89R16379 RDS-F

By: Rodríguez Ramos H.B. No. 4908

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of the Texas prosperity payout fund; imposing taxes on the gross revenues of and consumption by certain industry participants; authorizing administrative penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Texas Prosperity Payout Act.

SECTION 2. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by adding Subchapter V to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER V. TEXAS PROSPERITY PAYOUT FUND

Sec. 403.701. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that:

(1) emerging industries, including artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining, significantly impact this state's energy, infrastructure, and workforce resources;

(2) revenue generated by these industries has not been proportionately invested in the prosperity of the residents of this state; and

(3) a permanent fund dividend can promote economic stability, foster community resilience, and stimulate local economies when implemented within appropriate constitutional and fiscal parameters.

(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to establish a permanent fund dividend benefiting adult Texans through a revenue-supported structure that complies with the requirements of Section 51, Article III, Texas Constitution, ensures fiscal sustainability and transparency, and adheres to all applicable constitutional provisions regarding the permissible uses of public funds.

Sec. 403.702. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Prosperity payout" means a payment made from the Texas prosperity payout fund under Section 403.704.

(2) "Eligible resident" means an individual who:

(A) is a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident;

(B) is at least 18 years of age; and

(C) has resided in Texas for at least 12 consecutive months, verified through the individual's government-issued identification or by applicable state records.

(3) "Fund" means the Texas prosperity payout fund created under this subchapter.

Sec. 403.703. TEXAS PROSPERITY PAYOUT FUND. (a) The Texas prosperity payout fund is created as a fund outside the state treasury with the comptroller.

(b) The fund consists of:

(1) money transferred or deposited to the credit of the fund by the constitution, general law, or the General Appropriations Act;

(2) revenue that the legislature by general law dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund; and

(3) gifts, grants, and donations to the fund.

(c) The comptroller shall administer the fund and distribute prosperity payouts to eligible residents in the manner provided by Section 403.704.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, money deposited to the credit of the fund is automatically appropriated to the comptroller for the purpose of making prosperity payouts and the comptroller may spend money in the fund without further legislative appropriation as necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

Sec. 403.704. PROSPERITY PAYOUT. (a) The comptroller shall issue a prosperity payout each month to each individual the comptroller verifies is an eligible resident using money in the fund. The amount of the prosperity payout to which each eligible resident is entitled in a month is equal to the total amount of money in the fund on the last day of the preceding month divided by the number of eligible residents receiving a prosperity payout in the applicable month.

(b) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary to implement and administer this section, including protocols for verifying eligible residents and procedures for issuing prosperity payouts.

(c) The comptroller shall recommend to the legislature any adjustments to the rate of the taxes imposed under Chapter 210, Tax Code, necessary to ensure continued funding for prosperity payouts.

(d) Prosperity payouts to eligible residents under this subchapter are considered to be refunds of collected industry-specific tax revenue to the public and shall serve the public purposes of promoting economic stability and public prosperity. As required by Section 51, Article III, Texas Constitution, the legislature finds that the payment of a prosperity payout is not gratuitous and is essential to mitigate the public calamity caused by the economic impacts from the taxed industries.

(e) The comptroller shall maintain a list of eligible residents and implement procedures to regularly cross-reference state vital statistics and residency records to identify and remove individuals who are deceased or who have relocated out of this state from the list of eligible residents. The comptroller must provide an individual identified for removal from the list written notice and provide the individual 30 days to appeal the comptroller's determination before suspending the issuance of prosperity payouts to the individual.

Sec. 403.705. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING. (a) Not later than December 31 of each state fiscal year, the comptroller shall prepare and issue a report to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives on the administration of the fund during that state fiscal year, including:

(1) the total amount of tax revenue collected under Chapter 210, Tax Code, organized by industry, and deposited to the credit of the fund;

(2) the total amount of money disbursed from the fund; and

(3) economic impact assessments of each of the taxes imposed by Chapter 210, Tax Code, and the prosperity payouts issued under this subchapter with comparative metrics.

(b) The comptroller shall post the report prepared under Subsection (a) on the comptroller's Internet website.

(c) An economic impact assessment required under this section must be conducted by an independent third party using generally accepted economic forecasting models. The report must include baseline comparisons and anticipated long-term economic effects on different segments of the population.

Sec. 403.706. OVERSIGHT AND AUDITING. (a) The state auditor shall conduct an audit of the fund each calendar quarter to ensure the integrity of the fund.

(b) An independent oversight committee composed of at least seven members appointed by the governor shall annually review economic impact data included in the report submitted by the comptroller under Section 403.705. The members must include representatives from the Legislative Budget Board and the state auditor's office and at least three public members. A member of the committee:

(1) must opt out of receiving prosperity payouts in the manner provided by Section 403.707; and

(2) may not have a direct financial interest in an entity that is subject to a tax under Chapter 210, Tax Code.

Sec. 403.707. AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT AND OPT OUT. (a) An eligible recipient is automatically enrolled with the comptroller to receive prosperity payouts.

(b) An individual who becomes an eligible recipient is automatically enrolled with the comptroller effective on the first day of the month following the month in which the individual first meets the requirements of Section 403.702(2).

(c) An eligible recipient may opt out of receiving prosperity payouts at any time through procedures established by the comptroller. An eligible resident who opts out under this subsection may opt back in at any time without penalty or delay in payment other than standard processing times established by comptroller rules.

