BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3665

By: Otto

Appropriations

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties assert that certain legislative changes are necessary to comply with assumptions made in the general appropriations bill, to respond to state fiscal concerns, to address certain other fiscal matters, to implement certain Legislative Budget Board recommendations, and to facilitate the administration of the state's financial resources. C.S.H.B. 3665 seeks to address issues relating to certain state fiscal matters related to general government.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the comptroller of public accounts in SECTION 4.01 of this bill and to the attorney general in SECTIONS 6.03 and 6.04 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

Article 1. Reduction of Expenditures and Imposition of Charges Generally

C.S.H.B. 3665 grants authority to each state agency that receives an appropriation under Article I of the General Appropriations Act to reduce or recover expenditures by consolidating any reports or publications the agency is required to make and filing or delivering any of those reports or publications exclusively by electronic means; extending the effective period of any license, permit, or registration the agency grants or administers; entering into a contract with another governmental entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the agency's duties; adopting additional eligibility requirements for persons who receive benefits under any law the agency administers to ensure that those benefits are received by the most deserving persons consistent with the purposes for which the benefits are provided; providing that any communication between the agency and another person and any document required to be delivered to or by the agency may be made or delivered by e-mail or through the Internet; and adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover any costs the agency incurs in performing its lawful functions.

Article 2. Fiscal Matters Regarding Leasing Certain State Facilities

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to authorize the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) to lease to a private individual an individual parking space in a state-owned parking lot or garage located in the city of Austin that the TFC determines is not needed to accommodate the regular parking requirements of state employees who work near the lot or garage and visitors to nearby state government offices. The bill authorizes the TFC to lease to an institution of higher education or a local government all or a significant block of a state-owned parking lot or garage located in the city of Austin that the commission determines is not needed to accommodate the regular parking requirements of state employees who work near the lot or garage and visitors to nearby state government offices. The bill requires money received from such leases to be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund. The bill requires the TFC, on or before October 1 of each even-numbered year, to submit a report to the Legislative Budget Board describing the effectiveness of parking programs developed by the commission, including the yearly revenue generated by the programs; the yearly administrative and enforcement costs of each program; yearly usage statistics for each program; and initiatives and suggestions by the commission to modify administration of the programs and increase revenue generated by the programs. The bill makes these provisions effective on passage or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

Article 3. State Debt

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to authorize the Bond Review Board, in computing the annual debt service in a state fiscal year on state debt payable from the general revenue fund for purposes of determining whether additional state debt may be authorized without exceeding the maximum annual debt service, to employ any assumptions related to unissued debt that the board determines are necessary to reflect common or standard debt issuance practices authorized by law. The bill requires the board to publish during each state fiscal year a report, with the initial report published during the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2011, providing a detailed description of the method used to compute the annual debt service in that fiscal year on state debt payable from the general revenue fund for purposes of determining whether additional state debt may be authorized. The bill requires the report to describe the debt service included in the computation, including debt service on issued and unissued debt, the assumptions on which the debt service on unissued debt was based, and any other factors required by law that affect the computation. The bill authorizes the board to publish the report as a component of any other report required by law or as an independent report and requires the board to make the report available to the public. The bill defines "maximum annual debt service" and "unissued debt" and provides for the meaning of "state debt payable from the general revenue fund" by reference to the Texas Constitution. The bill makes these provisions effective on passage or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

Article 4. Electronic Payments

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code, in provisions relating to the electronic funds transfer system, to require the comptroller of public accounts to also establish and operate an efficient and effective system of making payments by electronic pay card and includes the electronic pay card as an alternative payment method to all the payments for which the electronic funds transfer system is used. The bill removes certain exceptions from the requirement that the comptroller use the electronic funds transfer system to pay an employee's net state salary and travel expense reimbursements. The bill removes the minimum payment amount from the requirement that the comptroller use the electronic funds transfer system for payments to annuitants by the Employees Retirement System of Texas or the Teacher Retirement System of Texas under either system's administrative jurisdiction and extends the requirement to payments made by either method to annuitants of any other retirement system who are paid from funds in the state treasury.

