By Swinford                                      H.B. No. 535

      75R3548 BEM-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the dedication of certain lottery revenues to the

 1-3     counties for juvenile justice purposes.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 466.355(b), Government Code, is amended

 1-6     to read as follows:

 1-7           (b)  Money in the state lottery account may be used only for

 1-8     the following purposes and shall be distributed as follows:

 1-9                 (1)  the payment of prizes to the holders of winning

1-10     tickets;

1-11                 (2)  the payment of costs incurred in the operation and

1-12     administration of the lottery, including any fees received by a

1-13     lottery operator, provided that the costs incurred in a fiscal

1-14     biennium may not exceed an amount equal to 15 percent of the gross

1-15     revenue accruing from the sale of tickets in that biennium;

1-16                 (3)  the establishment of a pooled bond fund, lottery

1-17     prize reserve fund, unclaimed prize fund, and prize payment

1-18     account; and

1-19                 (4)  the balance, after creation of a reserve

1-20     sufficient to pay the amounts needed or estimated to be needed

1-21     under Subdivisions (1) through (3), to be transferred [to the

1-22     unobligated portion of the general revenue fund,] on or before the

1-23     15th day of each month as follows:

1-24                       (A)  98 percent of the balance to the unobligated

 2-1     portion of the general revenue fund; and

 2-2                       (B)  two percent of the balance to the county

 2-3     juvenile justice fund established under Section 130.910, Local

 2-4     Government Code.

 2-5           SECTION 2.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 130, Local Government Code,

 2-6     is amended by adding Section 130.910 to read as follows:

 2-7           Sec. 130.910.  COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE FUND.  (a)  The county

 2-8     juvenile justice fund is in the general revenue fund.

 2-9           (b)  The county juvenile justice fund consists of:

2-10                 (1)  money transferred from the state lottery account

2-11     as provided by Section 466.355, Government Code; and

2-12                 (2)  interest earned on the money in the fund.

2-13           (c)  The money in the fund may be used by a county only for a

2-14     purpose that relates to juvenile justice issues in the county that

2-15     is authorized by the commissioners court of the county.

2-16           (d)  Not later than August 31 of each year, the comptroller

2-17     shall distribute the money credited to the county juvenile justice

2-18     fund to the counties.  The amount distributed to each county is

2-19     computed by:

2-20                 (1)  dividing the total dollar amount of lottery

2-21     tickets sold in the county during the fiscal year ending on the

2-22     date on which the computation is made by the total dollar amount of

2-23     all lottery tickets sold in the state during that period; and

2-24                 (2)  multiplying the amount computed under Subdivision

2-25     (1) by the total amount to be distributed from the juvenile justice

2-26     fund.

2-27           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-1           SECTION 4.  Section 466.355(b), Government Code, as amended

 3-2     by this Act, applies only to revenue from the sale of a lottery

 3-3     ticket that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.

 3-4     Revenue from the sale of a lottery ticket that occurs before the

 3-5     effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

 3-6     date of the sale, and the former law is continued in effect for

 3-7     that purpose.

 3-8           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.