Sec. 403.708. FRAUD PREVENTION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION; APPEAL. (a) The comptroller shall implement verification protocols to prevent fraudulent claims for prosperity payouts.

(b) An individual whom the comptroller determines is not an eligible recipient may file an appeal. An appeal is conducted before the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The appeal must be filed not later than the 30th day after the date of the comptroller's final determination of eligibility. The appellant bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that the appellant is an eligible recipient by a preponderance of the evidence.

(c) An appellant that faces an immediate financial hardship due to the appellant's inability to receive a prosperity payout may request an expedited review. The comptroller must issue a decision not later than the 10th business day after the date of the request.

SECTION 3. Title 2, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subtitle K to read as follows:

SUBTITLE K. INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC TAXES

CHAPTER 210. TAX ON INDUSTRY REVENUE AND CONSUMPTION

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 210.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Artificial intelligence infrastructure" means a facility using computational resources exceeding 1,000 teraflops per second.

(2) "Cloud service provider" means an entity offering Internet-based infrastructure, platform, or software services with annual data usage exceeding five petabytes.

(3) "Cryptocurrency mining operation" means a facility consuming at least one megawatt-hour of electricity per day or 30 megawatt-hours per month for cryptocurrency token production.

(4) "Data center" means a facility consuming more than two megawatt-hours of electricity per month dedicated to data processing or storage.

(5) "Large software company" means a company generating at least $50 million in annual revenue from the sale of software-related products or services.

(6) "Telecommunications company" means a provider of telecommunications services serving 500,000 or more subscribers in this state.

Sec. 210.002. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS ON TAX UNIFORMITY. The legislature finds that the taxes imposed under this chapter are reasonably classified based on measurable industry impacts on state infrastructure, energy use, and public welfare.

SUBCHAPTER B. TAXES IMPOSED

Sec. 210.051. ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION TAX. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a tax is imposed on electricity consumption by a cryptocurrency mining operation during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is $0.10 per kilowatt-hour consumed by the cryptocurrency mining operation.

(c) This section does not apply to a cryptocurrency mining operation that consumes less than five megawatt-hours of electricity during a calendar month.

Sec. 210.052. GROSS REVENUE TAX: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a tax is imposed on the gross revenue of an artificial intelligence infrastructure facility during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is six percent of the gross revenue of the facility.

(c) This section does not apply to an artificial intelligence infrastructure facility with an annual gross revenue of less than $50 million during the preceding calendar year.

Sec. 210.053. GROSS REVENUE TAX: DATA CENTER. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a data center during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is four percent of the gross revenue of the data center.

(c) This section does not apply to a data center that consumes less than five megawatt-hours of electricity during a calendar month.

Sec. 210.054. GROSS REVENUE TAX: SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURER. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a semiconductor manufacturer during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two percent of the gross revenue of the semiconductor manufacturer.

Sec. 210.055. GROSS REVENUE TAX: CLOUD SERVICES. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a cloud service provider during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two percent of the gross revenue of the cloud service provider.

Sec. 210.056. GROSS REVENUE TAX: TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a telecommunications company during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two percent of the gross revenue of the telecommunications company.

Sec. 210.057. GROSS REVENUE TAX: LARGE SOFTWARE COMPANY. (a) A tax is imposed on the gross revenue of a large software company during a calendar month.

(b) The rate of the tax imposed by this section is two percent of the gross revenue of the large software company.

SUBCHAPTER C. REPORTING AND PAYMENT OF TAX

Sec. 210.101. COLLECTION; REPORT. (a) The comptroller shall collect the taxes imposed under this chapter.

(b) Each person subject to a tax imposed under this chapter shall file a report with the comptroller on or before the 20th day of the calendar month following the month that is the subject of the report.

(c) The comptroller shall prescribe the form and content of the report required under this section. The comptroller may require a person subject to a tax imposed under this chapter to include with a report any information the comptroller determines necessary to determine the amount of tax the person owes for the period covered by the report.

Sec. 210.102. PAYMENT OF TAX. A person shall pay the tax due on a report submitted under Section 210.101 with the report.

SUBCHAPTER D. ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 210.151. ENFORCEMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a) The comptroller may audit a person subject to a tax imposed under this chapter to ensure compliance with this chapter.

(b) A person that fails to submit a report required under Section 210.101 is subject to an administrative penalty in an amount determined by the comptroller not to exceed $10,000.

(c) A person that knowingly includes false information in a report required under Section 210.101 is subject to an administrative penalty in an amount determined by the comptroller not to exceed $100,000.

(d) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary to implement and administer this section, including rules prescribing audit and appeal procedures and deadlines for compliance with reasonable requests for information made by the comptroller.

SUBCHAPTER E. ALLOCATION OF REVENUE

Sec. 210.201. DEPOSIT AND USE OF REVENUE. (a) All revenue collected under this chapter shall be deposited to the credit of the Texas prosperity payout fund established under Subchapter V, Chapter 403, Government Code.

(b) Revenue deposited to the credit of the fund under this section may not be used for any purpose other than to fund the monthly payments described by Section 403.704, Government Code.

SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2026, the comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules necessary to implement Subchapter V, Chapter 403, Government Code, and Chapter 210, Tax Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 5. An individual is not entitled to a payment under Subchapter V, Chapter 403, Government Code, as added by this Act, before July 1, 2026.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.