Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB9 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 9
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the development and funding of broadband and
6	6	telecommunications services.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
9	9	adding Subchapter T to read as follows:
10	10	SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
11	11	Sec. 403.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
12	12	(1) "Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
13	13	Program" means the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
14	14	Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
15	15	(Pub. L. No. 117-58).
16	16	(2) "Fund" means the broadband infrastructure fund
17	17	established under Section 49-d-16, Article III, Texas
18	18	Constitution.
19	19	(3) "Next generation 9-1-1 service fund" means the
20	20	fund established under Section 771.0713, Health and Safety Code.
21	21	Sec. 403.602. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PUBLIC PURPOSE. The
22	22	legislature finds that:
23	23	(1) the creation of the fund will meet an imperative
24	24	public need and serve the economic, educational, and health care
25	25	needs of this state; and
26	26	(2) the use of the fund is in furtherance of the public
27	27	purpose of expanding and ensuring access to reliable, high-speed
28	28	broadband and telecommunications connectivity.
29	29	Sec. 403.603. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND. (a) The
30	30	broadband infrastructure fund is a special fund in the state
31	31	treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund consists of:
32	32	(1) money transferred or deposited to the credit of
33	33	the fund by the constitution, general law, or the General
34	34	Appropriations Act;
35	35	(2) revenue that the legislature by general law
36	36	dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund;
37	37	(3) investment earnings and interest earned on money
38	38	in the fund; and
39	39	(4) gifts, grants, and donations to the fund.
40	40	(b) The fund shall be administered by the comptroller who
41	41	may use money from the fund for any purpose authorized by Subsection
42	42	(c).
43	43	(c) The fund may be used only for:
44	44	(1) a purpose described by Chapter 490I;
45	45	(2) providing funding for 9-1-1 and next generation
46	46	9-1-1 services under Chapter 771, Health and Safety Code;
47	47	(3) supporting the deployment of next generation 9-1-1
48	48	service, including its costs of equipment, operations, and
49	49	administration, as provided by Section 771.0713, Health and Safety
50	50	Code;
51	51	(4) supporting the Texas Broadband Pole Replacement
52	52	Program established under Section 403.503, as added by Chapter 659
53	53	(H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021;
54	54	(5) providing matching funds for federal money
55	55	provided for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program;
56	56	(6) expanding access to broadband service in
57	57	economically distressed communities to support increased
58	58	connectivity needs in those areas; and
59	59	(7) administering and enforcing this subchapter.
60	60	(d) For the purposes of Subsection (c)(5), the comptroller:
61	61	(1) shall consider an applicant's potential
62	62	contribution toward matching the funds for federal money provided
63	63	for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program; and
64	64	(2) may only provide state matching funds if a state
65	65	contribution is necessary for the economic feasibility of a
66	66	proposed project.
67	67	Sec. 403.604. MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a) In
68	68	this section, "trust company" means the Texas Treasury Safekeeping
69	69	Trust Company.
70	70	(b) The trust company shall hold and invest the fund, and
71	71	any accounts established in the fund, for the comptroller, taking
72	72	into account the purposes for which money in the fund may be used.
73	73	The fund may be invested with the state treasury pool and may be
74	74	pooled with other state assets for purposes of investment.
75	75	(c) The overall objective for the investment of the fund is
76	76	to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the needs of the fund while
77	77	striving to preserve the purchasing power of the fund over a full
78	78	economic cycle.
79	79	(d) In managing the assets of the fund, the trust company
80	80	may acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind
81	81	of investment that a prudent investor, exercising reasonable care,
82	82	skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in light of the
83	83	purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other
84	84	circumstances of the fund then prevailing, taking into
85	85	consideration the investment of all the assets of the fund rather
86	86	than a single investment.
87	87	(e) The trust company shall recover the costs incurred in
88	88	managing and investing the fund only from the fund.
89	89	(f) The trust company annually shall provide a written
90	90	report to the comptroller with respect to the investments of the
91	91	fund.
92	92	(g) The trust company shall adopt a written investment
93	93	policy that is appropriate for the fund. The trust company shall
94	94	present the investment policy to the investment advisory board
95	95	established under Section 404.028. The investment advisory board
96	96	shall submit to the trust company recommendations regarding the
97	97	policy.
98	98	(h) The comptroller annually shall provide to the trust
99	99	company a forecast of the cash flows into and out of the fund. The
100	100	comptroller shall provide updates to the forecasts as appropriate
101	101	to ensure that the trust company is able to achieve the fund's
102	102	objective specified by Subsection (c).
103	103	(i) The trust company shall disburse money from the fund as
104	104	directed by the comptroller.
105	105	Sec. 403.605. RULEMAKING. The comptroller may adopt rules
106	106	as necessary to administer this subchapter.
107	107	SECTION 2. Section 403.502, Government Code, as added by
108	108	Chapter 659 (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
109	109	Session, 2021, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
110	110	follows:
111	111	(b-1) In addition to the money transferred under Subsection
112	112	(b), the comptroller may transfer to the credit of the pole
113	113	replacement fund an available amount from the broadband
114	114	infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16, Article
115	115	III, Texas Constitution.
116	116	SECTION 3. (a) The comptroller of public accounts shall
117	117	make a one-time transfer in the amount of $155,200,000 from the
118	118	broadband infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16,
119	119	Article III, Texas Constitution, to the next generation 9-1-1
120	120	service fund established under Section 771.0713, Health and Safety
121	121	Code.
122	122	(b) The comptroller of public accounts shall make a one-time
123	123	transfer in the amount of $75 million from the broadband
124	124	infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16, Article
125	125	III, Texas Constitution, to the broadband pole replacement fund
126	126	established under Section 403.502, Government Code, as added by
127	127	Chapter 659 (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
128	128	Session, 2021.
129	129	(c) Notwithstanding Section 5, Chapter 10 (S.B. 8), Acts of
130	130	the 87th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2021, the comptroller of
131	131	public accounts may not use funds appropriated under that section
132	132	to support the Texas Broadband Pole Replacement Program established
133	133	under Section 403.503, Government Code, as added by Chapter 659
134	134	(H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
135	135	after the effective date of this Act.
136	136	(d) The comptroller of public accounts shall transfer the
137	137	amounts described by Subsections (a) and (b) of this section not
138	138	later than September 15, 2024.
139	139	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024, if the
140	140	constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature, Regular
141	141	Session, 2023, creating the broadband infrastructure fund to expand
142	142	high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of
143	143	connectivity projects in the state takes effect. If that amendment
144	144	is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.
145	145	______________________________ ______________________________
146	146	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
147	147	I certify that H.B. No. 9 was passed by the House on April 27,
148	148	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 8, 1 present, not
149	149	voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
150	150	H.B. No. 9 on May 23, 2023, and requested the appointment of a
151	151	conference committee to consider the differences between the two
152	152	houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
153	153	on H.B. No. 9 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 134,
154	154	Nays 8, 2 present, not voting.
155	155	______________________________
156	156	Chief Clerk of the House
157	157	I certify that H.B. No. 9 was passed by the Senate, with
158	158	amendments, on May 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
159	159	1; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
160	160	committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
161	161	that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
162	162	9 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
163	163	______________________________
164	164	Secretary of the Senate
165	165	APPROVED: __________________
166	166	Date
167	167	__________________
168	168	Governor