Davis’s Outsourcing Ban Misses Companies Organized Abroad

The text as introduced · 742 words

By: Y. Davis of Dallas
H.B. No. 4921

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to restrictions on the use of state funds to benefit

private entities that outsource jobs to foreign countries.

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

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

amended by adding Chapter 2278 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 2278. RESTRICTING STATE INVESTMENT IN AND PROVISION OF TAX

BENEFITS TO ENTITIES THAT OUTSOURCE JOBS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 2278.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "domestic"

means created or organized in the United States or under the laws of

the United States or any state.

[Sections 2278.002-2278.050 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER B. RESTRICTIONS ON INVESTMENTS

Sec. 2278.051. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This

subchapter applies in connection with the management or investment

of state funds managed or invested:

(1) under the Texas Constitution or other law,

including Chapters 404 and 2256; and

(2) by or for:

(A) a public retirement system as defined by

Section 802.001 that provides service retirement, disability

retirement, or death benefits for officers or employees of the

state;

(B) an institution of higher education as defined

by Section 61.003, Education Code; or

(C) another entity that is part of state

government and that manages or invests state funds or for which

state funds are managed or invested.

(b) This subchapter applies in connection with the management or

investment of state funds without regard to whether the funds are

held in the state treasury.

(c) This subchapter does not apply to the extent that an

investment standard prescribed by the Texas Constitution prohibits

the legislature from restricting the investment discretion of an

entity responsible for the management or investment of a fund.

Sec. 2278.052. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN INVESTMENTS. A state

governmental entity may not invest state funds in or purchase

obligations of a domestic private entity that, at any time during

the previous two years, created employment suitable for performance

in the United States in a country other than the United States and,

as a result, eliminated or failed to create similar employment in

the United States.

[Sections 2264.053-2264.100 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER C. RESTRICTIONS ON ELIGIBILITY FOR TAX AND FEE BENEFITS

Sec. 2278.101. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "state

agency" means a department, board, commission, or other agency in

the executive branch of state government. The term does not include

an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,

Education Code.

Sec. 2278.102. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This

subchapter does not apply to a credit, exemption, or discount for

which the Texas Constitution specifically prescribes the

eligibility requirements.

Sec. 2278.103. INELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ENTITIES FOR TAX

AND FEE BENEFITS. Notwithstanding other law, a domestic private

entity is not eligible for a credit, exemption, or discount in

relation to a tax or fee imposed by the state if the entity, at any

time during the previous two years, created employment suitable for

performance in the United States in a country other than the United

States and, as a result, eliminated or failed to create similar

employment in the United States.

Sec. 2278.104. DENIAL OF BENEFITS. (a) A state agency

responsible for the issuance of a credit, exemption, or discount in

relation to a tax or fee imposed by the state shall adopt rules in

accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, relating to the manner

in which:

(1) the agency will determine whether to deny the

benefit under Section 2264.103; and

(2) a person may ask the agency to reconsider the

denial.

(b) The rules adopted by a state agency shall require that as soon

as practicable after making the decision to deny a credit,

exemption, or discount to a domestic private entity that is

ineligible for the benefit under Section 2264.103 but is otherwise

eligible for the benefit, the state agency shall provide the

domestic private entity with notice of and the factual basis for the

denial and a description of the procedures available to request a

reconsideration and to contest the factual or legal basis for the

denial.

SECTION 2. Chapter 2278, Government Code, as added by this

Act, applies only to:

(1) an investment made by a state governmental entity on or

after September 1, 2026; and

(2) a credit, exemption, or discount provided or denied on

or after September 1, 2026, in relation to a tax or fee imposed by

the state.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.