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House Bill 5 (2nd C.S.) |
House Author: Bonnen et al. |
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Effective: 9-17-21 |
Senate Sponsor: Nelson et al. |
House Bill 5 amends Chapter 1053 (S.B. 1), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021 (the General Appropriations Act), to make supplemental appropriations and give direction regarding certain of those appropriations. The bill appropriates roughly $316 million from the general revenue fund to restore funding for Article X of that act, which funded the operations of the legislative branch and was vetoed by the governor following the regular session.
House Bill 5 appropriates slightly more than $1.1 billion from the general revenue fund and dedicated accounts therein to the Texas Education Agency (TEA); Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS); Department of Information Resources (DIR); Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS); Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council (OCA); secretary of state; and trusteed programs within the governor's office as follows:
· roughly $114.6 million to TEA for purposes of funding school district property tax relief as provided for by Senate Bill 8 and developing and implementing a civics training program for educators as required by Senate Bill 3;
· $90 million to DFPS for purposes of funding improvements to the state's foster care capacity;
· approximately $17.4 million to DIR for purposes of providing cybersecurity enhancements for the state;
· about $701 million to TRS for purposes of funding a 13th check for annuitants as provided for by Senate Bill 7;
· nearly $4.3 million to OCA for purposes of implementing provisions of Senate Bill 6, which relates to the rules for setting the amount of bail and the release of certain defendants on bond;
· $4.3 million to the secretary of state for the purpose of reimbursements for the retrofitting of certain auditable voting systems, the replacement of certain systems that cannot be upgraded, and the development of secure tracking systems for mail ballots as provided for by Senate Bill 1; and
· $180 million to the trusteed programs for the purpose of supporting the work of Texas Anti‑Gang Center programs in municipalities with a population of more than 500,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census.
Additionally, the bill increases OCA's capital budget authority and authorizes OCA to employ six full‑time equivalent employees to implement Senate Bill 6. The bill further specifies that its provisions supersede any budget execution order issued during August 2021 and that any authorization for a transfer of an appropriation or of money under such an order is void on the bill's effective date.