C.S.H.B. 3665 removes a requirement that the comptroller issue a warrant to pay a person if notification of certain conditions is provided to the comptroller. The bill removes as a condition to the comptroller's authority to make a payment by warrant that the comptroller determine that using the electronic funds transfer system would be impractical to the state. The bill includes rules relating to allowing recipients of state payments to choose at appropriate times between receiving payment through the electronic funds transfer system, by electronic pay card, or by warrant among the administrative rules required to be adopted by the comptroller.

C.S.H.B. 3665 authorizes the comptroller to contract with one or more vendors for the provision of electronic pay card services and requires such a contract to be by competitive bid. The bill requires the comptroller to specify the qualifications for bidders, including requirements that the entity that issues the pay card must be federally insured or possess sufficient financial resources to ensure protection of payees and demonstrate adequate 24-hour customer service to ensure that all payees are able to reasonably access their funds worldwide at any time. The bill makes conforming changes and makes its provisions relating to electronic payments effective January 1, 2012.

Article 5. Fiscal Matters Relating to Secretary of State

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to require the secretary of state, as soon as practicable after the closing of each legislative session, to publish and maintain electronically the bills enacted that session. The bill requires the electronic publication to be indexed by bill number and assigned chapter number for each bill and made available by an electronic link on the secretary of state's generally accessible Internet website. The bill repeals a provision of law relating to a contract for printing the general and special laws and resolutions passed by a regular or special session of each legislature. The bill makes these provisions effective on passage or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

Article 6. Fiscal Matters Regarding Attorney General

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to authorize the attorney general to charge a reasonable fee for the electronic filing of a document. The bill requires that an invoice submitted to a state agency under a contract for legal services between an attorney and a state agency in the executive department be reviewed by the attorney general to determine whether the invoice is eligible for payment. The bill requires an attorney or law firm to pay an administrative fee to the attorney general for such a review when entering into a contract to provide legal services to a state agency. The bill authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules as necessary to implement and administer these provisions.

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Transportation Code to authorize the attorney general to charge a toll project entity a reasonable fee for the review of a comprehensive development agreement. The bill requires the toll project entity, if submitting multiple proposed comprehensive development agreements relating to the same toll project for review, to pay the fee for each proposed agreement. The bill authorizes the toll project entity to collect or seek reimbursement of the fee from the private participant under the proposed comprehensive development agreement and authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules necessary to implement and administer these provisions. The bill makes these provisions effective on passage or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

Article 7. Texas Preservation Trust Fund Account

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to make nonsubstantive changes to provisions relating to the Texas preservation trust fund account. The bill limits the use of money in the account, rather than distributions from the account, to the purposes set out in such provisions and authorizes, rather than prohibits, such money to be used to pay the operating expenses of the Texas Historical Commission. The bill repeals provisions of law relating to the comptroller's management of the account, the distribution amounts from the account, the expenses of managing account investments, and disclosure of details concerning the investments of the account. The bill requires the comptroller and the commission to enter into a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the conversion of assets of the account into cash for deposit into the state treasury using a method that provides for the lowest amount of revenue loss to the state. The bill makes these provisions effective November 1, 2011.

Article 8. Fiscal Matters Concerning Information Technology

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to authorize revenue derived from the collection of fees charged to a state agency that receives a service from a statewide technology center or that purchases certain information technology commodity items through the Department of Information Resources to be appropriated to the department for developing statewide information resources technology policies and planning under provisions of law relating to information resources and the Texas computer network security system and for providing shared information resources technology services.

