BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3222

By: Guillen

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Texas Division of Emergency Management's disaster recovery loan program provides vital assistance to smaller political subdivisions that do not regularly collect enough revenue to quickly repair infrastructure damaged in natural disasters. State law currently allows a political subdivision seeking a disaster recovery loan to apply for one only after submitting its most recent operating budget. This law is designed to allow the state to evaluate the political subdivision's ability or inability to pay off the damage on its own. The current deadline for budget submission is very narrow--only 15 days from adoption. H.B. 3222 seeks to give political subdivisions affected by natural disasters more time to apply for recovery loans by extending the budget submission deadline from 15 days after its adoption to 30 days after its adoption.

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

H.B. 3222 amends the Government Code to extend the deadline for an otherwise eligible political subdivision to submit its most recent fiscal year operating budget to the Texas Division of Emergency Management before applying for a loan from the disaster recovery loan program from 15 days after its adoption to 30 days after its adoption. The bill applies only to an application for a loan that is filed on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.