89R16379 RDS-F
By: RodrÃguez Ramos H.B. No. 4908
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas prosperity payout fund;
imposing taxes on the gross revenues of and consumption by certain
industry participants; authorizing administrative penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Texas Prosperity
Payout Act.
SECTION 2. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter V to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER V. TEXAS PROSPERITY PAYOUT FUND
Sec. 403.701. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature
finds that:
(1) emerging industries, including artificial
intelligence and cryptocurrency mining, significantly impact this
state's energy, infrastructure, and workforce resources;
(2) revenue generated by these industries has not been
proportionately invested in the prosperity of the residents of this
state; and
(3) a permanent fund dividend can promote economic
stability, foster community resilience, and stimulate local
economies when implemented within appropriate constitutional and
fiscal parameters.
(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to establish a
permanent fund dividend benefiting adult Texans through a
revenue-supported structure that complies with the requirements of
Section 51, Article III, Texas Constitution, ensures fiscal
sustainability and transparency, and adheres to all applicable
constitutional provisions regarding the permissible uses of public
funds.
Sec. 403.702. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Prosperity payout" means a payment made from the
Texas prosperity payout fund under Section 403.704.
(2) "Eligible resident" means an individual who:
(A) is a United States citizen or a lawful
permanent resident;
(B) is at least 18 years of age; and
(C) has resided in Texas for at least 12
consecutive months, verified through the individual's
government-issued identification or by applicable state records.
(3) "Fund" means the Texas prosperity payout fund
created under this subchapter.
Sec. 403.703. TEXAS PROSPERITY PAYOUT FUND. (a) The Texas
prosperity payout fund is created as a fund outside the state
treasury with the comptroller.
(b) The fund consists of:
(1) money transferred or deposited to the credit of
the fund by the constitution, general law, or the General
Appropriations Act;
(2) revenue that the legislature by general law
dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund; and
(3) gifts, grants, and donations to the fund.
(c) The comptroller shall administer the fund and
distribute prosperity payouts to eligible residents in the manner
provided by Section 403.704.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, money deposited to the
credit of the fund is automatically appropriated to the comptroller
for the purpose of making prosperity payouts and the comptroller
may spend money in the fund without further legislative
appropriation as necessary to carry out the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 403.704. PROSPERITY PAYOUT. (a) The comptroller
shall issue a prosperity payout each month to each individual the
comptroller verifies is an eligible resident using money in the
fund. The amount of the prosperity payout to which each eligible
resident is entitled in a month is equal to the total amount of
money in the fund on the last day of the preceding month divided by
the number of eligible residents receiving a prosperity payout in
the applicable month.
(b) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary to
implement and administer this section, including protocols for
verifying eligible residents and procedures for issuing prosperity
payouts.
(c) The comptroller shall recommend to the legislature any
adjustments to the rate of the taxes imposed under Chapter 210, Tax
Code, necessary to ensure continued funding for prosperity payouts.
(d) Prosperity payouts to eligible residents under this
subchapter are considered to be refunds of collected
industry-specific tax revenue to the public and shall serve the
public purposes of promoting economic stability and public
prosperity. As required by Section 51, Article III, Texas
Constitution, the legislature finds that the payment of a
prosperity payout is not gratuitous and is essential to mitigate
the public calamity caused by the economic impacts from the taxed
industries.
(e) The comptroller shall maintain a list of eligible
residents and implement procedures to regularly cross-reference
state vital statistics and residency records to identify and remove
individuals who are deceased or who have relocated out of this state
from the list of eligible residents. The comptroller must provide
an individual identified for removal from the list written notice
and provide the individual 30 days to appeal the comptroller's
determination before suspending the issuance of prosperity payouts
to the individual.
Sec. 403.705. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING. (a) Not later
than December 31 of each state fiscal year, the comptroller shall
prepare and issue a report to the lieutenant governor and the
speaker of the house of representatives on the administration of
the fund during that state fiscal year, including:
(1) the total amount of tax revenue collected under
Chapter 210, Tax Code, organized by industry, and deposited to the
credit of the fund;
(2) the total amount of money disbursed from the fund;
and
(3) economic impact assessments of each of the taxes
imposed by Chapter 210, Tax Code, and the prosperity payouts issued
under this subchapter with comparative metrics.
(b) The comptroller shall post the report prepared under
Subsection (a) on the comptroller's Internet website.
(c) An economic impact assessment required under this
section must be conducted by an independent third party using
generally accepted economic forecasting models. The report must
include baseline comparisons and anticipated long-term economic
effects on different segments of the population.
Sec. 403.706. OVERSIGHT AND AUDITING. (a) The state
auditor shall conduct an audit of the fund each calendar quarter to
ensure the integrity of the fund.
(b) An independent oversight committee composed of at least
seven members appointed by the governor shall annually review
economic impact data included in the report submitted by the
comptroller under Section 403.705. The members must include
representatives from the Legislative Budget Board and the state
auditor's office and at least three public members. A member of the
committee:
(1) must opt out of receiving prosperity payouts in
the manner provided by Section 403.707; and
(2) may not have a direct financial interest in an
entity that is subject to a tax under Chapter 210, Tax Code.
Sec. 403.707. AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT AND OPT OUT. (a) An
eligible recipient is automatically enrolled with the comptroller
to receive prosperity payouts.
(b) An individual who becomes an eligible recipient is
automatically enrolled with the comptroller effective on the first
day of the month following the month in which the individual first
meets the requirements of Section 403.702(2).
(c) An eligible recipient may opt out of receiving
prosperity payouts at any time through procedures established by
the comptroller. An eligible resident who opts out under this
subsection may opt back in at any time without penalty or delay in
payment other than standard processing times established by
comptroller rules.
