McLaughlin Bill Bars State Money To Groups ‘Aligned With’ Listed Ideas

The text as introduced · 866 words

89R12449 CS-F

By: McLaughlin
H.B. No. 3075

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a prohibition on the provision of state money to

entities that promote certain ideological programs and the

establishment of a division in the Legislative Budget Board to

ensure such entities do not receive state money; authorizing the

imposition of a civil penalty.

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

SECTION 1. Subtitle F, Title 10, Government Code, is

amended by adding Chapter 2279 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 2279. PROHIBITION ON AWARD OF STATE MONEY TO ORGANIZATIONS

SUPPORTING RESTRICTED IDEOLOGICAL PROGRAMS

Sec. 2279.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Organization" means any entity, including a

public or private institution, nonprofit organization,

corporation, or association, that directly or indirectly receives

state money.

(2) "Restricted ideological program" means a program

that supports, promotes, or is aligned with:

(A) initiatives, theories, or policies that seek

to alter social institutions through identity-based conflict;

(B) advocacy that prioritizes the redistribution

of resources based on perceived societal inequalities;

(C) an equity initiative that seeks equal

outcomes rather than equal opportunities based on demographic

factors;

(D) advocacy for a nonbiological definition of

gender and policies supporting gender transition;

(E) a doctrine asserting that gender identity is

independent of biological sex;

(F) a theory that assigns privilege, oppression,

or identity based primarily on racial categorization; or

(G) an institutional policy that prioritizes

demographic representation over merit-based evaluation.

(3) "State money" means money appropriated by the

legislature through the General Appropriations Act or other state

law and includes money awarded by a state agency under a grant

program.

Sec. 2279.002. PROHIBITION ON AWARD OF STATE MONEY TO

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING RESTRICTED IDEOLOGICAL PROGRAMS. A state

agency or organization may not provide state money to an entity that

promotes, teaches, advocates for, or is ideologically aligned with

a restricted ideological program.

Sec. 2279.003. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) An entity that knowingly

misrepresents the entity's activities to receive state money in

violation of Section 2279.002 is liable for a civil penalty not to

exceed the amount of state money that the entity has received in

violation of that section.

(b) The attorney general may sue to collect a civil penalty

under this section.

SECTION 2. Chapter 322, Government Code, is amended by

adding Section 322.025 to read as follows:

Sec. 322.025. STATE FUNDING INTEGRITY REVIEW DIVISION. (a)

In this section:

(1) "Division" refers to the state funding integrity

review division of the board.

(2) "Organization" and "restricted ideological

program" have the meanings assigned by Section 2279.001.

(b) The board shall establish the state funding integrity

review division as a division of the board.

(c) The division shall:

(1) conduct an initial and ongoing review of all

state-funded grants, contracts, and other awards to identify

organizations engaged in restricted ideological programs in

violation of Section 2279.002;

(2) develop a vetting process for entities applying

for or organizations receiving state money to ensure compliance

with Section 2279.002;

(3) provide an annual report to the governor, the

lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of

representatives detailing the division's findings during the

preceding year and any recommendations or referrals made under

Subsection (d), (e), or (f) during that period; and

(4) recommend corrective actions and funding

reallocations for organizations receiving state money in violation

of Section 2279.002.

(d) If the division determines that a state agency spent

money in violation of Section 2279.002, the division shall

recommend to:

(1) the legislature that the agency be subject to

budgetary restrictions during the next state fiscal biennium; and

(2) the agency that disciplinary action be taken

against personnel responsible for oversight of the allocation of

state money, including removal from that oversight role.

(e) If the division determines that an organization has

received state money in violation of Section 2279.002:

(1) the division shall promptly notify the comptroller

of that determination; and

(2) on receipt of notice under Subdivision (1), the

comptroller may not issue warrants to the organization until the

fifth anniversary of the date of the determination.

(f) The division shall refer each instance of an entity

knowingly misrepresenting the entity's activities to receive state

money in violation of Section 2279.002 to the attorney general for

appropriate action under Chapter 2279.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

a contract entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of

this Act. A contract entered into or renewed before the effective

date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the contract

was entered into or renewed, and the former law is continued in

effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. Not later than the 90th day after the effective

date of this Act, a state agency shall terminate a grant or other

award of state money made to a person in violation of Section

2279.002, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.