BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 2962 |
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By: Harper-Brown |
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Government Efficiency & Reform |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties report that a commercial card program established by the comptroller of public accounts that allows state agencies to acquire and use credit cards or charge cards for procurement and travel purchases is working as intended, but it is underused. Consequently, the parties point out, the program does not provide the state with the projected level of savings, transparency, and purchasing power. The parties admit that there may be some instances in which there are valid reasons not to use credit or charge cards but argue that there also may be a large number of state agency transactions taking place in which the state is not obtaining the value that would be possible if the program were being used.
Under current law, state agencies are not required to use credit or charge cards for procurement and travel purposes, even in those instances in which use of a credit or charge card would be the most advantageous course of action for the state. C.S.H.B. 2962 seeks to improve savings, transparency, and purchasing power by imposing requirements related to such use of credit or charge cards.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the comptroller of public accounts in SECTIONS 1 and 2 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2962 amends the Government Code to require the rules relating to the use of credit or charge cards by state agencies to pay for purchases, if the comptroller of public accounts adopts such rules as authorized by statute, to require a state agency in the executive branch of state government to use a credit or charge card to pay for all purchases unless the comptroller determines that another method of payment is more advantageous to the state and to prohibit an employee of such a state agency from using a personal credit or charge card to pay for the agency's purchases.
C.S.H.B. 2962 requires the rules adopted by the comptroller for the effective and efficient administration of statutory provisions relating to travel expenses for state officers and employees to require a state agency in the executive branch of state government that participates in a program administered by the comptroller that allows the agency to use a credit or charge card to pay for travel expenses to use the credit or charge card to pay for travel expenses required for agency travel, unless the comptroller determines that another method of payment is more advantageous to the state, and to prohibit an employee of the agency from using the employee's personal credit or charge card to pay for travel expenses required for agency travel.
C.S.H.B. 2962 requires a state agency, if the agency participates in a program administered by the comptroller that allows the agency to use a credit or charge card to purchase travel services, to use the credit or charge card to purchase travel services required for agency travel, unless the comptroller determines that another method of purchase is more advantageous to the state. The bill prohibits an employee of the agency from using the employee's personal credit or charge card to purchase travel services required for agency travel.
C.S.H.B. 2962 does not apply to the office of the governor or any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2962 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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