Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4488 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R11470 KJE-D
2	2	By: Bonnen H.B. No. 4488
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the creation and re-creation of funds and accounts, the
10	10	dedication and rededication of revenue and allocation of accrued
11	11	interest on dedicated revenue, and the exemption of unappropriated
12	12	money from use for general governmental purposes.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In any provision of this Act that
15	15	does not amend current law, "state agency" means an office,
16	16	institution, or other agency that is in the executive or judicial
17	17	branch of state government, has authority that is not limited to a
18	18	geographical portion of the state, and was created by the
19	19	constitution or a statute of this state. The term does not include
20	20	an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
21	21	Education Code.
22	22	SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF FUNDS, ACCOUNTS, AND DEDICATIONS.
23	23	Except as otherwise specifically provided by this Act, all funds
24	24	and accounts created or re-created by an Act of the 89th
25	25	Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, that becomes law and all
26	26	dedications or rededications of revenue collected by a state agency
27	27	for a particular purpose by an Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular
28	28	Session, 2025, that becomes law are abolished on the later of August
29	29	31, 2025, or the date the Act creating or re-creating the fund or
30	30	account or dedicating or rededicating revenue takes effect.
31	31	SECTION 3. PREVIOUSLY EXEMPT DEDICATIONS, FUNDS, AND
32	32	ACCOUNTS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply to:
33	33	(1) statutory dedications, funds, and accounts that
34	34	were enacted before the 89th Legislature convened to comply with
35	35	requirements of state constitutional or federal law;
36	36	(2) dedications, funds, or accounts that remained
37	37	exempt from former Section 403.094(h), Government Code, at the time
38	38	dedications, accounts, and funds were abolished under that
39	39	provision;
40	40	(3) increases in fees or other revenue dedicated as
41	41	described by this section; or
42	42	(4) increases in fees or other revenue required to be
43	43	deposited in a fund or account described by this section.
44	44	SECTION 4. FEDERAL FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not
45	45	apply to funds created under an Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular
46	46	Session, 2025, for which separate accounting is required by federal
47	47	law, except that the funds shall be deposited in accounts in the
48	48	general revenue fund unless otherwise required by federal law.
49	49	SECTION 5. TRUST FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not
50	50	apply to trust funds or dedicated revenue deposited to trust funds
51	51	created under an Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session,
52	52	2025, except that the trust funds shall be held in the state
53	53	treasury, with the comptroller in trust, or outside the state
54	54	treasury with the comptroller's approval.
55	55	SECTION 6. BOND FUNDS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply
56	56	to bond funds and pledged funds created or affected by an Act of the
57	57	89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, except that the funds
58	58	shall be held in the state treasury, with the comptroller in trust,
59	59	or outside the state treasury with the comptroller's approval.
60	60	SECTION 7. CONSTITUTIONAL DEDICATIONS, FUNDS, AND
61	61	ACCOUNTS. Section 2 of this Act does not apply to funds or accounts
62	62	that would be created or re-created by the Texas Constitution or
63	63	revenue that would be dedicated or rededicated by the Texas
64	64	Constitution under a constitutional amendment proposed by the 89th
65	65	Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, or to dedicated revenue
66	66	deposited to funds or accounts that would be so created or
67	67	re-created, if the constitutional amendment is approved by the
68	68	voters.
69	69	SECTION 8. ADDITIONAL USES FOR DEDICATED FUNDS OR ACCOUNTS.
70	70	Section 2 of this Act does not apply to a newly authorized use of
71	71	money in a dedicated fund or dedicated account as provided by an Act
72	72	of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, to the extent:
73	73	(1) the fund or account was exempted from abolition by
74	74	an Act of the legislature that became law before January 1, 2025;
75	75	and
76	76	(2) the newly authorized use is within the scope of the
77	77	original dedication of the fund or account.
78	78	SECTION 9. REALLOCATION OF INTEREST ACCRUED ON CERTAIN
79	79	DEDICATED REVENUE. (a) This section applies only to an account in
80	80	the general revenue fund:
81	81	(1) any part of which Section 403.095, Government
82	82	Code, makes available for certification under Section 403.121,
83	83	Government Code; and
84	84	(2) that is created or re-created by an Act of the 89th
85	85	Legislature, Regular Session, 2025.
86	86	(b) Except as provided by this Act, all interest and other
87	87	earnings that accrue on all revenue held in an account in the
88	88	general revenue fund are available for any general governmental
89	89	purpose.
