89R334 MP-F
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 73
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and duties of the unfunded mandates
interagency work group.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 320.001, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 320.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
(1) "Interagency work group" means the unfunded
mandates interagency work group.
(2) "Mandate" [, "mandate"] means a requirement made
by a statute enacted by the legislature on or after January 1, 2025
[1997], that requires a political subdivision to establish, expand,
or modify a duty or [an] activity in a way that requires the
expenditure of revenue by the political subdivision that would not
have been required in the absence of the statutory provision.
SECTION 2. Chapter 320, Government Code, is amended by
adding Sections 320.002 and 320.003 to read as follows:
Sec. 320.002. UNFUNDED MANDATES INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP.
(a) The unfunded mandates interagency work group consists of:
(1) the state auditor;
(2) the director of the Legislative Budget Board;
(3) the comptroller;
(4) a senator appointed by the lieutenant governor;
and
(5) a member of the house of representatives appointed
by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) A member of the interagency work group is not entitled
to additional compensation for service on the work group.
(c) A member of the interagency work group may collaborate
with any person employed by the member's agency to complete the
member's work on the work group.
(d) The members of the interagency work group may enter into
an interagency memorandum of understanding regarding the
completion of the work required by this chapter.
Sec. 320.003. ADVISORY LIST OF UNFUNDED MANDATES. (a) Not
later than the September 1 following a regular session of the
legislature and not later than the 90th day after the last day of a
special session of the legislature, the interagency work group
shall publish an advisory list of mandates for which the
legislature has not provided reimbursement under Subsection (b) and
that were enacted by the legislature during that legislative
session. By that same date the interagency work group shall:
(1) remove from the advisory list of mandates for a
previous legislative session those mandates for which the
legislature has provided reimbursement under Subsection (b), those
that are no longer subject to reimbursement, and those that are no
longer in effect; and
(2) add to the advisory list a mandate from a previous
legislative session for which reimbursement was provided under
Subsection (b) in the previous session but for which reimbursement
was not provided in the most recent regular session or in any
subsequent special sessions.
(b) A mandate is considered to be a mandate for which the
legislature has provided reimbursement if the legislature:
(1) expressly provides by statute enacted by a record
vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house that the
mandate is not subject to reimbursement under this section; or
(2) appropriates or otherwise provides for the payment
or reimbursement, from a source other than revenue of the political
subdivision, of the costs incurred in the calendar year by the
political subdivision in complying with the mandate.
(c) This section does not apply to a mandate:
(1) imposed by the legislature or a state agency to
comply with a requirement of the Texas Constitution, federal law,
or a court order or to maximize the receipt of federal funds by the
state in areas such as education, health and human services, and
criminal justice;
(2) approved by the voters of this state at a general
election; or
(3) affecting employee pensions and benefits.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 320.003, Government
Code, as added by this Act, the unfunded mandates interagency work
group is not required to publish a report under that section for a
legislative session beginning before September 1, 2025, until the
later of September 1, 2025, or the 90th day after the effective date
of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.