By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 1200
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the Texas Military Preparedness Commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 436.001, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 436.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Military
  Preparedness Commission.
               (2)  "Defense community" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 397.001, Local Government Code.
               (3)  "Defense worker" means:
                     (A)  an employee of the United States Department
  of Defense, including a member of the armed forces and a government
  civilian worker;
                     (B)  an employee of a government agency or private
  business, or entity providing a department of defense related
  function, who is employed at a defense facility;
                     (C)  an employee of a business that directly
  provides services or products to the department of defense and
  whose job is directly dependent on defense expenditures; or
                     (D)  an employee or private contractor employed by
  the United States Department of Energy working on a defense or
  department of energy facility in support of a department of defense
  related project.
               (4)  "Defense worker job" means a department of defense
  authorized permanent position or a position held or occupied by one
  or more defense workers for more than 12 months.
               (5)  "Office" means the Texas Economic Development and
  Tourism Office in the office of the governor.
               (6)  "Panel" means the commission's defense economic
  adjustment assistance panel.
               (7)  "Texas Commander's Council" means the consortium
  of commanding officers of the military installations in this state.
         SECTION 2.  Section 436.051(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission is composed of:
               (1)  13 public members, appointed by the governor; and
               (2)  the following ex officio members:
                     (A)  the chair of the committee of the Texas House
  of Representatives that has primary jurisdiction of matters
  concerning defense affairs and military affairs [state-federal
  relations]; and
                     (B)  the chair of the committee [one member] of
  the Texas Senate that has primary jurisdiction of matters
  concerning defense affairs and military affairs [appointed by the
  lieutenant governor].
         SECTION 3.  Section 436.101, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 436.101.  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES [OF COMMISSION].
  (a) The commission shall[:
               [(1)]  advise the governor and the legislature on
  defense and military issues.
         (b)  The commission shall meet not less than once each year
  with the Texas Commander's Council to:
               (1)  discuss the goals and challenges facing military
  installations and develop recommendations for improvements;
               (2)  discuss ways the state can enhance and complement
  the mission of the military installations in this state; and
               (3)  discuss services available to assist
  transitioning military service members and their families.
         (c)  The commission shall act as the liaison to improve
  coordination among the Texas Commander's Council and relevant state
  agencies including:
               (1)  the Texas Veterans Commission;
               (2)  the Veterans' Land Board;
               (3)  the Public Utility Commission of Texas; and
               (4)  the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
         (d)  The commission shall:
               (1)  administer and monitor the implementation of this
  chapter;
               (2)  establish criteria and procedures and award grants
  equitably based on evaluations, giving preference to defense
  communities that may be adversely affected over positively affected
  defense communities;
               (3)  [and economic and industrial development related
  to military issues;
               [(2)]  make recommendations regarding:
                     (A)  the development of policies and plans to
  support the long-term viability and prosperity of the military,
  active and civilian, in this state, including promoting strategic
  regional alliances that may extend over state lines; and
                     (B)  the development of methods to assist
  defense-dependent communities in the design and execution of
  programs that enhance a community's relationship with military
  installations and defense-related businesses;
               (4) [(3)]  provide information to communities, the
  legislature, the state's congressional delegation, and state
  agencies regarding federal actions affecting military
  installations and missions;
               (5) [(4)]  serve as a clearinghouse for:
                     (A)  defense economic adjustment and transition
  information and activities along with the Texas Business and
  Community Economic Development Clearinghouse; and
                     (B)  information about:
                           (i)  issues related to the operating costs,
  missions, and strategic value of federal military installations
  located in the state;
                           (ii)  employment issues for communities that
  depend on defense bases and in defense-related businesses; and
                           (iii)  defense strategies and incentive
  programs that other states are using to maintain, expand, and
  attract new defense contractors;
               (6) [(5)]  provide assistance to communities that have
  experienced a defense-related closure or realignment;
               (7) [(6)]  assist communities in the design and
  execution of programs that enhance a community's relationship with
  military installations and defense-related businesses, including
  regional alliances that may extend over state lines;
               (8) [(7)]  assist communities in the retention and
  recruiting of defense-related businesses, including fostering
  strategic regional alliances that may extend over state lines;
               (9) [(8)]  encourage economic development in this
  state by fostering the development of industries related to defense
  affairs; and
               (10) [(9)]  advocate for the preservation and
  expansion of missions of reservists at military installations in
  the state.
         (e)  The commission may use an amount equal to not more than
  two percent of the total amount of grants authorized during each
  biennium to administer this chapter and other law relating to
  readjustment of defense communities.
         (f)  The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
  this chapter.
         SECTION 4.  The heading to Section 436.103, Government Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 436.103.  BIENNIAL [ANNUAL] REPORT; ANNUAL MEETING.
