By: Schwertner S.B. No. 1214
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain economic development programs administered by
  the Department of Agriculture.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 12.027, Agriculture Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read
  as follows:
         (b)  In administering the program, the department shall:
               (1)  promote economic growth in rural areas;
               (2)  identify potential opportunities for business in
  rural areas and assist rural communities in maximizing those
  opportunities;
               (3)  work with rural communities to identify economic
  development needs and direct those communities to persons who can
  address and assist in meeting those needs;
               (4)  encourage communication between organizations,
  industries, and regions to improve economic and community
  development services to rural areas;
               (5)  coordinate meetings with public and private
  entities to distribute information beneficial to rural areas;
               (6)  enter into a memorandum of agreement to work
  cooperatively with the Texas [Department of] Economic Development
  and Tourism Office, the Texas AgriLife [Agricultural] Extension
  Service, and other entities the department deems appropriate to
  further program objectives; and
               (7)  perform any other functions necessary to carry out
  the program.
         (d)  The department by rule may charge a membership fee to a 
  [each] participant in the program.
         (g)  In addition to the authority set forth in subsection
  (a), the department may 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 this state.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
  adding Section 12.0272 to read as follows:
         Sec. 12.0272.  TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND.  (a)  The
  Texas economic development fund is a fund in the State Treasury.  
  The account consists of:
               (1)  all interest, income, revenue, and other assets
  associated with economic development programs established using
  money allocated and paid to the department under the August 15,
  2011, allocation agreement between the department and the United
  States Department of the Treasury, as amended, to implement the
  State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C.
  Section 5701 et seq.);
               (2)  all money, deposits, distributions, dividends,
  earnings, gain, income, interest, proceeds, profits, program
  income, rents, returns of capital, returns on investments,
  royalties, revenue, or yields received or realized by the
  department as a result of an investment made by or on behalf of the
  department pursuant to the August 15, 2011, allocation agreement
  between the department and the United States Department of the
  Treasury, as amended;
               (3)  gifts, loans, donations, aid, appropriations,
  guaranties, allocations, subsidies, grants, or contributions
  received under Section 12.027(g);
               (4)  interest and income earned on the investment of
  money in the fund; and
               (5)  other money required by law to be deposited in the
  fund.
         (b)  Money in the Texas economic development fund may be
  appropriated only to the department for the purpose of
  administering, establishing, implementing, or maintaining an
  economic development program under this section and is dedicated to
  and may be used only for the administration, establishment,
  implementation, or maintenance of one or more of the department's
  economic development programs.
         (c)  The Texas Economic Development Fund is exempt from
  Section 403.095, Government Code.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 12.040(d), (g), and (i), Agriculture
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (d)  To be eligible to be a Texas certified retirement
  community, a community shall:
               (1)  through a board or panel that serves as the
  community's official program sponsor:
                     (A)  complete a retiree desirability assessment,
  as developed by the department, to include facts regarding crime
  statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, housing
  availability, and other appropriate factors, including criteria
  listed in Subsection (e); and
                     (B)  work to gain the support of churches, clubs,
  businesses, media, and other entities, as necessary for the success
  of the program in the community;
               (2)  identify emergency medical services and a hospital
  within a 75-mile radius of the community; and
               (3)  submit to the department:
                     (A)  a [an application] fee in an amount equal to
  the greater of:
                           (i)  $5,000; or
                           (ii)  $0.25 multiplied by the population of
  the community, as determined by the most recent census;
                     (B)  a marketing plan detailing the mission as
  applied to the community, the target market, the competition, an
  analysis of the community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
  and dangers, and the strategies the community will employ to attain
  the goals of the program; and
                     (C)  a long-term plan outlining the steps the
  community will undertake to maintain its desirability as a
  destination for retirees, including an outline of plans to correct
  any facility and service deficiencies identified in the retiree
  desirability assessment required by Subdivision (1)(A).
         (g)  If the department finds that a community successfully
  meets the requirements of a Texas certified retirement community,
  not later than the 90th day after the application is submitted and
  approved, the department shall provide [the following] assistance
  to the community as determined by department rule[:
               [(1)     assistance in the training of local staff and
  volunteers;
               [(2)     ongoing oversight and guidance in marketing, plus
  updates on retirement trends;
               [(3)     inclusion in the state's national advertising and
  public relations campaigns and travel show promotions, including a
  prominent feature on the department's Internet website, to be
  coordinated with the Internet websites of other agencies, as
  appropriate;
               [(4)     eligibility for state financial assistance for
  brochures, support material, and advertising; and
               [(5)     an evaluation and progress assessment on
  maintaining and improving the community's desirability as a home
  for retirees].
         (i)  The Texas certified retirement community program
  account is an account in the general revenue fund.  The account is
  composed of fees collected under Subsection (d).  Money in the
  account may be appropriated to the department only for the purposes
  of this section, including the payment of administrative and
  personnel costs of the department associated with administering the
  program.  The account is exempt from the application of Section
  403.095, Government Code.
