Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1650 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3212 TSR-D
2	2	By: Powell S.B. No. 1650
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to employee-owned companies.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 301.004, Business Organizations Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 301.004. AUTHORIZED PERSON. For purposes of this
12	12	title, a person is an authorized person with respect to:
13	13	(1) a professional association if the person is a
14	14	professional individual; [and]
15	15	(2) a [professional corporation or a] professional
16	16	limited liability company if the person is a professional
17	17	individual or professional organization; and
18	18	(3) a professional corporation if the person is:
19	19	(A) a professional individual;
20	20	(B) a professional organization; or
21	21	(C) an employee stock ownership plan, as
22	22	described by Section 303.0015, established by the corporation.
23	23	SECTION 2. Chapter 303, Business Organizations Code, is
24	24	amended by adding Section 303.0015 to read as follows:
25	25	Sec. 303.0015. AUTHORIZED PERSON. For purposes of this
26	26	chapter, an employee stock ownership plan, as defined by Section
27	27	4975(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, established by a professional
28	28	corporation, is an authorized person if:
29	29	(1) all of the voting trustees of the plan are
30	30	professional individuals who are licensed to provide at least one
31	31	category of the professional services described in the
32	32	corporation's certificate of formation; and
33	33	(2) the ownership interests in the plan are not
34	34	directly issued to any person other than the plan trust or a
35	35	professional individual licensed to provide at least one category
36	36	of the professional services described in the corporation's
37	37	certificate of formation.
38	38	SECTION 3. Chapter 481, Government Code, is amended by
39	39	adding Subchapter CC to read as follows:
40	40	SUBCHAPTER CC. EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE OFFICE
41	41	Sec. 481.451. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
42	42	ASSISTANCE OFFICE. The employee ownership assistance office is an
43	43	office within the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office.
44	44	Sec. 481.452. DUTIES. (a) The employee ownership
45	45	assistance office shall establish and administer for businesses in
46	46	this state:
47	47	(1) an outreach and information dissemination program
48	48	to foster increased awareness of employee stock ownership plans;
49	49	and
50	50	(2) a technical assistance program to assist
51	51	businesses in determining the feasibility of establishing an
52	52	employee stock ownership plan.
53	53	(b) The employee ownership assistance office shall make
54	54	available to businesses in this state information relating to
55	55	obtaining assistance under the programs established under
56	56	Subsection (a).
57	57	SECTION 4. Subchapter H, Chapter 2155, Government Code, is
58	58	amended by adding Section 2155.454 to read as follows:
59	59	Sec. 2155.454. PREFERENCE TO TEXAS EMPLOYEE-OWNED
60	60	COMPANIES. (a) In this section, "employee-owned company" means a
61	61	corporation in which a majority of the stock is held by an employee
62	62	stock ownership plan, as that term is defined by Section 4975(e),
63	63	Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
64	64	(b) The comptroller and all state agencies purchasing goods
65	65	or services may give preference to an employee-owned company
66	66	domiciled in this state if other considerations are equal.
67	67	SECTION 5. Section 2161.001(2), Government Code, is amended
68	68	to read as follows:
69	69	(2) "Historically underutilized business" means an
70	70	entity with its principal place of business in this state that is:
71	71	(A) a corporation formed for the purpose of
72	72	making a profit in which 51 percent or more of all classes of the
73	73	shares of stock or other equitable securities are owned by one or
74	74	more economically disadvantaged persons who have a proportionate
75	75	interest and actively participate in the corporation's control,
76	76	operation, and management;
77	77	(B) a sole proprietorship created for the purpose
78	78	of making a profit that is completely owned, operated, and
79	79	controlled by an economically disadvantaged person;
80	80	(C) a partnership formed for the purpose of
81	81	making a profit in which 51 percent or more of the assets and
82	82	interest in the partnership are owned by one or more economically
83	83	disadvantaged persons who have a proportionate interest and
84	84	actively participate in the partnership's control, operation, and
85	85	management;
86	86	(D) a joint venture in which each entity in the
87	87	venture is a historically underutilized business, as determined
88	88	under another paragraph of this subdivision; [or]
89	89	(E) a supplier contract between a historically
90	90	underutilized business as determined under another paragraph of
91	91	this subdivision and a prime contractor under which the
92	92	historically underutilized business is directly involved in the
93	93	manufacture or distribution of the goods or otherwise warehouses
94	94	and ships the goods; or
95	95	(F) an employee-owned company as defined by
96	96	Section 2155.454.
97	97	SECTION 6. Section 2161.061, Government Code, is amended by
98	98	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
99	99	(f) A business that has been certified under this section as
100	100	a historically underutilized business described by Section
101	101	2161.001(2)(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) retains the business's status
102	102	as a historically underutilized business if the business converts
103	103	to a historically underutilized business described by Section
104	104	2161.001(2)(F).
105	105	SECTION 7. Section 2161.125, Government Code, is amended to
106	106	read as follows:
107	107	Sec. 2161.125. CATEGORIZATION OF HISTORICALLY
108	108	UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES. The comptroller, in cooperation with
109	109	each state agency reporting under this subchapter, shall categorize
110	110	each historically underutilized business included in a report under
111	111	this subchapter by:
112	112	(1) sex, race, and ethnicity; and
113	113	(2) [by] whether the business qualifies as a
114	114	historically underutilized business:
115	115	(A) because it is owned or owned, operated, and
116	116	controlled, as applicable, wholly or partly by one or more veterans
117	117	as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(2) who have suffered at least a
118	118	20 percent service-connected disability as defined by 38 U.S.C.
119	119	Section 101(16); or
120	120	(B) under Section 2161.001(2)(F).
121	121	SECTION 8. Subchapter Z, Chapter 271, Local Government
122	122	Code, is amended by adding Section 271.909 to read as follows:
123	123	Sec. 271.909. PREFERENCE TO TEXAS EMPLOYEE-OWNED
124	124	COMPANIES. (a) In this section:
125	125	(1) "Employee-owned company" has the meaning assigned
126	126	by Section 2155.454, Government Code.
127	127	(2) "Local government" means a municipality, a county,
128	128	or a special district.
129	129	(b) In purchasing goods or services, a local government may
130	130	give preference to an employee-owned company domiciled in this
131	131	state if other considerations are equal.
132	132	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.