         SECTION 5.  Section 436.103(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  Not later than July 1 of each even-numbered year, the
  commission shall prepare and submit a report to the governor and the
  legislature about the active military installations, communities
  that depend on military installations, and defense-related
  businesses in this state.  The commission may update the report in
  an odd-numbered year.  The report must include:
               (1)  an economic impact statement describing in detail
  the effect of the military on the economy of this state;
               (2)  a statewide assessment of active military
  installations and current missions;
               (3)  a statewide strategy to attract new military
  missions and defense-related business and include specific actions
  that add military value to existing military installations;
               (4)  a list of state and federal activities that have
  significant impact on active military installations and current
  missions;
               (5)  a statement identifying:
                     (A)  the state and federal programs and services
  that assist communities impacted by military base closures or
  realignments and the efforts to coordinate those programs; and
                     (B)  the efforts to coordinate state agency
  programs and services that assist communities in retaining active
  military installations and current missions;
               (6)  an evaluation of initiatives to retain existing
  defense-related businesses; [and]
               (7)  a list of agencies with regulations, policies,
  programs, or services that impact the operating costs or strategic
  value of federal military installations and activities in the
  state; and
               (8)  a summary of the commission's meetings with the
  Texas Commander's Council under Section 436.101(b), including
  recommendations, goals, and challenges based on those meetings.
         SECTION 6.  Section 436.152, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 436.152.  ANALYSIS OF PROJECTS THAT ADD MILITARY OR
  DEFENSE VALUE; FINANCING. (a) A defense community may submit the
  community's defense base military value enhancement statement
  prepared under Chapter 397, Local Government Code, to the
  commission.
         (b)  On receiving a defense community's defense base
  military value enhancement statement, the commission shall analyze
  the projects included in the statement using the criteria it has
  developed. The commission shall develop project analysis criteria
  based on the criteria the United States Department of Defense uses
  for evaluating military facilities in the department's base
  realignment and closure process.
         (c)  The commission shall determine whether each project
  identified in the defense community's defense base military value
  enhancement statement will enhance the military or defense value of
  the military base or defense facility. The commission shall assist
  the community in prioritizing the projects that enhance the
  military or defense value of a military base or defense facility,
  giving the highest priority to projects that add the most
  [military] value under the commission's project analysis criteria.
         (d)  The commission shall refer the defense community to the
  appropriate state agency that has an existing program to provide
  financing for each project identified in the community's defense
  base military value enhancement statement that adds military or
  defense value to a military base or defense facility.  If there is
  no existing program to finance a project, the office may provide a
  loan of financial assistance to the defense community for the
  project.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 436.153(a), (b), (c), and (d),
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The office may provide a loan of financial assistance to
  a defense community for a project that will enhance the military or
  defense value of a military base or defense facility located in,
  near, or adjacent to the defense community. The loan shall be made
  from the Texas military value revolving loan account established
  under Section 436.156.
         (b)  On receiving an application for a loan under this
  section, the office shall confirm with the commission that the
  project adds military or defense value to the military base or
  defense facility.
         (c)  If the commission determines that a project will enhance
  the military or defense value of the military base or defense
  facility, the office shall, in accordance with the criteria adopted
  by the office under Section 436.154(a):
               (1)  analyze the creditworthiness of the defense
  community to determine the defense community's ability to repay the
  loan; and
               (2)  evaluate the feasibility of the project to be
  financed to ensure that the defense community has pledged a source
  of revenue or taxes sufficient to repay the loan for the project.
         (d)  If the commission confirms that the funds will be used
  to enhance the military or defense value of the military base or
  defense facility based on the base realignment and closure
  criteria, to overcome an action of the United States Department of
  Defense that will negatively impact the military base or defense
  facility, or for the recruitment or retention of a defense facility
  and the office determines that the project is financially feasible,
  the executive director of the office may award a loan to the defense
  community for the project.  The office shall enter into a written
  agreement with a defense community that is awarded a loan.  The
  agreement must contain the terms and conditions of the loan,
  including the loan repayment requirements.
         SECTION 8.  Section 436.1532(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The office may provide a loan of financial assistance to
  a defense community for an infrastructure project to accommodate
  [accomodate] new or expanded military missions assigned to a
  military base or defense facility located in, near, or adjacent to
  the defense community as a result of a United States Department of
  Defense base realignment process that occurs during 2005 or
  later.  The loan shall be made from the Texas military value
  revolving loan account established under Section 436.156.
         SECTION 9.  Section 436.155(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A defense community in this state may borrow money from
  the state, including by direct loan, based on the credit of the
  defense community to finance a project included in the community's
  defense base military value enhancement statement.
         SECTION 10.  Chapter 436, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER E. GRANTS
         Sec. 436.201.  ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) The following
  local governmental entities are eligible for a grant under this
  subchapter:
               (1)  a municipality or county that is a defense
  community;
               (2)  a regional planning commission that has a defense
  community within its boundaries;
               (3)  a public junior college district that is wholly or
  partly located in a defense community;
               (4)  a campus or education extension center of the
  Texas State Technical College System that is located in a defense
  community;
               (5)  a defense base development authority created under
  Chapter 379B, Local Government Code; and
               (6)  a political subdivision that has the power of a
  defense base development authority created under Chapter 379B,
  Local Government Code.