         SECTION 4.  Section 58.022, Agriculture Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 58.022.  POWERS OF AUTHORITY.  The authority has all
  powers necessary to accomplish the purposes and programs of the
  authority, including the power:
               (1)  to adopt and enforce bylaws, rules, and procedures
  and perform all functions necessary for the board to carry out this
  chapter;
               (2)  to sue and be sued, complain, and defend, in its
  own name;
               (3)  to adopt and use an official seal and alter it when
  considered advisable;
               (4)  to acquire, hold, invest, use, pledge, and dispose
  of its revenues, income, receipts, funds, and money from every
  source and to select one or more depositories, inside or outside the
  state, subject to this chapter, any resolution, bylaws, or in any
  indenture pursuant to which the funds are held;
               (5)  to establish, charge, and collect fees, charges,
  and penalties in connection with the programs, services, and
  activities provided by the authority in accordance with this
  chapter;
               (6)  to issue its bonds, to provide for and secure the
  payment of the bonds, and provide for the rights of the owners of
  the bonds, in the manner and to the extent permitted by this
  chapter, and to purchase, hold, cancel, or resell or otherwise
  dispose of its bonds, subject to any restrictions in any resolution
  authorizing the issuance of its bonds;
               (7)  to procure insurance and pay premiums on insurance
  of any type, in amounts, and from insurers as the board considers
  necessary and advisable to accomplish any of its purposes;
               (8)  to make, enter into, and enforce contracts,
  agreements, including management agreements, for the management of
  any of the authority's property, leases, indentures, mortgages,
  deeds of trust, security agreements, pledge agreements, credit
  agreements, and other instruments with any person, including any
  lender and any federal, state, or local governmental agency, and to
  take other actions as may accomplish any of its purposes;
               (9)  to own, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire, accept,
  or hold real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest in
  property in performing its duties and exercising its powers under
  this chapter, by purchase, exchange, gift, assignment, transfer,
  foreclosure, mortgage, sale, lease, or otherwise and to hold,
  manage, operate, or improve real, personal, or mixed property,
  wherever situated;
               (10)  to sell, lease, encumber, mortgage, exchange,
  donate, convey, or otherwise dispose of any or all of its properties
  or any interest in its properties, deed of trust or mortgage lien
  interest owned by it or under its control, custody, or in its
  possession, and release or relinquish any right, title, claim,
  lien, interest, easement, or demand however acquired, including any
  equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it, and to
  do any of the foregoing by public or private sale, with or without
  public bidding, notwithstanding any other law; and to lease or rent
  any improvements, lands, or facilities from any person to effect
  the purposes of this chapter;
               (11)  to request, accept, and use gifts, loans,
  donations, aid, appropriations, guaranties, allocations,
  subsidies, grants, or contributions of any item of value for the
  furtherance of any of its purposes;
               (12)  to make secured or unsecured loans for the
  purpose of providing temporary or permanent financing or
  refinancing for eligible agricultural businesses for the purposes
  authorized by this chapter, including the refunding of outstanding
  obligations, mortgages, or advances issued for those purposes, and
  charge and collect interest on those loans for such loan payments
  and on such terms and conditions as the board may consider advisable
  and not in conflict with this chapter;
               (13)  to secure the payment by the state or the
  authority on guarantees and to pay claims from money in the
  authority's funds pursuant to the loan guarantee and insurance
  programs implemented by the authority;
               (14)  to purchase or acquire, sell, discount, assign,
  negotiate, and otherwise dispose of notes, debentures, bonds, or
  other evidences of indebtedness of eligible agricultural
  businesses, whether unsecured or secured, as the board may
  determine, or portions or portfolios of or participations in those
  evidences of indebtedness, and sell and guarantee securities,
  whether taxable or tax exempt under federal law in primary and
  secondary markets in furtherance of any of the authority's
  purposes; and
               (15)  to exercise all powers given to a corporation
  under Chapter 22, Business Organizations Code [the Texas Non-Profit
  Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
  Statutes)], to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter.
         SECTION 5.  Section 58.053(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  An eligible applicant's documentation shall include the
  following for the board's review:
               (1)  the plan, as submitted to the lender, for the
  applicant's proposed farm or ranch operation or
  agriculture-related business to be financed that includes a budget
  for the proposed operation;
               (2)  a completed application for a loan from a
  commercial lender on which an eligible applicant has indicated how
  the loan proceeds will be used to implement the applicant's plan;
  and
               (3)  the signed statement of a loan officer of the
  commercial lender that a loan guarantee is requested [required] for
  approval of the loan application.
         SECTION 6.  The heading to Section 502.404, Transportation
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 502.404.  VOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT FOR TEXAS AGRICULTURAL
  FINANCE AUTHORITY [YOUNG FARMER LOAN GUARANTEES].
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2013.