Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 227 adds a chapter to the Government Code authorizing grants from legislative appropriations for communities that are adversely affected by the establishment, realignment, or closure of military facilities or by defense spending cuts, terminations of defense contracts, or reductions of defense operations. The Texas Department of Commerce administers the grant program. Eligible grantees include adversely affected cities and counties, as well as regional planning commissions containing such cities or counties. Appropriate purposes for grants include a partial fulfillment of federal matching or investment requirements on which federal recovery or response assistance is contingent. A grantee may also use a grant, in the case of a defense facility realignment or closure, as a match of its expenditures to purchase federal defense property, build or refurbish facilities or infrastructure, or purchase capital equipment or insurance. The act specifies a range of permissible grant amounts and provides for the department's establishment of an internal defense economic adjustment assistance panel to evaluate and score grant applications according to certain criteria, for subsequent consideration by the department's governing board.