|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the use of money from the Texas economic development |
|
|
bank fund for rural rail development. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 489.102(b), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The bank may: |
|
|
(1) provide, as provided under the programs the bank |
|
|
administers under Section 489.108 or otherwise as provided by law: |
|
|
(A) qualifying communities with tax incentives |
|
|
for expanding businesses or businesses relocating to this state; |
|
|
(B) incentives to lenders to: |
|
|
(i) make loans to near-bankable businesses |
|
|
in the lender's community; and |
|
|
(ii) make low-interest loans to qualifying |
|
|
businesses; and |
|
|
(C) bond-based long-term debt financing for |
|
|
capital investment in public entities, in large commercial and |
|
|
industrial projects, and for other economic development purposes; |
|
|
(2) act as a link between businesses searching for |
|
|
investment capital and potential investors; |
|
|
(3) inform institutional lenders of economic |
|
|
development plans and strategies for each region of this state and |
|
|
encourage institutional lenders to support those plans in their |
|
|
marketing and investment strategies; |
|
|
(4) offer communities a one-stop source of financing |
|
|
for their economic development efforts; |
|
|
(5) provide communities with technical assistance in |
|
|
the development of their incentive programs to attract and retain |
|
|
businesses and in the design of incentive packages for specific |
|
|
proposals; [and] |
|
|
(6) provide expanding businesses or businesses |
|
|
relocating to this state with a single source of information |
|
|
concerning financial incentives offered by this state to those |
|
|
businesses; and |
|
|
(7) provide grants or financing to the Texas |
|
|
Department of Transportation to implement the department's powers |
|
|
and duties relating to rural rail development under Chapter 91, |
|
|
Transportation Code. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 489.104, Government Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 489.104. ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES. The bank may |
|
|
allocate its resources as necessary to efficiently meet the level |
|
|
of demand experienced by: |
|
|
(1) each program or service described by Section |
|
|
489.108; and |
|
|
(2) the Texas Department of Transportation under |
|
|
Section 489.102(b)(7). |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 91.071(b), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Except for money received from the Texas economic |
|
|
development bank fund under Section 489.102, Government Code, the |
|
|
[The] department may not spend money from the general revenue fund |
|
|
to implement this chapter except pursuant to a line-item |
|
|
appropriation. |
|
|
SECTION 4. 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, 2007. |