BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1831

By: Buckingham

Appropriations

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties suggest that there is a need for a mechanism to provide the legislature with information to reduce the size and scope of government by accounting for statutorily required programs that do not receive appropriations. S.B. 1831 seeks to provide such a mechanism in the form of an annual report on state programs not funded by appropriations.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1831 amends the Government Code to require the comptroller of public accounts, not later than December 31 of each year, to submit a report to the legislature that identifies the following for each state agency, which the bill defines as an entity in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government: each program the state agency is statutorily required to implement for which no appropriation was made for the preceding state fiscal year, along with a citation to the law imposing the requirement, and the amount and source of money the state agency spent, if any, to implement any portion of the program during the preceding state fiscal year.

S.B. 1831 requires a state agency to provide to the comptroller not later than September 30 of each year information necessary for the comptroller to prepare the report and authorizes the comptroller to prescribe the form and content of the information a state agency must provide. The bill requires the comptroller to submit the initial report not later than December 31, 2017.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.