BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.S.B. 9 |
By: Hancock |
Appropriations |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties are concerned regarding the adequacy of the current method for limiting the growth of state spending. C.S.S.B. 9 seeks to address this issue.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 9 amends the Government Code to limit, in a state fiscal biennium, the rate of growth of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government to a rate of growth established by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) under the bill's provisions for categories of spending relating to transportation, public primary and secondary education, higher education, health care, public safety and corrections, and other general government.
C.S.S.B. 9 requires the LBB, before transmitting the budget for the next state fiscal biennium, to establish a limit on the rate of growth of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category described by the bill for that biennium, as compared to the previous state fiscal biennium, by subtracting one from the product of the sum of one and the estimated rate of growth in the population served by expenditures in that spending category during the biennium for which appropriations are made and the sum of one and the estimated rate of inflation in a representative set of goods and services for which appropriations are made for that spending category during the biennium. The bill requires the LBB to determine such rates using information available from any source the LBB considers reliable.
C.S.S.B. 9 requires the LBB to establish for the next state fiscal biennium a limit on the amount of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category by multiplying the amount of appropriations for each spending category for the then current state fiscal biennium by the sum of one and the limit on the rate of growth of appropriations for that spending category determined by the LBB. The bill establishes that if the limited rate of growth of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for any spending category is a negative number, the amount of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for that spending category available for the next state fiscal biennium is the same as the amount of those appropriations for the then current state fiscal biennium.
C.S.S.B. 9 prohibits the LBB from transmitting the budget or the general appropriations bill in any form to the governor or the legislature until the LBB adopts the limit on the rate of growth of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for that biennium for each spending category. The bill establishes that in the absence of an action by the LBB to adopt the limits required under the bill's provisions, the amount of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category available for the next state fiscal biennium is the same as the amount of those appropriations for the current state fiscal biennium. The bill requires the LBB, if the legislature by law exempts an appropriation from application of the bill's provisions for the next state fiscal biennium, to exclude then current or previous appropriations that, as determined by the LBB, are of a nature similar to the exempted appropriation as if those similar appropriations also had been exempted by law for purposes of calculations used to establish the limit on the rate of growth of appropriations described by the bill and the limit on the amount of appropriations described by the bill.
C.S.S.B. 9 requires the LBB, before the LBB approves such items of information, to publish in the Texas Register the proposed items of information and a description of the methodology and sources used in the calculations. The bill requires the LBB to hold not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year a public hearing to solicit testimony regarding the proposed items of information and the methodology used in making the calculations.
C.S.S.B. 9 limits the LBB's budget recommendations relating to appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category to the limit adopted by the LBB under the bill's provisions unless authorized by majority vote of the members of the LBB from each house. The bill requires the LBB to include in its budget recommendations the proposed limit of appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category.
C.S.S.B. 9 makes the proposed limit on appropriations from all sources of revenue other than the federal government for each spending category binding on the legislature with respect to those appropriations for the next state fiscal biennium unless the legislature adopts a resolution raising the proposed limit that is approved by a record vote of a majority of the members of each house of the legislature. The bill requires the resolution to find that an emergency exists, identify the nature of the emergency, and specify the amount authorized. The bill prohibits the excess authorized under such a resolution from exceeding the amount specified in the resolution. The bill requires the rules of the house of representatives and senate to provide for enforcement of the binding effect of the limit and such a resolution.
C.S.S.B. 9 applies only, as applicable, in relation to appropriations made for the 2018–2019 state fiscal biennium and subsequent state fiscal bienniums.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.S.B. 9 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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