Sec. 403.708. FRAUD PREVENTION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION;
APPEAL. (a) The comptroller shall implement verification
protocols to prevent fraudulent claims for prosperity payouts.
(b) An individual whom the comptroller determines is not an
eligible recipient may file an appeal. An appeal is conducted
before the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The appeal
must be filed not later than the 30th day after the date of the
comptroller's final determination of eligibility. The appellant
bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that the appellant is an
eligible recipient by a preponderance of the evidence.
(c) An appellant that faces an immediate financial hardship
due to the appellant's inability to receive a prosperity payout may
request an expedited review. The comptroller must issue a decision
not later than the 10th business day after the date of the request.
SECTION 3. Title 2, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subtitle
K to read as follows:
SUBTITLE K. INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC TAXES
CHAPTER 210. TAX ON INDUSTRY REVENUE AND CONSUMPTION
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 210.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Artificial intelligence infrastructure" means a
facility using computational resources exceeding 1,000 teraflops
per second.
(2) "Cloud service provider" means an entity offering
Internet-based infrastructure, platform, or software services with
annual data usage exceeding five petabytes.
(3) "Cryptocurrency mining operation" means a
facility consuming at least one megawatt-hour of electricity per
day or 30 megawatt-hours per month for cryptocurrency token
production.
(4) "Data center" means a facility consuming more than
two megawatt-hours of electricity per month dedicated to data
processing or storage.
(5) "Large software company" means a company
generating at least $50 million in annual revenue from the sale of
software-related products or services.
(6) "Telecommunications company" means a provider of
telecommunications services serving 500,000 or more subscribers in
this state.
Sec. 210.002. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS ON TAX UNIFORMITY. The
legislature finds that the taxes imposed under this chapter are
reasonably classified based on measurable industry impacts on state
infrastructure, energy use, and public welfare.
SUBCHAPTER B. TAXES IMPOSED
Sec. 210.051. ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION TAX. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (c), a tax is imposed on electricity
consumption by a cryptocurrency mining operation during a calendar
month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is $0.10 per
kilowatt-hour consumed by the cryptocurrency mining operation.
(c) This section does not apply to a cryptocurrency mining
operation that consumes less than five megawatt-hours of
electricity during a calendar month.
Sec. 210.052. GROSS REVENUE TAX: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection
(c), a tax is imposed on the gross revenue of an artificial
intelligence infrastructure facility during a calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is six
percent of the gross revenue of the facility.
(c) This section does not apply to an artificial
intelligence infrastructure facility with an annual gross revenue
of less than $50 million during the preceding calendar year.
Sec. 210.053. GROSS REVENUE TAX: DATA CENTER. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (c), a tax is imposed on the gross revenue
of a data center during a calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is four
percent of the gross revenue of the data center.
(c) This section does not apply to a data center that
consumes less than five megawatt-hours of electricity during a
calendar month.
Sec. 210.054. GROSS REVENUE TAX: SEMICONDUCTOR
MANUFACTURER. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a
semiconductor manufacturer during a calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two
percent of the gross revenue of the semiconductor manufacturer.
Sec. 210.055. GROSS REVENUE TAX: CLOUD SERVICES. (a) A tax
is imposed on the gross revenue of a cloud service provider during a
calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two
percent of the gross revenue of the cloud service provider.
Sec. 210.056. GROSS REVENUE TAX: TELECOMMUNICATIONS
COMPANY. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a
telecommunications company during a calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two
percent of the gross revenue of the telecommunications company.
Sec. 210.057. GROSS REVENUE TAX: LARGE SOFTWARE COMPANY.
(a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a large software
company during a calendar month.
(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two
percent of the gross revenue of the large software company.
SUBCHAPTER C. REPORTING AND PAYMENT OF TAX
Sec. 210.101. COLLECTION; REPORT. (a) The comptroller
shall collect the taxes imposed under this chapter.
(b) Each person subject to a tax imposed under this chapter
shall file a report with the comptroller on or before the 20th day
of the calendar month following the month that is the subject of the
report.
(c) The comptroller shall prescribe the form and content of
the report required under this section. The comptroller may
require a person subject to a tax imposed under this chapter to
include with a report any information the comptroller determines
necessary to determine the amount of tax the person owes for the
period covered by the report.
Sec. 210.102. PAYMENT OF TAX. A person shall pay the tax
due on a report submitted under Section 210.101 with the report.
SUBCHAPTER D. ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 210.151. ENFORCEMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a)
The comptroller may audit a person subject to a tax imposed under
this chapter to ensure compliance with this chapter.
(b) A person that fails to submit a report required under
Section 210.101 is subject to an administrative penalty in an
amount determined by the comptroller not to exceed $10,000.
(c) A person that knowingly includes false information in a
report required under Section 210.101 is subject to an
administrative penalty in an amount determined by the comptroller
not to exceed $100,000.
(d) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary to
implement and administer this section, including rules prescribing
audit and appeal procedures and deadlines for compliance with
reasonable requests for information made by the comptroller.
SUBCHAPTER E. ALLOCATION OF REVENUE
Sec. 210.201. DEPOSIT AND USE OF REVENUE. (a) All revenue
collected under this chapter shall be deposited to the credit of the
Texas prosperity payout fund established under Subchapter V,
Chapter 403, Government Code.
(b) Revenue deposited to the credit of the fund under this
section may not be used for any purpose other than to fund the
monthly payments described by Section 403.704, Government Code.
SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2026, the comptroller
of public accounts shall adopt rules necessary to implement
Subchapter V, Chapter 403, Government Code, and Chapter 210, Tax
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. An individual is not entitled to a payment under
Subchapter V, Chapter 403, Government Code, as added by this Act,
before July 1, 2026.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.