By: Duncan S.B. No. 1690
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state fiscal matters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 103.0031(e), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) If a county or municipality has entered into a contract
under Subsection (a) and a person pays an amount that is less than
the aggregate total to be collected under Subsections (a) and (b),
the private attorney or vendor shall receive thirty percent of the
aggregate amount collected and the remainder will be allocated in
accordance with Chapter 133, Local Government Code and Article
103.003 [the allocation to the comptroller, the county or
municipality, and the private attorney or vendor shall be reduced
proportionately].
SECTION 2. (a) Section 43.001(b), Education Code, as
amended by Chapter 328, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The available school fund, which shall be apportioned
annually to each county according to its scholastic population,
consists of:
(1) the distributions to the fund from the permanent
school fund as provided by Section 5(a), Article VII, Texas
Constitution;
(2) [one-fourth of all revenue derived from all state
occupation taxes, exclusive of delinquencies and cost of
collection;]
[(3)] one-fourth of revenue derived from state
gasoline and special fuels excise taxes as provided by law; and
(3) [(4)] all other appropriations to the available
school fund made by the legislature for public school purposes.
(b) Section 43.001(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapter 201, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003,
is repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 43.002(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) On the first working day of each month in a state fiscal
year, the Texas Education Agency [comptroller] shall transfer from
the permanent school fund to the available school fund an amount
equal to one-twelfth of the annual distribution from the permanent
school fund to the available school fund as provided by Section
5(a), Article VII, Texas Constitution, for the fiscal year.
SECTION 4. Section 63.202, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c), [and] (d), and
(h), money in the fund established under this subchapter may not be
used for any purpose.
(h) Expenses of managing and administering the assets of the
fund shall be paid from the fund.
SECTION 5. Section 63.302, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c), [and] (e), and
(h), money in the fund established under this subchapter may not be
used for any purpose.
(h) Expenses of managing and administering the assets of the
fund shall be paid from the fund.
SECTION 6. Section 25.0015(b)-(c), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) For a county that participates under Section 51.702(f)
under a resolution adopted and filed with the comptroller before
September 1, 2003, the amount shall be paid to the county's salary
fund in equal quarterly [monthly] installments, and of each $35,000
paid a county, $30,000 shall be paid from funds appropriated from
the judicial fund, and $5,000 shall be paid from funds appropriated
from the general revenue fund.
(c) For a county that participates under Section 51.702(f)
under a resolution adopted or filed with the comptroller on or after
September 1, 2003, the amount shall be paid to the county's salary
fund in equal quarterly [monthly] installments from funds
appropriated from the judicial fund.
SECTION 7. Section 25.00211(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The amount shall be paid to the county treasury for
deposit in the contributions fund created under Section 25.00213 in
equal quarterly [monthly] installments from funds appropriated
from the judicial fund.
SECTION 8. Section 26.007(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The amount shall be paid to the county's salary fund in
equal quarterly [monthly] installments from funds appropriated
from the judicial fund.
SECTION 9. Section 74.061(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) For services actually performed while assigned under
this chapter, a [retired or] former judge or justice shall receive
from county funds and money appropriated by the legislature the
same amount of salary, compensation, and expenses that the regular
judge is entitled to receive from the county and from the state for
those services. The presiding judge of the administrative region
shall certify to the county and the state the services rendered
under this chapter by a retired or former judge or justice and the
share to be paid by the state. The amount certified by the
presiding judge as the state's share shall be paid from an item in
the Judiciary Section, Comptroller's [Judicial
Section--Comptroller's] Department of the General Appropriations
Act for the payment of salaries of district and criminal district
judges.
SECTION 10. Section 403.071(g)-(h), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the comptroller may
[and a state agency may contract in writing for the comptroller to]
audit claims presented by a [the] state agency after the
comptroller prepares warrants or uses the electronic funds transfer
system to pay the claims. The [If the comptroller and a state
agency execute a contract, the] comptroller may determine [decide]
the types of claims that will be audited after payment.
(h) [This subsection applies if the comptroller and a state
agency have contracted in accordance with Subsection (g).] The
comptroller shall audit claims after payment under Subsection (g)
in the same manner [way] that the comptroller audits claims before
payment under Subsection (a). The comptroller may establish
requirements and adopt rules concerning the time that a state
agency must retain documentation in its files to enable a
postpayment audit. If a postpayment audit by the comptroller shows
that a claim presented by a state agency was invalid, the
comptroller may:
(1) implement procedures to ensure that similar
invalid claims from the state agency are not paid in the future;
(2) report to the governor, the lieutenant governor,
the speaker of the house of representatives, the state auditor, and
the Legislative Budget Board the results of the audit;
(3) require the state agency to obtain a refund of the
monies from the payee; and
(4) [cancel the contract with the state agency; and]
[(5)] reduce the state agency's remaining
appropriations by the amount of the claim.
