
statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, housing
availability, and other appropriate factors, including criteria
listed in Subsection (e); and
(B) work to gain the support of churches, clubs,
businesses, media, and other entities, as necessary for the success
of the program in the community;
(2) identify emergency medical services and a hospital
within a 75-mile radius of the community; and
(3) submit to the department:
(A) a [an application] fee in an amount equal to
the greater of:
(i) $5,000; or
(ii) $0.25 multiplied by the population of
the community, as determined by the most recent census;
(B) a marketing plan detailing the mission as
applied to the community, the target market, the competition, an
analysis of the community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and dangers, and the strategies the community will employ to attain
the goals of the program; and
(C) a long-term plan outlining the steps the
community will undertake to maintain its desirability as a
destination for retirees, including an outline of plans to correct
any facility and service deficiencies identified in the retiree
desirability assessment required by Subdivision (1)(A).
(g) If the department finds that a community successfully
meets the requirements of a Texas certified retirement community,
not later than the 90th day after the application is submitted and
approved, the department shall provide [the following] assistance
to the community as determined by department rule[:
[(1) assistance in the training of local staff and
volunteers;
[(2) ongoing oversight and guidance in marketing, plus
updates on retirement trends;
[(3) inclusion in the state's national advertising and
public relations campaigns and travel show promotions, including a
prominent feature on the department's Internet website, to be
coordinated with the Internet websites of other agencies, as
appropriate;
[(4) eligibility for state financial assistance for
brochures, support material, and advertising; and
[(5) an evaluation and progress assessment on
maintaining and improving the community's desirability as a home
for retirees].
(i) The Texas certified retirement community program
account is an account in the general revenue fund. The account is
composed of fees collected under Subsection (d). Money in the
account may be appropriated to the department only for the purposes
of this section, including the payment of administrative and
personnel costs of the department associated with administering the
program. The account is exempt from the application of Section
403.095, Government Code.
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 44.007, Agriculture
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The board shall establish an interest rate reduction
program to foster the:
(1) creation and expansion of enterprises based on
agriculture in this state; or
(2) development or expansion of businesses in rural
areas of this state.
SECTION 5. Section 58.022, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 58.022. POWERS OF AUTHORITY. The authority has all
powers necessary to accomplish the purposes and programs of the
authority, including the power:
(1) to adopt and enforce bylaws, rules, and procedures
and perform all functions necessary for the board to carry out this
chapter;
(2) to sue and be sued, complain, and defend, in its
own name;
(3) to adopt and use an official seal and alter it when
considered advisable;
(4) to acquire, hold, invest, use, pledge, and dispose
of its revenues, income, receipts, funds, and money from every
source and to select one or more depositories, inside or outside the
state, subject to this chapter, any resolution, bylaws, or in any
indenture pursuant to which the funds are held;
(5) to establish, charge, and collect fees, charges,
and penalties in connection with the programs, services, and
activities provided by the authority in accordance with this
chapter;
(6) to issue its bonds, to provide for and secure the
payment of the bonds, and provide for the rights of the owners of
the bonds, in the manner and to the extent permitted by this
chapter, and to purchase, hold, cancel, or resell or otherwise
dispose of its bonds, subject to any restrictions in any resolution
authorizing the issuance of its bonds;
(7) to procure insurance and pay premiums on insurance
of any type, in amounts, and from insurers as the board considers
necessary and advisable to accomplish any of its purposes;
(8) to make, enter into, and enforce contracts,
agreements, including management agreements, for the management of
any of the authority's property, leases, indentures, mortgages,
deeds of trust, security agreements, pledge agreements, credit
agreements, and other instruments with any person, including any
lender and any federal, state, or local governmental agency, and to
take other actions as may accomplish any of its purposes;
(9) to own, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire, accept,
or hold real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest in
property in performing its duties and exercising its powers under
this chapter, by purchase, exchange, gift, assignment, transfer,
foreclosure, mortgage, sale, lease, or otherwise and to hold,
manage, operate, or improve real, personal, or mixed property,
wherever situated;
(10) to sell, lease, encumber, mortgage, exchange,
donate, convey, or otherwise dispose of any or all of its properties
or any interest in its properties, deed of trust or mortgage lien
interest owned by it or under its control, custody, or in its
possession, and release or relinquish any right, title, claim,
lien, interest, easement, or demand however acquired, including any
equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it, and to
do any of the foregoing by public or private sale, with or without
public bidding, notwithstanding any other law; and to lease or rent
any improvements, lands, or facilities from any person to effect
the purposes of this chapter;
(11) to request, accept, and use gifts, loans,
donations, aid, appropriations, guaranties, allocations,
subsidies, grants, or contributions of any item of value for the
furtherance of any of its purposes;
(12) to make secured or unsecured loans for the
purpose of providing temporary or permanent financing or
refinancing for eligible agricultural businesses for the purposes
authorized by this chapter, including the refunding of outstanding
obligations, mortgages, or advances issued for those purposes, and
charge and collect interest on those loans for such loan payments
and on such terms and conditions as the board may consider advisable
and not in conflict with this chapter;
(13) to secure the payment by the state or the
authority on guarantees and to pay claims from money in the
authority's funds pursuant to the loan guarantee and insurance
programs implemented by the authority;
(14) to purchase or acquire, sell, discount, assign,
negotiate, and otherwise dispose of notes, debentures, bonds, or
other evidences of indebtedness of eligible agricultural
businesses, whether unsecured or secured, as the board may
determine, or portions or portfolios of or participations in those
evidences of indebtedness, and sell and guarantee securities,
whether taxable or tax exempt under federal law in primary and
secondary markets in furtherance of any of the authority's
purposes; and
(15) to exercise all powers given to a corporation
under Chapter 22, Business Organizations Code [the Texas Non-Profit
Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes)], to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 58.053, Agriculture
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An eligible applicant's documentation shall include the
following for the board's review:
(1) the plan, as submitted to the lender, for the
applicant's proposed farm or ranch operation or
agriculture-related business to be financed that includes a budget
for the proposed operation;
(2) a completed application for a loan from a
commercial lender on which an eligible applicant has indicated how
the loan proceeds will be used to implement the applicant's plan;
and
(3) the signed statement of a loan officer of the
commercial lender that a loan guarantee is requested [required] for
approval of the loan application.
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 502.404, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.404. VOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT FOR TEXAS AGRICULTURAL
FINANCE AUTHORITY [YOUNG FARMER LOAN GUARANTEES].
SECTION 8. Subsection (f), Section 12.040, Agriculture
Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. 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, 2013.
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