Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1298 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	87R8313 BRG-D
2	2	By: Nelson S.B. No. 1298
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation and re-creation of funds and accounts, the
8	8	dedication and rededication of revenue and allocation of accrued
9	9	interest on dedicated revenue, and the exemption of unappropriated
10	10	money from use for general governmental purposes.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In any provision of this Act that
13	13	does not amend current law, "state agency" means an office,
14	14	institution, or other agency that is in the executive or judicial
15	15	branch of state government, has authority that is not limited to a
16	16	geographical portion of the state, and was created by the
17	17	constitution or a statute of this state. The term does not include
18	18	an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
19	19	Education Code.
20	20	SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF FUNDS, ACCOUNTS, AND DEDICATIONS.
21	21	Except as otherwise specifically provided by this Act, all funds
22	22	and accounts created or re-created by an Act of the 87th
23	23	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, that becomes law and all
24	24	dedications or rededications of revenue collected by a state agency
25	25	for a particular purpose by an Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular
26	26	Session, 2021, that becomes law are abolished on the later of August
27	27	31, 2021, or the date the Act creating or re-creating the fund or
28	28	account or dedicating or rededicating revenue takes effect.
29	29	SECTION 3. PREVIOUSLY EXEMPT DEDICATIONS, FUNDS, AND
30	30	ACCOUNTS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply to:
31	31	(1) statutory dedications, funds, and accounts that
32	32	were enacted before the 87th Legislature convened to comply with
33	33	requirements of state constitutional or federal law;
34	34	(2) dedications, funds, or accounts that remained
35	35	exempt from former Section 403.094(h), Government Code, at the time
36	36	dedications, accounts, and funds were abolished under that
37	37	provision;
38	38	(3) increases in fees or other revenue dedicated as
39	39	described by this section; or
40	40	(4) increases in fees or other revenue required to be
41	41	deposited in a fund or account described by this section.
42	42	SECTION 4. FEDERAL FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not
43	43	apply to funds created under an Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular
44	44	Session, 2021, for which separate accounting is required by federal
45	45	law, except that the funds shall be deposited in accounts in the
46	46	general revenue fund unless otherwise required by federal law.
47	47	SECTION 5. TRUST FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not
48	48	apply to trust funds or dedicated revenue deposited to trust funds
49	49	created under an Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session,
50	50	2021, except that the trust funds shall be held in the state
51	51	treasury, with the comptroller in trust, or outside the state
52	52	treasury with the comptroller's approval.
53	53	SECTION 6. BOND FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply
54	54	to bond funds and pledged funds created or affected by an Act of the
55	55	87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, except that the funds
56	56	shall be held in the state treasury, with the comptroller in trust,
57	57	or outside the state treasury with the comptroller's approval.
58	58	SECTION 7. CONSTITUTIONAL DEDICATIONS, FUNDS, AND
59	59	ACCOUNTS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply to funds or accounts
60	60	that would be created or re-created by the Texas Constitution or
61	61	revenue that would be dedicated or rededicated by the Texas
62	62	Constitution under a constitutional amendment proposed by the 87th
63	63	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, or to dedicated revenue
64	64	deposited to funds or accounts that would be so created or
65	65	re-created, if the constitutional amendment is approved by the
66	66	voters.
67	67	SECTION 8. ADDITIONAL USES FOR DEDICATED FUNDS OR ACCOUNTS.
68	68	Section 2 of this Act does not apply to a newly authorized use of
69	69	money in a dedicated fund or dedicated account as provided by an Act
70	70	of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, to the extent:
71	71	(1) the fund or account was exempted from abolition by
72	72	an Act of the legislature that became law before January 1, 2021;
73	73	and
74	74	(2) the newly authorized use is within the scope of the
75	75	original dedication of the fund or account.
76	76	SECTION 9. REALLOCATION OF INTEREST ACCRUED ON CERTAIN
77	77	DEDICATED REVENUE. (a) This section applies only to an account in
78	78	the general revenue fund:
79	79	(1) any part of which Section 403.095, Government
80	80	Code, makes available for certification under Section 403.121,
81	81	Government Code; and
82	82	(2) that is created or re-created by an Act of the 87th
83	83	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021.
84	84	(b) Except as provided by this Act, all interest and other
85	85	earnings that accrue on all revenue held in an account in the
86	86	general revenue fund are available for any general governmental
87	87	purpose.
