BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 2691
88R19379 KJE-F	By: Button (Zaffirini)
	Finance
	4/27/2023
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

State agencies report to the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) when a person or business owes outstanding debts or delinquent taxes to the state. The comptroller then holds payments due to a debtor until the debt is paid in full, the agency owed money agrees to the release of the payments, or, after 30 days, when any amount owed over the amount of the debt can be released to the payee.

This creates a situation where a vendor that owes a small debt could have multiple payments owed to them held for weeks despite the total amount of the payments owed exceeding the amount of their debt. Some larger vendors receive payments on a daily basis so this can quickly become a problem.

H.B. 2691 would authorize the comptroller to release held payments in excess of the amount of outstanding debt while also requiring state agencies to make a reasonable attempt to notify a debtor that the debts are being reported to the comptroller and that payments from the state will be held due to the debt they owe.

H.B. 2691 amends current law relating to the authority of the comptroller of public accounts to issue certain payments to persons who are indebted or delinquent in taxes owed to the state and to state agency reporting requirements regarding such persons.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 403.055, Government Code, by adding Subsections (e-1) and (g-1), as follows:

(e-1) Provides that Section 403.055 (Payments to Debtors or Delinquents Prohibited) does not prohibit the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas (comptroller) from issuing a warrant or initiating an electronic funds transfer to a person reported properly under Subsection (f) (relating to requiring a state agency to report to the comptroller each person who is indebted to the state or has a tax delinquency) or to the person's assignee if, in accordance with Section 403.0551 (Deductions for Repayment of Certain Debts or Tax Delinquencies), the comptroller first retains one or more warrants or electronic funds transfers to the person for a total amount that at least equals the amount necessary to fully deduct the amount of the person's indebtedness to the state or tax delinquency from the amount the state owes the person.

(g-1) Requires a state agency to provide notice to a person who is the subject of a report made by the agency under Subsection (f), other than a person reported as indebted to the state as provided by Section 231.007 (Debts to State), Family Code, at the time the agency makes the report. Requires that the notice:

(1) be given in a manner reasonably calculated to give actual notice to the person;

(2) state:

(A) the name of the indebted or delinquent person;

(B) the amount of the person's indebtedness or delinquency;

(C) the agency's contact information; and

(D) any options available to eliminate the indebtedness or delinquency; and

(3) include a statement that the person's indebtedness or delinquency:

(A) has been reported to the comptroller; and

(B) may prohibit the comptroller from issuing a warrant or initiating an electronic funds transfer to the person for any amount owed to the person by the state.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2023. �