89R15884 CS-D
By: Hopper H.B. No. 4712
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an annual report by the comptroller of public accounts
on the fiscal impact to this state of persons not lawfully present.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 403.0304 to read as follows:
Sec. 403.0304. REPORT ON COST OF PERSONS NOT LAWFULLY
PRESENT. (a) In this section, "person not lawfully present" means
a person who is not:
(1) a citizen or other national of the United States;
or
(2) an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent
residence in the United States under the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.) or authorized to be
employed by that Act or the United States attorney general.
(b) Not later than June 30 of each year, the comptroller
shall post on the comptroller's Internet website and submit to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and each other member of the legislature a report
prepared by the comptroller on the fiscal impact on this state of
the costs associated with persons not lawfully present. At a
minimum, the report must include the amount of, and an explanation
of the methodology used to determine, the following costs:
(1) health care costs, including:
(A) costs associated with:
(i) uncompensated medical care provided to
persons not lawfully present by hospitals and health care
facilities located in this state; and
(ii) Medicaid and emergency medical
services used by persons not lawfully present; and
(B) the impact of health care expenditures
described by this subdivision on state and local budgets;
(2) law enforcement and criminal justice costs,
including:
(A) costs incurred by state and local law
enforcement agencies related to criminal activity by persons not
lawfully present;
(B) expenses associated with the incarceration
and detention in jails and prisons in this state of persons not
lawfully present; and
(C) costs related to border security operations
and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement;
(3) public education costs, including:
(A) state and local expenditures related to
providing to persons not lawfully present an education in public
schools located in this state;
(B) the cost of providing bilingual education,
English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, and other educational
resources required for persons not lawfully present; and
(C) federal funding offsets, if any, for costs
described by this subdivision and the impact of those offsets on
total state and local expenditures;
(4) welfare and public assistance costs, including:
(A) costs associated with the use of public
benefits and welfare programs by persons not lawfully present,
including costs incurred as a result of fraud and abuse by those
persons;
(B) costs associated with the use of the
supplemental nutrition assistance program under Chapter 33, Human
Resources Code, the temporary assistance for needy families program
under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, and other state-funded
assistance programs by persons not lawfully present; and
(C) the impact of fraudulent benefit claims by
persons not lawfully present on the solvency of welfare programs;
and
(5) economic impact and job market data, including:
(A) wage suppression and employment displacement
of lawful residents of this state due to the employment of persons
not lawfully present;
(B) the impact of the employment of persons not
lawfully present on tax revenues and business compliance with labor
laws; and
(C) the estimated tax contributions made by
persons not lawfully present, if any, and the net fiscal impact of
those contributions.
(c) The comptroller shall hold a public hearing each year to
review the findings of the report prepared under Subsection (b) and
to receive public comments from stakeholders, including law
enforcement agencies, health care providers, educators, and
business leaders.
(d) Not later than March 1 of each year, the following state
agencies shall submit to the comptroller information requested by
the comptroller that is necessary for the preparation of the report
under Subsection (b):
(1) the Health and Human Services Commission;
(2) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
(3) the Department of Public Safety;
(4) the Texas Education Agency; and
(5) the Texas Workforce Commission.
(e) The comptroller may request the state auditor's
assistance to determine the accuracy of the information submitted
to the comptroller by a state agency under Subsection (d). The
state auditor shall provide the requested assistance.
(f) To ensure accuracy and consistency in the information
collected, the comptroller by rule shall:
(1) adopt a form each state agency must use to submit
information under Subsection (d); and
(2) establish, in consultation with the state auditor,
appropriate auditing procedures for use as provided by Subsection
(e).
(g) The comptroller shall report to the legislature each
state agency that fails to submit information as required by
Subsection (d) or that submits inaccurate or misleading information
under that subsection. The legislature may take appropriate action
in response to a report received from the comptroller under this
subsection, which may include reducing the amount of money that
would otherwise be appropriated to a state agency named in the
report for use during the next state fiscal biennium.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.