By: Paxton S.B. No. 1222
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the control of conditional federal funds for state
programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 10, Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 2116 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2116. CONTROL OF CONDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDS
Sec. 2116.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Coercive conditions" are conditions in coercive
federal funding programs that pertain to matters other than the
manner in which the federal funds are to be spent, such as
conditions that pertain to how the state must spend its own revenue
or that pertain to collateral state policies.
(2) "Coercive federal funding program" means a program
under which the federal government transfers funds to state
agencies, or to persons or local entities through state agencies,
to which the federal government has attached coercive conditions.
The term does not include a federal program that offers to return to
the state a pro rata share of the state residents' tax contributions
to the federal program if the state refuses to comply with the
conditions attached to the program.
Sec. 2116.002. COORDINATED MULTISTATE REJECTION OF
COERCIVE FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS. (a) The attorney general shall
annually prepare a comprehensive report for the legislature
designating all the coercive federal funding programs that deliver
more than $100 million annually to the state and detailing the
coercive conditions in those programs.
(b) Where feasible, the attorney general shall sue to enjoin
enforcement of coercive conditions in coercive federal funding
programs. In any case where the federal government rejects a state
plan or application for funds under a coercive federal funding
program because of the state's refusal to comply with any coercive
condition, the attorney shall sue for relief.
(c) The governor shall work with governors of other states
to develop a coordinated approach with respect to all coercive
federal funding programs.
(d) Agencies and officers of the state shall implement all
coercive federal funding programs without regard to any conditions
designated as coercive conditions by the attorney general under
Subsection (a). Applications for federal approval of state
programs shall make no reference to any coercive condition.
SECTION 2. Section 751.001, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (1-a), to read as follows:
(1-a) "Coercive federal funding program" and
"coercive conditions" have the meanings assigned to those terms
under Section 2116.001.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 751.005, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The office shall:
(1) help coordinate state and federal programs dealing
with the same subject;
(2) inform the governor and the legislature of federal
programs that may be carried out in the state or that affect state
programs, with particular attention given to programs that may be
coercive federal funding programs;
(3) provide federal agencies and the United States
Congress with information about state policy and state conditions
on matters that concern the federal government;
(4) provide the legislature with information useful in
measuring the effect of federal actions on the state and local
programs;
(5) prepare and supply to the governor and all members
of the legislature an annual report that:
(A) describes the office's operations;
(B) contains the office's priorities and
strategies for the following year;
(C) details projects and legislation pursued by
the office;
(D) discusses issues in the following
congressional session of interest to this state;[and]
(E) contains an analysis of federal funds
availability and formulae;
(F) sets forth a catalog of all the conditions
attached to federal funding programs in a format that clearly
designates the coercive conditions; and
(G) contains the office's strategy for ensuring
that the state regains freedom of choice in fact with respect to
coercive federal funding programs by resisting compliance with
coercive conditions while also ensuring receipt of an equitable
share of federal funds under the programs;
(6) notify the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the legislative
standing committees in each house with primary jurisdiction over
intergovernmental affairs of federal activities relevant to the
state and inform the Texas congressional delegation of state
activities;
(7) conduct frequent conference calls with the
lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives
or their designees regarding state-federal relations and programs;
(8) respond to requests for information from the
legislature, the United States Congress, and federal agencies;
(9) coordinate with the Legislative Budget Board
regarding the effects of federal funding on the state budget and the
impact of coercive conditions on the state's ability to remain
responsive to the preferences of its residents; and
(10) report to, and on request send appropriate
representatives to appear before, the legislative standing
committees in each house with primary jurisdiction over
intergovernmental affairs.
SECTION 4. Section 751.022, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 751.022. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The office has
primary responsibility for monitoring, coordinating, and reporting
on the state's efforts to restore freedom of choice with respect to
coercive federal funding programs and ensure receipt of an
equitable share of federal formula funds.
(b) The office shall:
(1) serve as the state's clearinghouse for information
on federal formula funds and coercive conditions attached to the
funds;
(2) prepare reports on federal funds and earned
federal formula funds;
(3) analyze proposed and pending federal and state
legislation to determine whether the legislation would have a
significant negative effect on the state's ability to maintain
freedom of choice with respect to coercive federal funding programs
and receive an equitable share of federal formula funds;
(4) make recommendations for coordination between
state agencies and local governmental entities, between state
agencies and agencies of other states, and between state agencies,
particularly with respect to formulating strategies for escaping
restrictions imposed by coercive federal funding programs; and
(5) adopt rules under the rule-making procedures of
the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001, Government Code, as
necessary to carry out the responsibilities assigned by this
subchapter.
(c) The office shall annually prepare a comprehensive
report to the legislature on the effectiveness of the state's
efforts to escape restrictions imposed by coercive federal funding
programs and ensure a receipt of an equitable share of federal
formula funds for the preceding federal fiscal year. The report
must include:
(1) an executive summary that provides an overview of
the major findings and recommendations included in the report;
(2) a comparative analysis of the state's receipt of
federal formula funds relative to other states, prepared using the
best available sources of data;
(3) an analysis of federal formula funding trends that
may have a significant effect on resources available to the state;
[and]
(4) recommendations as to what policies and programs
the state could implement if it were not subject to the restrictions
imposed by the 10 largest coercive federal funding programs in the
state budget and were able to receive an equitable share of federal
funding under the programs; and
(5) recommendations, developed in consultation with
the Legislative Budget Board, the Governor's Office of Budget and
Planning, and the comptroller, for any state legislative or
administrative action necessary to escape restrictions imposed by
coercive federal funding programs and increase the state's receipt
of federal formula funds.
SECTION 5. (a) Subsection (d), Section 2116.002,
Government Code, as added by this Act, takes effect on the date that
a substantially similar requirement regarding coercive conditions
has been adopted by 20 other states.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a) of this section,
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.