90	90	(c) Except as provided by this Act, the comptroller shall
91	91	deposit all interest and other earnings that accrue on all revenue
92	92	held in an account in the general revenue fund to the credit of the
93	93	general revenue fund.
94	94	SECTION 10. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 403.095, GOVERNMENT CODE.
95	95	Effective September 1, 2025, Sections 403.095(b), (d), and (f),
96	96	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
97	97	(b) Notwithstanding any law dedicating or setting aside
98	98	revenue for a particular purpose or entity, dedicated revenues that
99	99	on August 31, 2027 [2025], are estimated to exceed the amount
100	100	appropriated by the General Appropriations Act or other laws
101	101	enacted by the 89th [88th] Legislature are available for general
102	102	governmental purposes and are considered available for the purpose
103	103	of certification under Section 403.121.
104	104	(d) Following certification of the General Appropriations
105	105	Act and other appropriations measures enacted by the 89th [88th]
106	106	Legislature, the comptroller shall reduce each dedicated account as
107	107	directed by the legislature by an amount that may not exceed the
108	108	amount by which estimated revenues and unobligated balances exceed
109	109	appropriations. The reductions may be made in the amounts and at the
110	110	times necessary for cash flow considerations to allow all the
111	111	dedicated accounts to maintain adequate cash balances to transact
112	112	routine business. The legislature may authorize, in the General
113	113	Appropriations Act, the temporary delay of the excess balance
114	114	reduction required under this subsection. This subsection does not
115	115	apply to revenues or balances in:
116	116	(1) funds outside the treasury;
117	117	(2) trust funds, which for purposes of this section
118	118	include funds that may or are required to be used in whole or in part
119	119	for the acquisition, development, construction, or maintenance of
120	120	state and local government infrastructures, recreational
121	121	facilities, or natural resource conservation facilities;
122	122	(3) funds created by the constitution or a court; or
123	123	(4) funds for which separate accounting is required by
124	124	federal law.
125	125	(f) This section expires September 1, 2027 [2025].
126	126	SECTION 11. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 504.6012, TRANSPORTATION
127	127	CODE. Effective September 1, 2025, Section 504.6012,
128	128	Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:
129	129	Sec. 504.6012. ELIMINATION OF DEDICATED REVENUE ACCOUNTS;
130	130	REVENUES IN TRUST. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, not later
131	131	than September 30, 2025 [2023], the comptroller shall eliminate all
132	132	dedicated accounts established for specialty license plates and
133	133	shall set aside the balances of those dedicated accounts so that the
134	134	balances may be appropriated only for the purposes intended as
135	135	provided by the dedications.
136	136	(b) On and after September 1, 2025 [2023], the portion of a
137	137	fee payable that is designated for deposit to a dedicated account
138	138	shall be paid instead to the credit of an account in a trust fund
139	139	created by the comptroller outside the general revenue fund. The
140	140	comptroller shall administer the trust fund and accounts and may
141	141	allocate the corpus and earnings on each account only in accordance
142	142	with the dedications of the revenue deposited to the trust fund
143	143	accounts.
144	144	SECTION 12. EFFECT OF ACT. (a) This Act prevails over any
145	145	other Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
146	146	regardless of the relative dates of enactment, that purports to
147	147	create or re-create a special fund or account or to dedicate or
148	148	rededicate revenue to a particular purpose, including any fund,
149	149	account, or revenue dedication abolished under former Section
150	150	403.094, Government Code.
151	151	(b) An exemption from the application of Section 403.095,
152	152	Government Code, contained in another Act of the 89th Legislature,
153	153	Regular Session, 2025, that is exempted from the application of
154	154	Section 2 of this Act has no effect.
155	155	(c) Revenue that, under the terms of another Act of the 89th
156	156	Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, would be deposited to the
157	157	credit of a special account or fund shall be deposited to the credit
158	158	of the undedicated portion of the general revenue fund unless the
159	159	fund, account, or dedication is exempted under this Act.
160	160	(d) This Act prevails over any other Act of the 89th
161	161	Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, regardless of the relative
162	162	dates of enactment, that purports to allocate interest or other
163	163	earnings that accrue on revenue held in an account in the general
164	164	revenue fund any part of which Section 403.095, Government Code,
165	165	makes available for certification under Section 403.121,
166	166	Government Code.
167	167	SECTION 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. Except as otherwise provided
168	168	by this Act:
169	169	(1) this Act takes effect immediately if this Act
170	170	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
171	171	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution;
172	172	and
173	173	(2) if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
174	174	immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
175	175	last day of the legislative session.