By: Bivins S.B. No. 1868
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to powers of the governor as the chief executive officer of
the state and the organization and efficiency of state agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Section 401, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 401.041. CHIEF BUDGET OFFICER. The governor is the
chief budget officer of the state.
Sec. 401.042. UNIFORM BUDGET ESTIMATE FORMS. (a) The
governor may collaborate with the Legislative Budget Board in
designing and preparing uniform budget estimate forms on which all
requests for legislative appropriations must be prepared.
(b) The governor shall require that all appropriation
requests be submitted to the governor on the forms.
Sec. 401.043. BUDGET HEARINGS. (a) After receiving the
appropriation requests, the governor shall hold one or more public
hearings concerning the requests. The governor shall preside at
each hearing, except that the governor may authorize any employee
of the executive branch to preside and represent the governor in the
governor's absence.
(b) The head of a state agency that is seeking
appropriations is entitled to speak at a hearing under this section
at which the appropriation request is considered. The governor may
require the head or any employee of a state agency seeking
appropriations to appear at the hearing and present information
about the appropriations. A taxpayer is entitled to participate in
the discussion at a hearing under this section of any item proposed
to be included in the budget under consideration.
(c) In this section, "state agency" means a board,
commission, department, or other agency in the executive or
judicial branch of state government.
Sec. 401.044. COOPERATION WITH LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD.
(a) The governor and the Legislative Budget Board may cooperate,
exchange information, and hold joint public hearings on the
biennial appropriation budget.
(b) At a joint hearing under this section, the governor
shall preside or, if the governor is unable to preside:
(1) the lieutenant governor shall preside; or
(2) a person appointed by the governor and the
lieutenant governor shall preside.
Sec. 401.0445. COMPILATION OF THE BUDGET. (a) The
governor may [shall] compile the biennial appropriation budget
using information:
(1) submitted to the governor in the uniform budget
estimate forms; and
(2) obtained at public hearings, from inspections, and
from other sources.
(b) In the budget, the governor may [shall] show:
(1) the list of appropriations for the current year
preceding the biennium for which appropriations are sought and
recommended;
(2) expenditures for [each of] the year [two full
years] preceding the current year; and
(3) the amounts requested by the various agencies and
the amounts recommended by the governor for each of the years of the
biennium.
Sec. 401.045. LEGISLATIVE EXPENSES. The governor may not
include in the governor's budget or appropriation bill any
appropriation for per diem or mileage expenses of members of the
legislature or for necessary expenses of the legislature.
Sec. 401.046. DISTRIBUTION OF BUDGET. (a) The governor
may [shall] deliver a copy of the governor's budget to each member
of the legislature [not later than the sixth day of each regular
legislative session].
(b) The governor shall have as many copies of the budget
printed for public distribution as the governor considers
necessary.
[Sec. 401.047. PENALTY. A person who refuses to comply with
a provision of this subchapter other than Section 401.044 commits
an offense. An offense under this section is punishable by a fine
of not less than $100 or more than $1,000, confinement in county
jail for not less than one month or more than one year, or both fine
and confinement.]
Sec. 401.048. ANNUAL BUDGETS. A reference in this
subchapter or in Chapter 322 to a biennial budget or a regular
legislative session means an annual budget or an annual budget
session if a constitutional amendment is adopted providing for
annual budget sessions of the legislature.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2053, Government Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.