88	88	(c) Except as provided by this Act, the comptroller shall
89	89	deposit all interest and other earnings that accrue on all revenue
90	90	held in an account in the general revenue fund to the credit of the
91	91	general revenue fund.
92	92	SECTION 10. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 403.095, GOVERNMENT CODE.
93	93	Effective September 1, 2021, Sections 403.095(b), (d), and (f),
94	94	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
95	95	(b) Notwithstanding any law dedicating or setting aside
96	96	revenue for a particular purpose or entity, dedicated revenues that
97	97	on August 31, 2023 [2021], are estimated to exceed the amount
98	98	appropriated by the General Appropriations Act or other laws
99	99	enacted by the 87th [86th] Legislature are available for general
100	100	governmental purposes and are considered available for the purpose
101	101	of certification under Section 403.121.
102	102	(d) Following certification of the General Appropriations
103	103	Act and other appropriations measures enacted by the 87th [86th]
104	104	Legislature, the comptroller shall reduce each dedicated account as
105	105	directed by the legislature by an amount that may not exceed the
106	106	amount by which estimated revenues and unobligated balances exceed
107	107	appropriations. The reductions may be made in the amounts and at the
108	108	times necessary for cash flow considerations to allow all the
109	109	dedicated accounts to maintain adequate cash balances to transact
110	110	routine business. The legislature may authorize, in the General
111	111	Appropriations Act, the temporary delay of the excess balance
112	112	reduction required under this subsection. This subsection does not
113	113	apply to revenues or balances in:
114	114	(1) funds outside the treasury;
115	115	(2) trust funds, which for purposes of this section
116	116	include funds that may or are required to be used in whole or in part
117	117	for the acquisition, development, construction, or maintenance of
118	118	state and local government infrastructures, recreational
119	119	facilities, or natural resource conservation facilities;
120	120	(3) funds created by the constitution or a court; or
121	121	(4) funds for which separate accounting is required by
122	122	federal law.
123	123	(f) This section expires September 1, 2023 [2021].
124	124	SECTION 11. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 504.6012, TRANSPORTATION
125	125	CODE. Effective September 1, 2021, Section 504.6012,
126	126	Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
127	127	Sec. 504.6012. ELIMINATION OF DEDICATED REVENUE ACCOUNTS;
128	128	REVENUES IN TRUST. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, not later
129	129	than September 30, 2021 [2019], the comptroller shall eliminate all
130	130	dedicated accounts established for specialty license plates and
131	131	shall set aside the balances of those dedicated accounts so that the
132	132	balances may be appropriated only for the purposes intended as
133	133	provided by the dedications.
134	134	(b) On and after September 1, 2021 [2019], the portion of a
135	135	fee payable that is designated for deposit to a dedicated account
136	136	shall be paid instead to the credit of an account in a trust fund
137	137	created by the comptroller outside the general revenue fund. The
138	138	comptroller shall administer the trust fund and accounts and may
139	139	allocate the corpus and earnings on each account only in accordance
140	140	with the dedications of the revenue deposited to the trust fund
141	141	accounts.
142	142	SECTION 12. EFFECT OF ACT. (a) This Act prevails over any
143	143	other Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
144	144	regardless of the relative dates of enactment, that purports to
145	145	create or re-create a special fund or account or to dedicate or
146	146	rededicate revenue to a particular purpose, including any fund,
147	147	account, or revenue dedication abolished under former Section
148	148	403.094, Government Code.
149	149	(b) An exemption from the application of Section 403.095,
150	150	Government Code, contained in another Act of the 87th Legislature,
151	151	Regular Session, 2021, that is exempted from the application of
152	152	Section 2 of this Act has no effect.
153	153	(c) Revenue that, under the terms of another Act of the 87th
154	154	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, would be deposited to the
155	155	credit of a special account or fund shall be deposited to the credit
156	156	of the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund unless the
157	157	fund, account, or dedication is exempted under this Act.
158	158	(d) This Act prevails over any other Act of the 87th
159	159	Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, regardless of the relative
160	160	dates of enactment, that purports to allocate interest or other
161	161	earnings that accrue on revenue held in an account in the general
162	162	revenue fund any part of which Section 403.095, Government Code,
163	163	makes available for certification under Section 403.121,
164	164	Government Code.
165	165	SECTION 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. Except as otherwise provided
166	166	by this Act:
167	167	(1) this Act takes effect immediately if this Act
168	168	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
169	169	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution;
170	170	and
171	171	(2) if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
172	172	immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
173	173	last day of the legislative session.