1-1     By:  Ellis                                             S.B. No. 583
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 17, 1999; February 22, 1999,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
 1-4     March 29, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
 1-5     Nays 0; March 29, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to a prospective state contractor who is indebted to or
 1-9     owes delinquent taxes to the state.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 403.055, Government Code, is amended by
1-12     adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
1-13           (h)  Before a state agency signs a contract under which the
1-14     state agency will pay a person for providing goods or services of
1-15     any kind, the state agency must contact the comptroller to verify
1-16     whether the comptroller is currently prohibited from issuing a
1-17     warrant to the person under this section.  If the comptroller is
1-18     currently prohibited from issuing a warrant to the person under
1-19     this section, the state agency may not sign the contract unless the
1-20     person agrees to a contract clause under which any payments owing
1-21     to the person under the contract will be applied towards the debt
1-22     or delinquent taxes that the person owes the state until the debt
1-23     or delinquent taxes are paid in full.  The comptroller may adopt
1-24     rules to administer this subsection.
1-25           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-26           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-27     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-28     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-29     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-30     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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