84R222 CJC-D
By: Hancock S.B. No. 554
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to zero-based budgeting for state agencies as part of the
sunset review process.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 325.007, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 325.007. AGENCY REPORT TO COMMISSION; ZERO-BASED
BUDGET.
SECTION 2. Section 325.007, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) Before November 1 of the odd-numbered year before the
year in which a state agency subject to this chapter is abolished,
the agency shall present to the commission a zero-based budget for
the state fiscal biennium that begins on the date the agency is
scheduled to be abolished that contains:
(1) a description of the discrete activities the
agency is charged with conducting or performing, together with a
justification for each activity by reference to a statute or other
legal authority;
(2) for each activity identified under Subdivision
(1), a quantitative estimate of any adverse effects that reasonably
may be expected to result if the activity were discontinued,
together with a description of the methods by which the adverse
effects were estimated;
(3) for each activity identified under Subdivision
(1), an itemized account of expenditures required to maintain the
activity at the minimum level of service required by the statute or
other legal authority, together with a concise statement of the
quantity and quality of service required at that minimum level;
(4) for each activity identified under Subdivision
(1), an itemized account of expenditures required to maintain the
activity at the current level of service, together with a concise
statement of the quantity and quality of service provided at that
level; and
(5) a ranking of activities identified under
Subdivision (1) that illustrates the relative importance of each
activity to the overall goals and purposes of the agency at current
service levels.
(d) As part of a state agency's legislative appropriations
request for the state fiscal biennium that begins on the date the
agency is scheduled to be abolished, the agency shall submit to the
Legislative Budget Board:
(1) the zero-based budget required under Subsection
(c); and
(2) a statement of the estimated amount of any unspent
and unencumbered money appropriated to the agency for the state
fiscal biennium preceding that fiscal biennium.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply in
relation to the review by the Sunset Advisory Commission of
agencies scheduled to be abolished on or after September 1, 2019, if
not continued in accordance with Chapter 325, Government Code, and
in relation to any other agencies that by law are reviewed during
those review periods by the Sunset Advisory Commission.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.