SRC-TJG S.B. 1831 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1831
By: Staples
Finance
4/12/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

The Local Government Code authorizes a regional planning commission to be
eligible to receive financial assistance from the governor's office if it
meets requirements set forth in Section 391.012.  That section also sets
forth a funding formula for allocating available financial assistance.  It
does not make an appropriation.  As proposed, S.B. 1831 updates language
that specifies how a regional planning commission may use state financial
assistance.  This bill also provides the governor's office more
flexibility in the allocation of financial assistance to regional planning
commissions, limited by the levels of funding made available by the
legislature.  It does not make an appropriation. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 391.012, Local Government Code, as follows:

(a) Deletes existing term "subregion" regarding requirements for a
regional planning commission (commission) to qualify for state financial
assistance.  Requires a commission to be engaged in a regional, rather
than comprehensive development, planning process to qualify for state
financial assistance. 

(b) Authorizes a commission, within funds available and in accordance with
rules issued by the office of the governor, to use state financial
assistance to take certain actions. Deletes existing text related to a
comprehensive development planning process. 

(c) Provides that a commission that qualifies for state financial
assistance is eligible for an amount, rather than a maximum amount,
determined by a certain formula. 

(d) Requires the governor, if state appropriations are more than the
amount necessary to fund the level of financial assistance generated by
this formula, to increase the funding for which each commission is
eligible in proportion to the amount it would have been eligible to
receive in Subsection (c).  Deletes existing language relating to the
minimum amount of annual state financial assistance.  

(e) Provides that if state appropriations are less than the amount
necessary to fund the level of financial assistance generated by the
formula in Subsection (c) then certain funding requirements will apply. 

(f) Redesignated from existing Subsection (e).

SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2003.