BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 2381
By: West, Royce
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
A few years ago, the legislature added a rider to the Appropriations Act to add $20 to the fee to be used for the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program. The 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, omitted the rider because the Legislative Budget Board, in consultation with the comptroller of public accounts, thought that the fee was included in the Government Code. The Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL) fee is in the Government Code, but the $20 fee is not.
S.B. 2381 adds a $20 compliance fee for registrants in the HUB program to the Government Code.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority previously granted to the Texas Facilities Commission is rescinded in SECTION 1 (Section 2155.266, Government Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 2155.266, Government Code, as follows:
Sec. 2155.266. REGISTRATION AND RENEWAL FEE. (a) Authorizes the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller), rather than the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), to charge a person applying for registration on the master bidders list a registration fee. Authorizes the comptroller to charge a registrant a biennial renewal fee in an amount designed to recover the comptroller's, rather than the commission's, costs. Makes a nonsubstantive change.
(b) Requires the comptroller, in addition to the fee provided by Subsection (a), to also collect $20 from each registrant to be used for the purpose of enforcing compliance with requirements of state purchasing statutes and the prevention of fraud in the Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) program as set forth in Chapter 2161. Deletes existing text requiring TFC to set the amount of the fees by rule.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.