SECTION 11. Section 404.024, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(m) In entering into a direct security repurchase agreement
or a reverse security repurchase agreement, the comptroller may
agree to accept cash on an overnight basis in lieu of the
securities, obligations, or participation certificates identified
in Section 404.001(3). Cash held by the state under this subsection
is not a deposit of state or public funds for purposes of any
statute, including this subchapter or Subchapter D, that requires a
deposit of state or public funds to be collateralized by eligible
securities.
SECTION 12. Section 404.124(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The committee may determine whether the notes will be
sold on a negotiated or competitive bid basis. If the committee
determines that competitive bids are appropriate, the underwriter
of any notes issued under this section shall be selected by the
method of sale that is most advantageous to the state under the
circumstances, including a sale using an Internet auction site
[solicitation of sealed bids and an]. An appropriate bid notice
shall be published at least one time in one or more recognized
financial publications of general circulation published within the
state and one or more recognized financial publications of general
circulation published outside the state. Unless all bids are
rejected, the underwriter shall be selected from the bids received.
The comptroller may not sell the notes in a manner not approved.
SECTION 13. Subchapter A, Chapter 659, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 659.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 659.007. EARNINGS STATEMENTS. (a) A state agency may
provide a written or electronic earnings statement to an officer or
employee of the agency.
(b) The comptroller may adopt rules and establish
procedures concerning the earnings statements provided by state
agencies that are required by Subchapter C, Chapter 2101 to use the
uniform statewide payroll system.
(c) In this section, "state agency" has the meaning assigned
by Section 403.013.
SECTION 14. Subsections (a) and (d), Section 659.044,
Government Code, as amended by Sections 32 and 104, Chapter 1158,
Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, are reenacted
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the monthly amount
of longevity pay is $20 for every three years of lifetime service
credit.
(d) An employee may not receive from the state as longevity
pay more than the amount determined under Subsection (a) or (e), as
applicable, regardless of the number of positions the employee
holds or the number of hours the employee works each week.
SECTION 15. Section 659.044(e), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) This subsection applies only to an employee of the Texas
Youth Commission who is receiving less than the maximum amount of
hazardous duty pay that the commission may pay to the employee under
Section 659.303. The employee's monthly amount of longevity pay is
the sum of:
(1) $20 [$4] for every three years [each year] of
lifetime service credit, which may not include any period served in
a hazardous duty position; and
(2) the lesser of:
(A) $20 [$4] for every three years [each year]
served in a hazardous duty position; or
(B) the difference between:
(i) $7 for each year served in a hazardous
duty position; and
(ii) the amount paid by the commission for
each year served in a hazardous duty position.
SECTION 16. Section 659.255(a)(3), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Merit salary increase" means an increase in
compensation to:
(A) a higher step rate in the same classified
salary group, if the classified employee is compensated under a
salary group that is divided into steps [Salary Schedule A of the
General Appropriations Act]; or
(B) a higher rate within the range of the same
classified salary group, if the classified employee is compensated
under a salary group that is not divided into steps [Salary Schedule
B of the General Appropriations Act].
SECTION 17. Subsections (c) and (f), Section 659.256,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) When an employee is promoted [to a position in a higher
salary group] in Salary Schedule A of the General Appropriations
Act or from Salary Schedule B or C of the General Appropriations Act
to Salary Schedule A of the General Appropriations Act, the
employee shall receive a salary rate that is at least 3.4 percent
[one step] higher than the employee's salary rate before promotion
or the minimum rate of the new salary range, whichever is higher,
and may, at the discretion of the state agency administrator,
receive an annual salary rate up to and including the maximum rate
of the new salary range. [When an employee is promoted from a
position in Salary Schedule B or C of the General Appropriations Act
to a position in Salary Schedule A of the General Appropriations
Act, the employee shall receive a step rate that is at least one
step above the rate the employee received before promotion or the
minimum rate of the new salary range, whichever is higher, and may,
at the discretion of the state agency administrator, receive an
annual rate up to and including the maximum rate of the new salary
range.]
