Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2812 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R4529 CJC-D
2	2	By: Murphy H.B. No. 2812
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of the disaster response loan fund and the
8	8	permissible uses of that fund; making an appropriation.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subchapter R to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER R. DISASTER RESPONSE LOAN FUND
13	13	Sec. 403.501. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "fund" means
14	14	the disaster response loan fund.
15	15	Sec. 403.502. CREATION OF FUND. (a) The disaster response
16	16	loan fund is created as a fund outside the state treasury with the
17	17	comptroller, to be administered by the comptroller.
18	18	(b) Money in the fund may be used only to provide short-term
19	19	loans to political subdivisions affected by a disaster in the
20	20	manner provided by this subchapter.
21	21	(c) The fund consists of:
22	22	(1) money appropriated, credited, or transferred to
23	23	the fund by the legislature;
24	24	(2) money received by the comptroller for the
25	25	repayment of a loan made from the fund;
26	26	(3) gifts or grants contributed to the fund; and
27	27	(4) interest earned on deposits and investments of the
28	28	fund.
29	29	Sec. 403.503. USE OF MONEY IN FUND. The comptroller by rule
30	30	shall establish a loan program to use money from the fund to provide
31	31	short-term loans for disaster relief or recovery projects to
32	32	political subdivisions that are located wholly or partly in an area
33	33	declared by the governor to be a disaster area and that the Federal
34	34	Emergency Management Agency has determined are eligible to receive
35	35	financial assistance from the agency in response to the disaster.
36	36	Sec. 403.504. LOANS FROM FUND. (a) A loan made from the
37	37	fund must be subject to the following conditions:
38	38	(1) the loan must be made at an interest rate that is
39	39	equal to the average of:
40	40	(A) the most recently published average monthly
41	41	rate of the investment pool managed by the comptroller known as
42	42	TexPool; and
43	43	(B) the most recent prime rate published in the
44	44	Wall Street Journal;
45	45	(2) the loan must be made for a term not to exceed two
46	46	years; and
47	47	(3) the loan proceeds must be expended solely for
48	48	disaster relief and recovery.
49	49	(b) The comptroller shall credit to the fund all principal
50	50	and interest payments on a loan from the fund.
51	51	(c) The comptroller shall suspend the award of loans from
52	52	the fund for the duration of a period during which the balance of
53	53	the fund is less than an amount equal to 75 percent of the total
54	54	balance of the fund on September 1, 2021. This subsection expires
55	55	August 31, 2022.
56	56	(d) The comptroller may not award a loan under this
57	57	subchapter if the award would affect the political subdivision's
58	58	receipt of federal money to which the political subdivision is
59	59	eligible as a result of the disaster.
60	60	Sec. 403.505. APPLICATION FOR LOAN. (a) The comptroller
61	61	and the Texas Division of Emergency Management shall jointly
62	62	develop and implement an application process for a loan under this
63	63	subchapter. At a minimum, the application must include:
64	64	(1) a description of the disaster relief or recovery
65	65	project for which the applicant is requesting the loan;
66	66	(2) an estimate of the total cost of the project;
67	67	(3) a statement of the amount of federal money that the
68	68	applicant will receive for the project, or, if that information is
69	69	not available on the date the applicant submits the application, an
70	70	estimate of the amount of that money; and
71	71	(4) evidence that the applicant has staff, policies,
72	72	and procedures in place adequate to complete the project.
73	73	(b) The comptroller may charge the applicant a fee
74	74	sufficient to cover the costs of processing the application.
75	75	Sec. 403.506. REPORT. Not later than December 31 of each
76	76	even-numbered year, the comptroller shall prepare and submit to the
77	77	governor, lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature a
78	78	report that includes:
79	79	(1) the total amount of loans made from the fund during
80	80	the preceding two-year period;
81	81	(2) a summary of the disaster relief and recovery
82	82	projects for which the loans were made; and
83	83	(3) the total balance of the fund as of the date on
84	84	which the report is submitted.
85	85	SECTION 2. On September 1, 2021, the comptroller of public
86	86	accounts shall transfer $500 million of the unencumbered balance of
87	87	the general revenue fund on that date to the credit of the disaster
88	88	response loan fund, as created by this Act.
89	89	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.