82R4174 KFF-D

By: Jackson S.B. No. 1175

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prior approval of an award of money from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas emerging technology fund.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 481.078(e), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) The administration of the fund is considered to be a trusteed program within the office of the governor. The governor may negotiate on behalf of the state regarding awarding, by grant, money appropriated from the fund. The governor may award money appropriated from the fund only with the [express written] prior approval of the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives. For purposes of this subsection, an award of money appropriated from the fund is considered approved by the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house of representatives if that officer does not disapprove the proposal to award the grant before the 91st day after the date of receipt of the proposal from the governor. The lieutenant governor or the speaker of the house of representatives may extend the review deadline applicable to that officer for an additional 14 days by submitting a written notice to that effect to the governor before the expiration of the initial review period.

SECTION 2. Section 490.101, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:

(f) The administration of the fund is considered to be a trusteed program within the office of the governor. The governor may negotiate on behalf of the state regarding awards from the fund. The governor may award money appropriated from the fund only with the [express written] prior approval of the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives.

(f-1) For purposes of Subsection (f), an award of money appropriated from the fund is considered approved by the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house of representatives if that officer does not disapprove the proposal to award funding before the 91st day after the date of receipt of the proposal from the governor. The lieutenant governor or the speaker of the house of representatives may extend the review deadline applicable to that officer for an additional 14 days by submitting a written notice to that effect to the governor before the expiration of the initial review period.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a proposal for an award from the Texas Enterprise Fund or Texas emerging technology fund submitted by the governor to the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house of representatives for prior approval on or after the effective date of this Act. A proposal submitted by the governor for prior approval before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the proposal was submitted for that approval, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

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, 2011.