         (b)  An eligible local governmental entity may be awarded a
  grant if the commission determines that the entity may be adversely
  or positively affected by an anticipated, planned, announced, or
  implemented action of the United States Department of Defense to
  close, reduce, increase, or otherwise realign defense worker jobs
  or facilities.
         Sec. 436.202.  GRANT CRITERIA. (a) From money appropriated
  for this purpose, the commission may make a grant to an eligible
  local governmental entity to:
               (1)  enable the entity to match money or meet an
  investment requirement necessary to receive federal assistance
  provided to the local governmental entity for responding to or
  recovering from an event described by Section 436.201(b);
               (2)  match the entity's contribution for a purpose
  described by Section 436.203 at a closed or realigned defense
  facility; or
               (3)  construct infrastructure and other projects
  necessary to accommodate a new or expanded military mission at a
  military base or to reduce the impact of an action of the United
  States Department of Defense that will negatively impact a defense
  facility located in or near the entity.
         (b)  The commission may not make a grant for an amount less
  than $50,000 or an amount more than the lesser of:
               (1)  50 percent of the amount of matching money or
  investment that the local governmental entity is required to
  provide, subject to Subsection (c);
               (2)  50 percent of the local governmental entity's
  investment for purposes described by Section 436.203 if federal
  assistance is unavailable; or
               (3)  $2 million.
         (c)  If the local governmental entity demonstrates to the
  commission that, because of a limited budget, the entity lacks the
  resources necessary to provide 50 percent of the amount of matching
  money or investment that the entity is required to provide, the
  commission may make a grant in an amount of not more than 80 percent
  of the amount of that matching money or investment requirement but
  may not make a grant in an amount that exceeds $2 million.
         (d)  The commission may make a grant to an eligible local
  governmental entity without regard to the availability or
  acquisition of matching money.
         Sec. 436.203.  USE OF PROCEEDS. (a) A local governmental
  entity may use the proceeds of a grant awarded under this subchapter
  for the purchase of property, including the purchase of property
  from the United States Department of Defense or its designated
  agent, new construction, rehabilitation or renovation of
  facilities or infrastructure, or purchase of capital equipment or
  facilities insurance.
         (b)  The local governmental entity may deliver the money to a
  special district, development corporation, or other
  instrumentality of this state or the local governmental entity for
  use as provided by this chapter and other applicable law.
         (c)  An eligible local governmental entity described by
  Section 436.201(a)(3) or (4) may use the proceeds of the grant to
  purchase or lease equipment to train defense workers whose jobs
  have been threatened or lost because of an event described by
  Section 436.201(b).
         Sec. 436.204.  APPLICATION FOR GRANT. (a) A local
  governmental entity may apply for a grant under this subchapter to
  the commission on a form prescribed by the commission. The
  commission shall establish periodic application cycles to enable
  the evaluation of groups of applicants.
         (b)  The office may assist a local governmental entity in
  applying for a grant under this chapter.
         Sec. 436.205.  PANEL: EVALUATION OF APPLICATION. (a)  The
  commission shall establish a defense economic adjustment
  assistance panel composed of at least three and not more than five
  professional full-time employees of the office of the governor
  appointed by the director of the commission.
         (b)  The panel shall evaluate each grant application and
  assign the applicant a score based on:
               (1)  the significance of the adverse or positive effect
  within the local governmental entity, including the number of jobs
  that may be lost or gained in relation to the workforce in the local
  governmental entity's jurisdiction and the effect on the entity's
  and surrounding area's economy and tax revenue;
               (2)  the extent to which the local governmental entity
  may have used its existing resources to promote local economic
  development;
               (3)  the amount of any grant that the local
  governmental entity has previously received under this subchapter;
               (4)  the anticipated number of jobs that may be created
  or retained in relation to the amount of the grant sought; and
               (5)  the extent to which the grant will affect the
  region in which the local governmental entity is located.
         Sec. 436.206.  MAKING OF GRANT. The panel shall submit its
  scores to the commission. The commission shall use the scores to
  determine whether to make a grant to an applicant. The commission
  may not make a grant unless the legislature has appropriated the
  money for the grant.
         Sec. 436.207.  DEFENSE COMMUNITY WITH MORE THAN ONE MILITARY
  BASE. For purposes of the preference for adversely affected
  defense communities, a defense community that contains or is in
  proximity to more than one military base is considered an adversely
  affected defense community if the local governmental entity is
  applying for a grant under this subchapter for a project relating to
  the military base that is closed or whose operations are
  significantly reduced.
         SECTION 11.  Section 436.151, Government Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 12.  Section 486, Government Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.