By: Gallegos S.B. No. 712
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the eligibility of an area with a history of and
1-2 continuing problem with gang activity to be included in an
1-3 enterprise zone.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 2303.101, Government
1-6 Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) To be designated as an enterprise zone an area must:
1-8 (1) have a continuous boundary;
1-9 (2) be at least one square mile but not larger than
1-10 the greater of:
1-11 (A) 10 square miles, excluding lakes, waterways,
1-12 and transportation arteries; or
1-13 (B) an area, not to exceed 20 square miles, that
1-14 is equal to five percent of the area, excluding lakes, waterways,
1-15 and transportation arteries, of the municipality, county, or
1-16 combination of municipalities or counties nominating the area as an
1-17 enterprise zone;
1-18 (3) be an area:
1-19 (A) of pervasive poverty, unemployment, and
1-20 economic distress; or
1-21 (B) with a history of and continuing problem
1-22 with gang activity; and
1-23 (4) be nominated as an enterprise zone by an ordinance
2-1 or order adopted by the nominating body.
2-2 SECTION 2. Section 2303.102, Government Code, is amended to
2-3 read as follows:
2-4 Sec. 2303.102. Area of Pervasive Poverty, Unemployment, and
2-5 Economic Distress; AREA WITH GANG ACTIVITY. (a) An area is an
2-6 area of pervasive poverty, unemployment, and economic distress for
2-7 the purposes of Section 2303.101 if:
2-8 (1) the average rate of unemployment in the area
2-9 during the most recent 12-month period for which data are available
2-10 was at least one and one-half times the local, state, or national
2-11 average for that period; or
2-12 (2) the area had a population loss of at least nine
2-13 percent during the most recent six-year period or at least three
2-14 percent during the most recent three-year period; and
2-15 (A) the area is a low-income poverty area;
2-16 (B) the area is in a jurisdiction or pocket of
2-17 poverty eligible for urban development action grants under federal
2-18 law, according to the most recent certification available from the
2-19 United States Department of Housing and Urban Development;
2-20 (C) at least 70 percent of the residents or
2-21 households of the area have an income that is less than 80 percent
2-22 of the median income of the residents or households of the locality
2-23 or state, whichever is less; or
2-24 (D) the nominating body establishes to the
2-25 satisfaction of the department that:
3-1 (i) chronic abandonment or demolition of
3-2 commercial or residential structures exists in the area;
3-3 (ii) substantial tax arrearages for
3-4 commercial or residential structures exist in the area;
3-5 (iii) substantial losses of businesses or
3-6 jobs have occurred in the area; or
3-7 (iv) the area is part of a disaster area
3-8 declared by the state or federal government during the preceding 18
3-9 months.
3-10 (b) For the purposes of Section 2303.101, an area has a
3-11 history of and continuing problem with gang activity if the
3-12 attorney general certifies to the department that the area has
3-13 suffered and continues to suffer from substantial economic hardship
3-14 caused by significant and repeated criminal activity committed by
3-15 gang members.
3-16 SECTION 3. Subsection (c), Section 2303.110, Government
3-17 Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-18 (c) The entire enterprise zone with the amended boundary
3-19 must continue to meet the unemployment and economic distress or
3-20 gang activity requirements of Section 2303.101.
3-21 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-1 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-2 passage, and it is so enacted.