By Jones of Lubbock H.B. No. 2959
76R4702 DWS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to relief for areas affected by an actual or threatened
1-3 reduction in defense-related activity.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 486.003(b), Government Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 (b) A municipality or county is an adversely affected
1-8 defense-dependent community if the department determines that:
1-9 (1) the municipality or county includes within its
1-10 boundaries a defense facility that the department of defense or
1-11 applicable military department has publicly proposed for closure or
1-12 realignment; or
1-13 (2) the municipality or county:
1-14 (A) requires assistance because of:
1-15 (i) [(A)] the proposed or actual
1-16 establishment, realignment, or closure of a defense facility;
1-17 (ii) [(B)] the cancellation or termination
1-18 of a United States Department of Defense contract or the failure of
1-19 the department of defense to proceed with an approved major weapon
1-20 system program;
1-21 (iii) [(C)] a publicly announced planned
1-22 major reduction in department of defense spending that would
1-23 directly and adversely affect the municipality or county; or
1-24 (iv) [(D)] the closure or a significant
2-1 reduction of the operations of a defense facility as the result of
2-2 a merger, acquisition, or consolidation of a defense contractor
2-3 operating the facility; and
2-4 (B) [(2) the municipality or county] is expected
2-5 to experience, during the period between the beginning of the
2-6 federal fiscal year during which an event described by Subdivision
2-7 (2)(A) [(1)] is finally approved and the date that the event is to
2-8 be substantially completed, a direct loss of:
2-9 (i) [(A)] 2,500 or more defense worker
2-10 jobs in any area of the municipality or county that is located in
2-11 an urbanized area of a metropolitan statistical area;
2-12 (ii) [(B)] 1,000 or more defense worker
2-13 jobs in any area of the municipality or county that is not located
2-14 in an urbanized area of a metropolitan statistical area; or
2-15 (iii) [(C)] defense worker jobs
2-16 representing one percent of the jobs in the municipality or county.
2-17 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 2310, Government Code, is
2-18 amended by adding Section 2310.1071 to read as follows:
2-19 Sec. 2310.1071. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF ZONES. The department
2-20 may not establish an arbitrary limit on the number of readjustment
2-21 zones that may be designated in the same adversely affected
2-22 defense-dependent community.
2-23 SECTION 3. Section 2310.303, Government Code, is amended to
2-24 read as follows:
2-25 Sec. 2310.303. PROHIBITION ON QUALIFIED BUSINESS
2-26 CERTIFICATION. If the department determines that the governing
2-27 body of a readjustment zone is not complying with this chapter, the
3-1 department shall prohibit the certification of a qualified business
3-2 in the zone until the department determines that the governing body
3-3 is complying with this chapter. The department may not designate
3-4 more than four [two] businesses in a single readjustment zone as
3-5 defense readjustment projects.
3-6 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-11 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-12 passage, and it is so enacted.