BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center

S.B. 772

 

By: Uresti

 

Agriculture, Rural Affairs & Homeland Security

 

7/11/2013

 

Enrolled

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Current law requires a wide variety of governmental entities to submit various reports.  The number of required reports grows each year and some reports are duplicative especially as agency functions consolidate but reporting requirements do not.  Other reports are obsolete and no longer useful because related programs or funds have been abolished or because programs and services have changed.  The 82nd Legislature passed H.B. 1781 requiring the executive director of each state agency to examine the agency's statutory reporting requirements and identify reports that are determined to be unnecessary, redundant, or required to be provided at a frequency for which data is not available.

 

The purpose of this bill is to implement improvements to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) reporting schedules and requirements to eliminate duplicative or unnecessary reports and adjust other reporting schedules to align with the frequency for which the data is available.  The efficiencies gained by TDA will allow greater resources to be dedicated to relevant reporting requirements and direct customer service to Texans.

 

S.B. 772 amends current law relating to the elimination of obsolete and redundant reporting requirements for the Department of Agriculture.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 58.016(b), (c), and (d), Agriculture Code, as follows:

 

(b) Deletes existing text requiring that copies of the annual budgets for the young farmer loan guarantee program under Subchapter E (Agricultural Loan Guarantee Program), the farm ranch finance program under Chapter 59 (Farm and Ranch Finance Program), and the programs administered by the board of directors of the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority (board) (TAFA) under this chapter (Agricultural Finance Authority) for the succeeding fiscal year certified by the chairman of the board be promptly filed with the governor and the legislature.  Deletes existing text providing that the annual budget is not effective until it is filed.  Deletes existing text prohibiting the amended annual budget for the current fiscal year that is authorized to be adopted by TAFA from superseding a prior budget until it is filed with the governor and the legislature.

 

(c) Deletes existing text requiring that a copy of the audit TAFA is required to have of its books and accounts for each fiscal year by a certified public accountant be filed with the governor and the legislature on or before January 1 of each year.

 

(d) Deletes existing text requiring TAFA to file copies of a report of its activities for the preceding fiscal year with the governor and the legislature as soon as practicable.

 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 487.051(a), Government Code, to delete existing text requiring the Office of Rural Affairs established within the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) under Section 12.038 (Office of Rural Affairs), Agriculture Code, to compile an annual report describing and evaluating the condition of rural communities. 

 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 487.804(b), Government Code, to require the commissioner of agriculture, not later than January 1 of each even-numbered year, to submit to the legislature a report of the findings of the Texas Rural Health and Economic Development Advisory Council established under Subchapter R (Texas Rural Health and Economic Development Advisory Council), Chapter 487, Government Code, and the activities of the Texas Rural Foundation.

 

SECTION 4.  Repealer: Section 15.006 (Annual Report), Agriculture Code;

 

Repealers: Sections 102.167(e) (relating to requiring TDA to submit to the governor a certain full report of transactions) and (f) (relating to requiring TDA to report certain money received to the comptroller of public accounts of the State of Texas), Agriculture Code;

 

Repealer: Section 487.056 (Report to Legislature), Government Code; and

 

Repealer: Section 487.653 (Report to Legislature), Government Code.

 

SECTION 5.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.