Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By Greenberg H.B. No. 3511
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to state bond debt management and capital expenditure
1-3 planning.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 1078, Acts of the 70th Legislature,
1-6 Regular Session, 1987 (Article 717k-7, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-7 Statutes), is amended by adding Sections 7B and 8A to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 Sec. 7B. STATE DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN. (a) The board shall
1-10 develop a comprehensive state debt management plan for the
1-11 effective control of debt issuance to meet the state's increasing
1-12 needs for programs and capital, to protect taxpayers from high
1-13 rates of taxation imposed to service debt, and to protect and
1-14 enhance the state's bond rating.
1-15 (b) The board shall establish a mission, goals, and
1-16 objectives for the plan. The plan, when implemented, should be
1-17 used to assist the board in making determinations under Section 3
1-18 of this Act and provide information to issuers of bonds, the
1-19 legislature, and taxpayers to enable those groups to make sound
1-20 financing decisions and control debt issuance.
1-21 (c) The plan should be developed to ensure that financing
1-22 decisions and capital expenditure planning are consistent with
1-23 operating budget priorities. The plan should consider:
1-24 (1) statutory debt limit restrictions and debt
2-1 capacity;
2-2 (2) goals and projections of future debt and debt
2-3 service costs;
2-4 (3) strategies for financing or refunding existing
2-5 debt; and
2-6 (4) adoption of a formal written debt policy.
2-7 (d) In developing the plan, the board shall compare debt
2-8 indicators in this state and Aaa-rated states. Ratios that may be
2-9 compared shall include, but are not limited to the following:
2-10 (1) tax-supported and total debt per capita;
2-11 (2) tax-supported and total debt as a percentage of
2-12 personal income;
2-13 (3) tax-supported and total debt as a percentage of
2-14 real property valuation;
2-15 (4) tax-supported and total debt as a percentage of
2-16 annual revenue and expenditures; and
2-17 (5) state personal income per capita.
2-18 (f) The board shall prepare and submit a report of the plan
2-19 to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
2-20 representatives not later than September 1, 1998.
2-21 Sec. 8A. STATE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PLAN. (a) The board
2-22 shall establish a comprehensive state capital expenditure plan to
2-23 assist in future debt management, improve the state's bond rating,
2-24 and inform the legislature of the possible budget impact of planned
2-25 expenditures on the state's debt capacity. A capital expenditure
2-26 plan should forecast spending for all anticipated state projects
2-27 requiring capital expenditures. The plan shall include the
2-28 development of policy guidelines, an evaluation of capital
2-29 projects, analyses of financing options, and procedures to monitor
2-30 debt management.
3-1 (b) To assist the board in developing a comprehensive plan
3-2 under this section, each state agency and institution of higher
3-3 education biennially shall provide the board information relating
3-4 to planned capital projects and financing options for the next
3-5 three fiscal biennia, including:
3-6 (1) a description of each project or acquisition;
3-7 (2) the cost of each project;
3-8 (3) the anticipated useful life of each project;
3-9 (4) an estimate of when capital will be needed for
3-10 each project;
3-11 (5) a proposed source of funds for each project;
3-12 (6) a proposed type of financing
3-13 (7) the estimated annual operating costs of the
3-14 project when completed; and
3-15 (8) any additional related information requested by
3-16 the board.
3-17 (c) Information provided under Subsection (b) of this
3-18 section must be in a format and according to guidelines prescribed
3-19 by the board.
3-20 SECTION 2. The Bond Review Board shall file with the budget
3-21 division of the governor's office and the Legislative Budget Board
3-22 a copy of the capital planning guidelines adopted under Section
3-23 8A(c), Chapter 1078, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session,
3-24 1987 (Article 717k-7, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by
3-25 this Act, not later than December 31, 1997. The board shall file
3-26 with the budget division of the governor's office and the
3-27 Legislative Budget Board a copy of the capital expenditure plan
3-28 adopted under Section 8A, Chapter 1078, Acts of the 70th
3-29 Legislature, Regular Session, 1987 (Article 717k-7, Vernon's Texas
3-30 Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, for the six-year period
4-1 beginning September 1, 1999, not later than September 1, 1998.
4-2 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-8 passage, and it is so enacted.