(f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section,
an employee whose salary prior to promotion exceeds the maximum
rate of the employee's assigned salary group may not receive more
than the maximum rate of the new salary group, even if the increase
is less than one step in a salary group that is divided into steps
[Salary Schedule A of the General Appropriations Act] or 3.4
percent in a salary group that is not divided into steps [Salary
Schedule B of the General Appropriations Act].
SECTION 18. Section 659.257(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) When an employee is demoted within [to a position in a
lower salary group in] Salary Schedule A of the General
Appropriations Act or from Salary Schedule B or C of the General
Appropriations Act to Salary Schedule A of the General
Appropriations Act, the employee will receive a salary rate of at
least 3.4 percent [one step] below the rate the employee received
before demotion. [When an employee is demoted from a position in
Salary Schedule B or C of the General Appropriations Act to a
position in Salary Schedule A of the General Appropriations Act,
the employee shall receive a step rate that is at least 3.4 percent
below the rate the employee received before demotion.]
SECTION 19. Section 660.024(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The chief administrator of a state agency must give
advance written or electronic approval for any travel related to
official state business for which a reimbursement for travel
expenses is claimed or for which an advance for travel expenses to
be incurred is sought. [A copy of the written approval shall be
submitted with the travel voucher to the comptroller in accordance
with Section 660.027.]
SECTION 20. Subsections (b), (d), and (e), Section 660.027,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A voucher submitted under Subsection (a) is valid only
if:
(1) the state agency submitting the voucher approves
it in accordance with Chapter 2103 and, if required by law,
certifies the voucher; and
(2) the state employee who incurred the travel expense
or, if the employee is unavailable, another individual acceptable
to the comptroller approves the description, information, and
documentation required by Subsection (d) [voucher] in writing or
electronically, except that the employee's approval is not required
if another person is required by law to provide the approval.
(d) A voucher must be supported by:
(1) a description of [describe] the official state
business performed; and
(2) [be accompanied by] the information and
documentation that the comptroller considers necessary for the
comptroller to determine compliance with this chapter, the travel
provisions of the General Appropriations Act, and the rules adopted
by the comptroller under this chapter.
(e) The comptroller may require a state agency to provide to
the comptroller the description, information, and documentation
required under [by] Subsection (d):
(1) on the form adopted by the comptroller under
Subsection (c);
(2) electronically;
(3) [(2)] by submitting receipts or other documents;
or
(4) [(3)] by any [a] combination of Subdivisions (1),
[and] (2), and (3).
SECTION 21. Section 660.028, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b)-(d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(b) If the comptroller audits a state agency's voucher after
the comptroller issues a warrant or initiates an electronic funds
transfer in response to the voucher, the comptroller may require
the agency to maintain in its files the descriptions, information,
and documentation [receipts] relating to the travel expense paid or
reimbursed by the voucher until the comptroller audits the voucher.
(c) If a state agency pays or reimburses a travel expense
without first submitting a voucher to the comptroller, the
comptroller may audit the payment or reimbursement for compliance
with this chapter and the travel provisions of the General
Appropriations Act. The comptroller may report the results of the
audit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, the state auditor, and the Legislative
Budget Board. The state agency shall cooperate with the
comptroller and make available the descriptions, information, and
documentation [receipts] required by the comptroller at the time
and in the manner required by the comptroller.
(d) The comptroller may require a state agency to maintain
in its files the descriptions, information, and documentation
[receipts] regarding a travel expense payment or reimbursement for
the period required by the comptroller.
(e) The comptroller may require or authorize the
descriptions, information, and documentation relating to a travel
expense payment or reimbursement to be maintained in paper form or
electronically.
SECTION 22. Section 662.010, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 662.010. HOLIDAY BEFORE WORK BEGINS OR AFTER WORK
ENDS. (a) An individual who is [must be] a state employee on the
first workday [before and] after a state or national holiday [in
order to] may not be paid for that holiday[,] if [unless]:
(1) the individual is not a state employee on the last
workday before the holiday; and
(2) the holiday [falls on the employee's] and the
first [or last] workday after the holiday occur during different
months [of the month].
(b) An individual who is a state employee on the last
workday before a state or national holiday may not be paid for that
holiday if:
(1) the individual is not a state employee on the first
workday after the holiday; and
(2) the holiday and the last workday before the
holiday occur during different months.
(c) [(b)] In this section, "state employee":
(1) includes an individual who uses paid leave from a
state agency; and
(2) does not include an individual who uses unpaid
leave from a state agency.
