Zaffirini Unfunded Mandates Bill Makes A List And Stops There

The text as introduced · 722 words

89R334 MP-F

By: Zaffirini
S.B. No. 73

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation and duties of the unfunded mandates

interagency work group.

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

SECTION 1. Section 320.001, Government Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 320.001. DEFINITIONS [ DEFINITION ]. In this chapter :

(1) "Interagency work group" means the unfunded

mandates interagency work group.

(2) "Mandate" [ , "mandate" ] means a requirement made

by a statute enacted by the legislature on or after January 1, 2025

[ 1997 ], that requires a political subdivision to establish, expand,

or modify a duty or [ an ] activity in a way that requires the

expenditure of revenue by the political subdivision that would not

have been required in the absence of the statutory provision.

SECTION 2. Chapter 320, Government Code, is amended by

adding Sections 320.002 and 320.003 to read as follows:

Sec. 320.002. UNFUNDED MANDATES INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP.

(a) The unfunded mandates interagency work group consists of:

(1) the state auditor;

(2) the director of the Legislative Budget Board;

(3) the comptroller;

(4) a senator appointed by the lieutenant governor;

and

(5) a member of the house of representatives appointed

by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(b) A member of the interagency work group is not entitled

to additional compensation for service on the work group.

(c) A member of the interagency work group may collaborate

with any person employed by the member's agency to complete the

member's work on the work group.

(d) The members of the interagency work group may enter into

an interagency memorandum of understanding regarding the

completion of the work required by this chapter.

Sec. 320.003. ADVISORY LIST OF UNFUNDED MANDATES. (a) Not

later than the September 1 following a regular session of the

legislature and not later than the 90th day after the last day of a

special session of the legislature, the interagency work group

shall publish an advisory list of mandates for which the

legislature has not provided reimbursement under Subsection (b) and

that were enacted by the legislature during that legislative

session. By that same date the interagency work group shall:

(1) remove from the advisory list of mandates for a

previous legislative session those mandates for which the

legislature has provided reimbursement under Subsection (b), those

that are no longer subject to reimbursement, and those that are no

longer in effect; and

(2) add to the advisory list a mandate from a previous

legislative session for which reimbursement was provided under

Subsection (b) in the previous session but for which reimbursement

was not provided in the most recent regular session or in any

subsequent special sessions.

(b) A mandate is considered to be a mandate for which the

legislature has provided reimbursement if the legislature:

(1) expressly provides by statute enacted by a record

vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house that the

mandate is not subject to reimbursement under this section; or

(2) appropriates or otherwise provides for the payment

or reimbursement, from a source other than revenue of the political

subdivision, of the costs incurred in the calendar year by the

political subdivision in complying with the mandate.

(c) This section does not apply to a mandate:

(1) imposed by the legislature or a state agency to

comply with a requirement of the Texas Constitution, federal law,

or a court order or to maximize the receipt of federal funds by the

state in areas such as education, health and human services, and

criminal justice;

(2) approved by the voters of this state at a general

election; or

(3) affecting employee pensions and benefits.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 320.003, Government

Code, as added by this Act, the unfunded mandates interagency work

group is not required to publish a report under that section for a

legislative session beginning before September 1, 2025, until the

later of September 1, 2025, or the 90th day after the effective date

of this Act.

SECTION 4. 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.