BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2564

By: Wilson

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant Program (DEAAG) is an infrastructure grant program designed to assist defense communities, and the program's governing statute requires the director of Texas Military Preparedness Commission to establish a defense economic adjustment assistance panel comprising a number of full-time employees (FTEs) of the governor's office to evaluate each grant application. The bill author has informed the committee that this has become a problem, as the FTEs on the panel may not have any expertise or background in military culture to evaluate these grant applications. C.S.H.B. 2564 seeks to resolve this issue by requiring the members of the commission to evaluate DEAAG applications.

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

C.S.H.B. 2564 amends the Government Code to remove the provision establishing a defense economic adjustment assistance panel composed of at least three and not more than five professional full-time employees of the governor's office appointed by the director of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission to evaluate defense economic adjustment assistance grant applications. The bill instead requires that the members of the commission evaluate such grant applications and accordingly removes the provision requiring the panel to submit its application scores to the commission.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2564 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced that removes the requirement for the panel to submit its grant application scores to the commission.