By: Paxton S.B. No. 1222
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the control of conditional federal funds for state
  programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle C, Title 10, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 2116 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 2116.  CONTROL OF CONDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDS
         Sec. 2116.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
               (1)  "Coercive conditions" are conditions in coercive
  federal funding programs that pertain to matters other than the
  manner in which the federal funds are to be spent, such as
  conditions that pertain to how the state must spend its own revenue
  or that pertain to collateral state policies.
               (2)  "Coercive federal funding program" means a program
  under which the federal government transfers funds to state
  agencies, or to persons or local entities through state agencies,
  to which the federal government has attached coercive conditions.  
  The term does not include a federal program that offers to return to
  the state a pro rata share of the state residents' tax contributions
  to the federal program if the state refuses to comply with the
  conditions attached to the program.
         Sec. 2116.002.  COORDINATED MULTISTATE REJECTION OF
  COERCIVE FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS.  (a)  The attorney general shall
  annually prepare a comprehensive report for the legislature
  designating all the coercive federal funding programs that deliver
  more than $100 million annually to the state and detailing the
  coercive conditions in those programs.
         (b)  Where feasible, the attorney general shall sue to enjoin
  enforcement of coercive conditions in coercive federal funding
  programs.  In any case where the federal government rejects a state
  plan or application for funds under a coercive federal funding
  program because of the state's refusal to comply with any coercive
  condition, the attorney shall sue for relief.
         (c)  The governor shall work with governors of other states
  to develop a coordinated approach with respect to all coercive
  federal funding programs.
         (d)  Agencies and officers of the state shall implement all
  coercive federal funding programs without regard to any conditions
  designated as coercive conditions by the attorney general under
  Subsection (a).  Applications for federal approval of state
  programs shall make no reference to any coercive condition.
         SECTION 2.  Section 751.001, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (1-a), to read as follows:
               (1-a)  "Coercive federal funding program" and
  "coercive conditions" have the meanings assigned to those terms
  under Section 2116.001.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (b), Section 751.005, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The office shall:
               (1)  help coordinate state and federal programs dealing
  with the same subject;
               (2)  inform the governor and the legislature of federal
  programs that may be carried out in the state or that affect state
  programs, with particular attention given to programs that may be
  coercive federal funding programs;
               (3)  provide federal agencies and the United States
  Congress with information about state policy and state conditions
  on matters that concern the federal government;
               (4)  provide the legislature with information useful in
  measuring the effect of federal actions on the state and local
  programs;
               (5)  prepare and supply to the governor and all members
  of the legislature an annual report that:
                     (A)  describes the office's operations;
                     (B)  contains the office's priorities and
  strategies for the following year;
                     (C)  details projects and legislation pursued by
  the office;
                     (D)  discusses issues in the following
  congressional session of interest to this state;[and]
                     (E)  contains an analysis of federal funds
  availability and formulae;
                     (F)  sets forth a catalog of all the conditions
  attached to federal funding programs in a format that clearly
  designates the coercive conditions; and
                     (G)  contains the office's strategy for ensuring
  that the state regains freedom of choice in fact with respect to
  coercive federal funding programs by resisting compliance with
  coercive conditions while also ensuring receipt of an equitable
  share of federal funds under the programs;
               (6)  notify the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
  speaker of the house of representatives, and the legislative
  standing committees in each house with primary jurisdiction over
  intergovernmental affairs of federal activities relevant to the
  state and inform the Texas congressional delegation of state
  activities;
               (7)  conduct frequent conference calls with the
  lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives
  or their designees regarding state-federal relations and programs;
               (8)  respond to requests for information from the
  legislature, the United States Congress, and federal agencies;
               (9)  coordinate with the Legislative Budget Board
  regarding the effects of federal funding on the state budget and the
  impact of coercive conditions on the state's ability to remain
  responsive to the preferences of its residents; and
               (10)  report to, and on request send appropriate
  representatives to appear before, the legislative standing
  committees in each house with primary jurisdiction over
  intergovernmental affairs.
         SECTION 4.  Section 751.022, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 751.022.  POWERS AND DUTIES. (a)  The office has
  primary responsibility for monitoring, coordinating, and reporting
  on the state's efforts to restore freedom of choice with respect to
  coercive federal funding programs and ensure receipt of an
  equitable share of federal formula funds.
         (b)  The office shall:
               (1)  serve as the state's clearinghouse for information
  on federal formula funds and coercive conditions attached to the
  funds;
               (2)  prepare reports on federal funds and earned
  federal formula funds;
               (3)  analyze proposed and pending federal and state
  legislation to determine whether the legislation would have a
  significant negative effect on the state's ability to maintain
  freedom of choice with respect to coercive federal funding programs
  and receive an equitable share of federal formula funds;
               (4)  make recommendations for coordination between
  state agencies and local governmental entities, between state
  agencies and agencies of other states, and between state agencies,
  particularly with respect to formulating strategies for escaping
  restrictions imposed by coercive federal funding programs; and
               (5)  adopt rules under the rule-making procedures of
  the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001, Government Code, as
  necessary to carry out the responsibilities assigned by this
  subchapter.
         (c)  The office shall annually prepare a comprehensive
  report to the legislature on the effectiveness of the state's
  efforts to escape restrictions imposed by coercive federal funding
  programs and ensure a receipt of an equitable share of federal
  formula funds for the preceding federal fiscal year. The report
  must include:
               (1)  an executive summary that provides an overview of
  the major findings and recommendations included in the report;
               (2)  a comparative analysis of the state's receipt of
  federal formula funds relative to other states, prepared using the
  best available sources of data;
               (3)  an analysis of federal formula funding trends that
  may have a significant effect on resources available to the state;
  [and]
               (4)  recommendations as to what policies and programs
  the state could implement if it were not subject to the restrictions
  imposed by the 10 largest coercive federal funding programs in the
  state budget and were able to receive an equitable share of federal
  funding under the programs; and
               (5)  recommendations, developed in consultation with
  the Legislative Budget Board, the Governor's Office of Budget and
  Planning, and the comptroller, for any state legislative or
  administrative action necessary to escape restrictions imposed by
  coercive federal funding programs and increase the state's receipt
  of federal formula funds.
         SECTION 5.  (a)  Subsection (d), Section 2116.002,
  Government Code, as added by this Act, takes effect on the date that
  a substantially similar requirement regarding coercive conditions
  has been adopted by 20 other states.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (a) of this section,
  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.