| 1 | 1 | | By: Meza H.B. No. 4459 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the addition of certain provisions to the Texas Rural |
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| 7 | 7 | | Investment Fund. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 12.046, Agriculture Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | adding to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 12.046. TEXAS RURAL INVESTMENT FUND. (a) In this |
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| 12 | 12 | | section: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (1) "Fund" means the Texas Rural Investment Fund. |
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| 14 | 14 | | (2) "Rural community" means a municipality with a |
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| 15 | 15 | | population of less than 50,000 or a county with a population of less |
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| 16 | 16 | | than 200,000. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) The fund is a dedicated account in the general revenue |
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| 18 | 18 | | fund and consists of: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) appropriations of money to the fund by the |
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| 20 | 20 | | legislature; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (2) gifts, grants, including federal grants, and other |
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| 22 | 22 | | donations received for the fund; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (3) interest earned on the investment of money in the |
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| 24 | 24 | | fund. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b-1) The department shall administer the fund and select |
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| 26 | 26 | | recipients of grants and loans from the fund. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) The fund may be used by the department only to: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) pay for grants or loans to public or private |
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| 29 | 29 | | entities for projects in rural communities that have strong local |
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| 30 | 30 | | support, provide positive return on the state's investment, and |
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| 31 | 31 | | stimulate one or more of the following: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (A) local entrepreneurship; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (B) job creation or retention; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (C) new capital investment; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (D) strategic economic development planning; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (E) individual economic and community |
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| 37 | 37 | | development leadership training; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (F) housing development; or |
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| 39 | 39 | | (G) innovative workforce education; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | (H) workforce training and/or rehabilitative |
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| 41 | 41 | | programming for veterans; or |
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| 42 | 42 | | (I) preservation and cultivation of pollinators |
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| 43 | 43 | | critical to agriculture; and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) administer the grant and loan program under this |
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| 45 | 45 | | section. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (d) In awarding a grant or loan of money from the fund for a |
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| 47 | 47 | | project, the department shall consider: |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) the project's effect on job creation and wages; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) the financial strength of the applicant; |
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| 50 | 50 | | (3) the applicant's business history; |
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| 51 | 51 | | (4) an analysis of the relevant business sector; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (5) whether there is public or private sector |
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| 53 | 53 | | financial support for the project; and |
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| 54 | 54 | | (6) whether there is local support for the project. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (e) The fund is exempt from the application of Sections |
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| 56 | 56 | | 403.095 and 404.071, Government Code. |
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| 57 | 57 | | (f) The department may accept grants, gifts, or donations |
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| 58 | 58 | | from any source that are made for the purposes of this section. |
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| 59 | 59 | | Money received under this subsection shall be deposited in the |
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| 60 | 60 | | fund. |
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| 61 | 61 | | (g) The department shall adopt rules to administer this |
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| 62 | 62 | | section. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 64 | 64 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 65 | 65 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 66 | 66 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 67 | 67 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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