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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to establishing the State of Texas Wealth Fund; making an |
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appropriation. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 403, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 403.1085 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 403.1085. STATE OF TEXAS WEALTH FUND. (a) In this |
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section, "fund" means the State of Texas Wealth Fund. |
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(b) The State of Texas Wealth Fund is created as a special |
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fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund to be |
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administered by the comptroller. The fund consists of all money |
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transferred or credited to the fund at the direction of the |
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legislature or by other law and any gifts, grants, or donations made |
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to this state for a purpose of the fund. |
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(c) The comptroller shall invest the assets of the fund and |
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any accounts established in the fund taking into account the |
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purposes for which the fund is established. In managing the fund |
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assets, through procedures and subject to restrictions that the |
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comptroller considers appropriate but notwithstanding the |
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limitations specified by Section 404.024, the comptroller may |
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acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind of |
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investment that a prudent investor, exercising reasonable care, |
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skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in light of the |
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purposes, terms, and other circumstances of the fund then |
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prevailing, taking into consideration the investment of all the |
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fund assets rather than a single investment. |
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(d) All interest and other earnings on the fund's principal |
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and accumulated earnings are credited to the fund. |
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(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (g), money in |
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the fund may be appropriated only: |
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(1) to pay costs of deferred maintenance of state |
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infrastructure, including costs of repair, rehabilitation, or |
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reconstruction of state infrastructure; |
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(2) to make payments of the principal of or interest on |
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general obligation bonds of this state or payments under related |
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credit agreements to the extent the payments will help to retire the |
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indebtedness before the end of the term of the indebtedness; |
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(3) to pay the costs of a new capital project for this |
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state or a new phase of a capital project for this state in lieu of |
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financing the project costs with bonds or other long-term |
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obligations of this state; and |
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(4) to fund pension liabilities. |
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(f) An appropriation described by Subsection (e)(3) may not |
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be made unless staff of the Legislative Budget Board first: |
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(1) finds that the direct payment of the costs of the |
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new capital project or new phase of a capital project will achieve |
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significant cost savings compared to using long-term obligations of |
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this state to finance the costs; and |
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(2) in writing, communicates that finding to the |
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lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
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and the standing committees of each house of the legislature with |
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primary jurisdiction over appropriations. |
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(g) The legislature may not appropriate money from the fund |
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in an amount that would reduce the unappropriated and unobligated |
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principal balance of the fund to an amount of less than $2 billion. |
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(h) The fund is exempt from the application of Section |
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403.095. |
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SECTION 2. Section 404.071(a), Government Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
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(a) Interest received from investments of money in funds and |
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accounts in the charge of the comptroller shall be allocated on a |
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monthly basis as follows: |
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(1) the pro rata portion of the interest received due |
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to each constitutional fund shall be credited to that fund; |
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(2) the pro rata portion of the interest received due |
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to the game, fish, and water safety fund shall be credited to that |
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fund; |
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(2-a) the pro rata portion of the interest received |
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due to the investment of the State of Texas Wealth Fund shall be |
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credited to that fund; and |
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(3) the remainder of the interest received shall be |
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credited to the general revenue fund. |
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SECTION 3. (a) The amount of $2 billion is appropriated |
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from the economic stabilization fund to the comptroller for the |
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purpose of transferring that amount immediately to the credit of |
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the State of Texas Wealth Fund in the state treasury. |
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(b) This section takes effect only if this Act is approved |
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by a vote of two-thirds of the members present in each house of the |
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legislature, as provided by Section 49-g(m), Article III, Texas |
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Constitution. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |