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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the establishment of a program to refund annually |
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certain dedicated tax or fee revenues that remain unspent for the |
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particular purposes or entities for which they were collected. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 403, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 403.0952 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 403.0952. REFUNDING CERTAIN UNSPENT DEDICATED GENERAL |
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REVENUES. (a) Not later than the 10th business day of each state |
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fiscal year, and notwithstanding any other statute dedicating or |
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setting aside revenue for a particular purpose or entity, the |
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comptroller shall identify statutorily dedicated revenues derived |
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from a state tax or fee that are deposited to the credit of an |
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account in the general revenue fund during the preceding state |
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fiscal year and that are not spent or obligated to be spent for the |
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purpose for which the revenues were set aside. This section does |
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not apply to revenues dedicated by the Texas Constitution, revenues |
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held in trust, or revenues for which separate accounting is |
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required by federal law. |
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(b) Not later than the 15th business day of each state |
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fiscal year, the comptroller shall transfer to a special fund |
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outside the general revenue fund from each dedicated revenue |
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account in the general revenue fund an amount equal to the amount |
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held in that account of the preceding state fiscal year's unspent |
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and unobligated collected dedicated revenues as determined under |
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Subsection (a). |
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(c) Revenues transferred to the special fund may be |
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appropriated only for the purpose of refunding the unspent portions |
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of the dedicated taxes or fees to the persons who paid the taxes or |
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fees, as applicable, in a manner provided by the comptroller under |
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this section. |
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(d) The comptroller by rule shall develop and implement a |
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program to refund annually unspent revenues of dedicated taxes and |
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fees to the payers of the taxes and fees in a manner calculated to |
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most efficiently return the unspent revenues: |
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(1) to the persons who paid the taxes and fees in |
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amounts proportionate to the amounts of the taxes or fees each |
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person paid during the preceding state fiscal year, to the extent |
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the persons practicably may be identified; and |
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(2) to the extent payers practicably are not |
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identifiable, to the class of persons who constitute the payers of |
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the taxes or fees. |
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(e) A state agency, on the request of the comptroller, |
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shall: |
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(1) provide to the comptroller information the |
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comptroller considers helpful to identify payers of dedicated taxes |
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or fees subject to a partial refund under this section; and |
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(2) adopt rules as necessary to gather information |
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helpful to the comptroller's program implemented under this |
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section. |
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(f) To pay for the expenses incurred under this section, the |
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comptroller may use not more than two percent of the revenues |
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appropriated from the special fund for the purpose of the refunding |
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program implemented under Subsection (d). |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |