BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1554

By: Lucio

Agriculture & Livestock

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note that the federal community development block grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was established several decades ago to provide states and local units of government federal assistance to address a wide array of community development needs. The parties explain that in Texas the state's share of program funds that assist nonentitlement communities, such as towns, cities, and counties that are too small to receive direct assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is primarily administered by the Department of Agriculture (TDA). According to the parties, the TDA uses the state's allocation of nonentitlement program funds to provide local governments the resources necessary to address a wide variety of community needs which would otherwise be difficult to address if the nonentitlement program funds were not available. 

Concerns have been raised by the parties, however, that over the last decade the state's allocation of nonentitlement program funds has decreased by more than 30 percent and that nonentitlement local governments may not have the local resources to appropriately meet the needs of their communities. S.B. 1554 seeks to address this concern by establishing provisions relating to matching grant program for community development in certain municipalities and counties.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Department of Agriculture in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1554 amends the Agriculture Code to require the Department of Agriculture (TDA), subject to the availability of federal and state funds, to create a community development matching grant program to foster community and economic development in certain municipalities and counties. The bill requires the TDA to award matching grants under the program to assist in the financing of certain community development projects, capacity-building projects, renewable energy projects, restoration projects, economic development projects, and environmental projects.

S.B. 1554 makes a municipality or county eligible for a matching grant under the bill's provisions if the municipality or county is a nonentitlement area under the federal community development block grant nonentitlement program and is in good standing with the TDA and with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill authorizes eligible municipalities or counties to submit a single-jurisdiction application or a multi-jurisdiction application for a matching grant under the program for a community development project.  The bill requires an application to include a description of the project proposal. The bill requires the TDA to give preference to certain multi-jurisdiction applications and prohibits such applications submitted solely for administrative convenience from being accepted. The bill prohibits a municipality or county that has submitted a multi-jurisdiction application from submitting a single-jurisdiction application for a grant for the same project. The bill requires one of the municipalities or counties participating under a multi-jurisdiction application awarded a matching grant to be primarily accountable to the TDA for financial compliance and performance requirements under the program. The bill requires all municipalities and counties applying under a multi-jurisdiction application to meet application threshold requirements.  The bill requires the TDA by rule to set criteria for matching grant requirements and participation under the program and requires the TDA to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.