C.S.H.B. 3665 requires the department to set and charge a fee to each entity that receives telecommunications services in an amount sufficient to cover the direct and indirect costs of providing the service. The bill requires the comptroller to transfer the excess amounts maintained in the telecommunications revolving fund account to the credit of the general revenue fund, rather than the statewide network applications account. The bill authorizes the amounts transferred and the revenue derived from the collection of telecommunications services fees to be appropriated to the department for developing statewide information resources technology policies and planning under provisions of law relating to information resources and the Texas computer network security system and providing shared information resources technology services and network security services.

C.S.H.B. 3665 makes these provisions effective on passage or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

Article 9. Lobby Registration

C.S.H.B. 3665 amends the Government Code to change the lobbyist registration fee and registration renewal fee for a registrant employed by a charitable organization exempted under the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 from $100 to an amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act of not more than $200 and not less than $100. The bill changes the fee for a person required to register solely because the person is required to register under provisions of law relating to exceptions for certain activities for which compensation or reimbursement is received from $50 to an amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act of not more than $100 and not less than $50. The bill changes the fee for any other registrant from $500 to an amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act of not more than $1,000 and not less than $500.

C.S.H.B. 3665 repeals the following provisions of the Government Code:

· Sections 442.015(h), (i), (j), (k), and (l)

· Subchapter B, Chapter 2158

EFFECTIVE DATE

Except as otherwise provided, September 1, 2011.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3665 omits a provision included in the original requiring the comptroller of public accounts to conduct a cost analysis before determining whether the cost to the state of using the electronic funds transfer or electronic pay card system would exceed the cost of issuing a warrant and to submit to the Legislative Budget Board the cost analysis supporting each determination made by the comptroller.

C.S.H.B. 3665 differs from the original by authorizing the comptroller to contract with one or more vendors for the provision of electronic pay card services, whereas the original requires the comptroller to take such action.

C.S.H.B. 3665 differs from the original by requiring that an invoice submitted to a state agency under a contract for legal services between an attorney and a state agency in the executive department be reviewed by the attorney general to determine whether the invoice is eligible for payment, whereas the original requires the attorney general to review such an invoice for eligibility for payment at the request of a party to the contract and otherwise authorizes the attorney general, at the attorney general's discretion, to review invoices submitted to a state agency under such a contract. The substitute differs from the original by requiring an attorney or law firm to pay an administrative fee to the attorney general for such a review when entering into a contract to provide legal services to a state agency, whereas the original authorizes the attorney general to charge the party requesting the review a reasonable fee for the review. The substitute differs from the original by retaining statutory language making provisions of law relating to the provision of legal services by outside counsel inapplicable to the Texas Turnpike Authority division of the Texas Department of Transportation, whereas the original removes that statutory language and limits the applicability to the division to certain other statutory provisions relating to the provision of legal services by outside counsel.

C.S.H.B. 3665 omits provisions included in the original relating to the transfer of operations of the State Cemetery to the State Preservation Board.

C.S.H.B. 3665 differs from the original by authorizing revenue derived from the collection of fees charged to a state agency that receives a service from a statewide technology center or that purchases certain information technology commodity items through the Department of Information Resources to be appropriated to the department for developing statewide information resources technology policies and planning under provisions of law relating to information resources and the Texas computer network security system, whereas the original authorizes such revenue to be appropriated for developing statewide information resources technology policies.

C.S.H.B. 3665 contains provisions not included in the original requiring the Department of Information Resources to set and charge a fee to each entity that receives telecommunications services in an amount sufficient to cover the direct and indirect costs of providing the service and authorizing the revenue derived from such fees to be appropriated to the department for certain specified activities. The substitute differs from the original by authorizing the excess amounts maintained in the telecommunications revolving fund account that are transferred to the credit of the general revenue fund to be appropriated to the department for developing statewide information resources technology policies and planning under provisions of law relating to information resources and the Texas computer network security system, whereas the original authorizes such amounts to be appropriated to the department for developing statewide information resources technology policies.

C.S.H.B. 3665 contains provisions not included in the original changing the amounts of the lobbyist registration fee and lobbyist registration renewal fee.