Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB129 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1625 CJC-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 129
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to achievement benchmarks in fiscal notes and to
8	8	legislative review of those benchmarks.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 314, Government Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Section 314.006 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 314.006. PURPOSE STATEMENT AND BENCHMARKS;
13	13	LEGISLATIVE REVIEW. (a) In this section, "tax preference" means a
14	14	credit, discount, exclusion, exemption, refund, special valuation,
15	15	special accounting treatment, special rate, or special method of
16	16	reporting authorized by state law that relates to a state or local
17	17	tax imposed in this state.
18	18	(b) The Legislative Budget Board shall include in any fiscal
19	19	note attached to a bill that authorizes or requires the expenditure
20	20	or diversion of state funds or that authorizes or otherwise
21	21	provides for a tax preference:
22	22	(1) a statement of the purposes of the bill; and
23	23	(2) a set of reasonable benchmarks that provide a
24	24	mechanism for measuring whether and to what degree the bill's
25	25	purposes have been achieved.
26	26	(c) In preparing the statement and benchmarks under
27	27	Subsection (b), the board shall coordinate with the primary author
28	28	of the bill to determine the purposes of the bill and to set
29	29	reasonable benchmarks. The board shall begin coordinating with the
30	30	primary author of the bill immediately following the author's
31	31	request for a hearing on the bill.
32	32	(d) Before the first day of the third regular legislative
33	33	session after a bill subject to this section becomes law, the board
34	34	shall evaluate whether the benchmarks required under Subsection (b)
35	35	have been met and shall provide to the lieutenant governor, the
36	36	speaker of the house of representatives, the Senate Finance
37	37	Committee, and, as applicable, the House Ways and Means Committee
38	38	or the House Appropriations Committee a report on the board's
39	39	findings regarding each bill subject to review under this section.
40	40	(e) If the report submitted under Subsection (d) indicates
41	41	that the board finds a benchmark has not been met, the Senate
42	42	Finance Committee together with the House Appropriations
43	43	Committee, for a bill that authorizes or requires the expenditure
44	44	or diversion of state funds, or the House Ways and Means Committee,
45	45	for a bill that authorizes or otherwise provides for a tax
46	46	preference, shall review the statutes enacted or amended by the
47	47	bill to determine whether:
48	48	(1) additional expenditure or diversion of state funds
49	49	should be made to fund the purposes of the bill or, if applicable,
50	50	whether the authorization of or other provision for a tax
51	51	preference should be continued to further the purposes of the bill;
52	52	or
53	53	(2) the statutes enacted or amended by the bill should
54	54	be repealed or amended.
55	55	(f) Immediately after submitting the report under
56	56	Subsection (d), the board shall provide notice to the primary
57	57	author of a bill the benchmarks of which the board has determined
58	58	have not been met that the statutes enacted or amended by the bill
59	59	will be reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee and, as
60	60	applicable, the House Ways and Means Committee or the House
61	61	Appropriations Committee.
62	62	(g) The board shall implement this section from available
63	63	funds that may be used for that purpose. The board shall reduce
64	64	other programs to the extent necessary to implement this section
65	65	without receiving additional appropriations for this purpose.
66	66	SECTION 2. This Act applies only to bills filed on or after
67	67	September 1, 2015.
68	68	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.