SECTION 23. Section 2256.011, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) For purposes of this section, an entity may agree to
accept cash on an overnight basis in lieu of the obligations
identified in Section 2256.009(a)(1). Cash held by an entity under
this subsection is not a deposit of public funds for purposes of any
statute, including Chapter 2257, that requires a deposit of public
funds to be collateralized by eligible securities.
SECTION 24. Section 117.002, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 117.002. TRANSFER OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS TO
COMPTROLLER. Any funds deposited under this chapter[, except cash
bail bonds,] that are presumed abandoned under Chapter 72, 73, or
75, Property Code, shall be reported and delivered by the county or
district clerk to the comptroller without further action by any
court. The dormancy period for funds deposited under this chapter
begins on the later of:
(1) the date of entry of final judgment or order of
dismissal in the action in which the funds were deposited;
(2) the 18th birthday of the minor for whom the funds
were deposited; or
(3) a reasonable date established by rule by the
comptroller to promote the public interest in disposing of
unclaimed funds.
SECTION 25. Section 433(a), Probate Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Mode of Recovery. When funds of an estate have been paid
to the comptroller, any heir, devisee, or legatee of the estate, or
their assigns, or any of them, may recover the portion of funds to
which he, she, or they are entitled. The person claiming such funds
shall institute suit on or before the fourth anniversary of the date
of the order requiring payment to the comptroller, by petition
filed in the district court of Travis County, against the
comptroller, setting forth the plaintiff's right to such funds, and
the amount claimed by him. Any heir, devisee, legatee, or their
assigns of an estate whose funds were paid to the comptroller under
this chapter before September 1, 1991, must institute suit under
this section not later than September 1, 2009.
SECTION 26. Section 74.101(a), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each holder who on June 30 holds property that is
presumed abandoned under Chapter 72, 73, or 75 of this code or under
Chapter 154, Finance Code, shall file a report of that property on
or before the following November 1. The comptroller may require the
report to be in a particular format, including [a] an electronic
format that can be read by a computer if the holder is reporting ten
or more properties.
SECTION 27. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 74.401,
Property Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or Section 74.404,
the comptroller shall sell at public sale all personal property,
other than money and [marketable] securities, delivered to the
comptroller in accordance with Section 74.301. The comptroller
shall conduct the sale in the city in this state that the
comptroller determines affords the most favorable market for the
particular property.
(c) The comptroller is not required to offer property for
sale if the property belongs to a person with an address outside
this state or the comptroller determines that the probable cost of
the sale of the property exceeds its value. A stock, bond,
certificate, or similar instrument that is non-redeemable and
non-transferable because it has been either cancelled or issued by
a now-dissolved or defunct company may be sold by the comptroller as
a gift, novelty, or collectible item at public sale or as otherwise
determined suitable by the comptroller.
SECTION 28. Section 74.501, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) The comptroller may require the posting of a lost
instrument bond or surety bond in its favor by any claimant seeking
payment for unclaimed property that involves a check, cashier's
check, money order, stock certificate, stock shares, or other
negotiable instrument if the original document is either lost or
unavailable for presentment. Any lost instrument bond or surety
bond posted by a claimant under this subsection must be effective
for a period of five years.
SECTION 29. Section 74.507(b), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The person who informs a potential claimant and by
contract or other written agreement is to receive a percentage of
the value of the property may not file or receive a [form to] claim
form on behalf of a claimant.
SECTION 30. Section 74.601, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) If an owner does not otherwise assert a claim for
unclaimed funds reported to the comptroller and the owner is
reported to be the state or state agency, then the comptroller may
deposit the unclaimed funds to unappropriated general revenue. The
comptroller may establish procedures and adopt rules to implement
this section.
SECTION 31. Section 623.052(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Before a person may operate a vehicle under this
section, the person must:
(1) contract with the department to indemnify the
department for the cost of the maintenance and repair for damage
caused by a vehicle crossing that part of the highway; and
(2) execute an adequate surety bond to compensate for
the cost of maintenance and repair, approved by [the comptroller
and] the attorney general, with a corporate surety authorized to do
business in this state, conditioned on the person fulfilling each
obligation of the agreement.
SECTION 32. (a) Except as provided in Subsection (d) of
this section, 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.
(b) If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this section and Sections 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15,
and 22 of this Act take effect on the 91st day after the last day of
the legislative session.
(c) If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24,
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 of this Act take effect September 1,
2005.
(d) Sections 2, 3, 16, 17, and 18 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2005.