BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.S.B. 1214 |
By: Schwertner |
Economic & Small Business Development |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties assert that several enhancements could be made to certain Department of Agriculture (TDA) economic development programs, and they note the need for alternate sources of funding to further economic development through these programs. These parties also believe that communities certified under the Texas Certified Retirement Community Program could be assisted by the TDA in a more valuable and efficient manner than is currently specified in state law. The parties also see a need to update certain other statutory provisions relating to the Texas Agriculture Finance Authority and other areas of the Agriculture Code. C.S.S.B. 1214 seeks to address these and other issues related to certain economic development programs administered by the TDA.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Department of Agriculture in SECTION 3 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 1214 amends the Agriculture Code to update provisions relating to the Department of Agriculture's (TDA) economic development program for rural areas in Texas and to authorize the TDA to request, accept, and use any gift, grant, loan, donation, aid, appropriation, guaranty, allocation, subsidy, or contribution of any item of value to further an economic development program in Texas.
C.S.S.B. 1214 establishes the Texas economic development fund as a fund in the state treasury and provides for the composition of the fund, including certain money and assets associated with economic development programs established using money allocated and paid to the TDA under a certain allocation agreement between the TDA and the U.S. Department of the Treasury to implement the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010. The bill restricts the appropriation of money in the fund to the TDA for the purpose of administering, establishing, implementing, or maintaining an economic development program under the fund and establishes that such money is dedicated to and authorized to be used only for the administration, establishment, implementation, or maintenance of one or more of the TDA's economic development programs.
C.S.S.B. 1214 specifies that the money a community submits to the TDA to be eligible to be a Texas certified retirement community under the Texas Certified Retirement Community Program is a fee, rather than an application fee, in a specified amount. The bill requires the TDA to provide to a community certified under the program assistance in the manner determined by TDA rule, rather than assistance as specified in statute. The bill changes the deadline by which the assistance must be provided from not later than the 90th day after an application is submitted to not later than the 90th day after approval of a submitted application. The bill exempts the Texas certified retirement community program account from the application of certain Government Code provisions relating to the use of dedicated revenue. C.S.S.B. 1214 expands the purpose of the interest rate reduction program established by the board of directors of the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority to include fostering development or expansion of businesses in rural areas of Texas.
C.S.S.B. 1214 amends the Transportation Code to make a conforming change.
C.S.S.B. 1214 repeals Section 12.040(f), Agriculture Code.
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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.S.B. 1214 may differ from the engrossed version in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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