By: Lucio III, Anderson of Dallas H.B. No. 2358
        (Senate Sponsor - Eltife)
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2015;
  May 6, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
  and Commerce; May 15, 2015, reported favorably by the following
  vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 15, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the exemption from certain registration and licensing
  requirements and taxes for certain businesses and employees who
  enter this state in response to a disaster or emergency.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 112 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 112. FACILITATING BUSINESS RAPID RESPONSE TO STATE
  DECLARED DISASTERS ACT
         Sec. 112.001.  SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
  Facilitating Business Rapid Response to State Declared Disasters
  Act.
         Sec. 112.002.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds
  that:
               (1)  during times of storm, flood, fire, earthquake,
  hurricane, or other disaster or emergency, many Texas businesses
  bring in resources and personnel from other states on a temporary
  basis to expedite the often enormous and overwhelming tasks of
  cleaning up, restoring, and repairing damaged buildings,
  equipment, and property, and deploying and building new replacement
  facilities in the state;
               (2)  accomplishing those tasks may necessitate
  out-of-state businesses, including out-of-state affiliates of
  Texas businesses, bringing into Texas resources, property, and
  personnel that previously had no connection to Texas to perform
  business activities in Texas, including repairing, renovating,
  installing, and building, for extended periods of time;
               (3)  during those periods of time, out-of-state
  businesses and employees performing business activities in Texas on
  a temporary basis solely for the purpose of helping the state
  recover from a disaster or emergency should not be burdened by any
  requirements that the out-of-state businesses or employees pay
  taxes as a result of performing those activities; and
               (4)  to ensure that out-of-state businesses may focus
  on quickly responding to the needs of Texas and its citizens during
  a disaster or emergency, it is appropriate for the legislature to
  provide that those businesses and their employees are not subject
  to certain state and local registration and licensing requirements
  and taxes for performing business activities before, during, and
  after the disaster or emergency to repair and restore devastating
  damage to critical property and infrastructure in the state.
         Sec. 112.003.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Affiliate" means a member of a combined group as
  that term is described by Section 171.1014, Tax Code.
               (2)  "Critical infrastructure" means equipment and
  property that is owned or used by a telecommunications provider or
  cable operator or for communications networks, electric
  generation, electric transmission and distribution systems,
  natural gas and natural gas liquids gathering, processing, and
  storage, transmission and distribution systems, and water
  pipelines and related support facilities, equipment, and property
  that serve multiple persons, including buildings, offices,
  structures, lines, poles, and pipes.
               (3)  "Declared state disaster or emergency" means a
  disaster or emergency event that occurs in this state and:
                     (A)  in response to which the governor issues an
  executive order or proclamation declaring a state of disaster or a
  state of emergency; or
                     (B)  that the president of the United States
  declares a major disaster or emergency.
               (4)  "Disaster- or emergency-related work" means
  repairing, renovating, installing, building, rendering services,
  or performing other business activities relating to the repair or
  replacement of critical infrastructure that has been damaged,
  impaired, or destroyed by a declared state disaster or emergency.
               (5)  "Disaster response period" means:
                     (A)  the period that:
                           (i)  begins on the 10th day before the date
  of the earliest event establishing a declared state disaster or
  emergency by the issuance of an executive order or proclamation by
  the governor or a declaration of the president of the United States;
  and
                           (ii)  ends on the earlier of the 120th day
  after the start date or the 60th day after the ending date of the
  disaster or emergency period established by the executive order or
  proclamation or declaration, or on a later date as determined by an
  executive order or proclamation by the governor; or
                     (B)  the period that, with respect to an
  out-of-state business entity described by this paragraph:
                           (i)  begins on the date that the
  out-of-state business entity enters this state in good faith under
  a mutual assistance agreement and in anticipation of a state
  disaster or emergency, regardless of whether a state disaster or
  emergency is actually declared; and
                           (ii)  ends on the earlier of the date that
  the work is concluded or the seventh day after the out-of-state
  business entity enters this state.
               (6)  "In-state business entity" means a domestic entity
  or foreign entity that is authorized to transact business in this
  state immediately before a disaster response period.
               (7)  "Mutual assistance agreement" means an agreement
  to which one or more business entities are parties and under which a
  public utility, municipally owned utility, or joint agency owning,
  operating, or owning and operating critical infrastructure used for
  electric generation, transmission, or distribution in this state
  may request that an out-of-state business entity perform work in
  this state in anticipation of a state disaster or emergency.
               (8)  "Out-of-state business entity" means a foreign
  entity that enters this state at the request of an in-state business
  entity under a mutual assistance agreement or is an affiliate of an
  in-state business entity and:
                     (A)  that:
                           (i)  except with respect to the performance
  of disaster- or emergency-related work:
                                 (a)  has no physical presence in this
  state and is not authorized to transact business in this state
  immediately before a disaster response period; and
                                 (b)  is not registered with the
  secretary of state to transact business in this state, does not file
  a tax report with this state or a political subdivision of this
  state, and does not have a nexus with this state for the purpose of
  taxation during the tax year immediately preceding the disaster
  response period; and
                           (ii)  enters this state at the request of an
  in-state business entity, the state, or a political subdivision of
  this state to perform disaster- or emergency-related work in this
  state during the disaster response period; or
                     (B)  that performs work in this state under a
  mutual assistance agreement.
               (9)  "Out-of-state employee" means an employee who
  enters this state to perform disaster- or emergency-related work
  during a disaster response period. The term does not include a
  security guard or other employee whose primary function is to
  provide security services or an employee whose primary function is
  to install or repair heating or cooling equipment.
         Sec. 112.004.  EXEMPTION OF OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESS ENTITY
  FROM CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS DURING DISASTER RESPONSE PERIOD.
  Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by Section
  112.006, an out-of-state business entity whose transaction of
  business in this state is limited to the performance of disaster- or
  emergency-related work during a disaster response period is not
  required to:
               (1)  register with the secretary of state;
               (2)  file a tax report with or pay taxes or fees to this
  state or a political subdivision of this state;
               (3)  pay an ad valorem tax or use tax on equipment that
  is brought into the state by the entity, used only by the entity to
  perform disaster- or emergency-related work during the disaster
  response period, and removed from the state by the entity following
  the disaster response period;
               (4)  comply with state or local business licensing or
  registration requirements; or
               (5)  comply with state or local occupational licensing
  requirements or related fees.
         Sec. 112.005.  EXEMPTION OF OUT-OF-STATE EMPLOYEE FROM
  CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS DURING DISASTER RESPONSE PERIOD.  
  Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by Section
  112.006, an out-of-state employee whose only employment in this
  state is for the performance of disaster- or emergency-related work
  during a disaster response period is not required to:
               (1)  file a tax report with or pay taxes or fees to this
  state or a political subdivision of this state; or
               (2)  comply with state or local occupational licensing
  requirements or related fees, if the employee is in substantial
  compliance with applicable occupational licensing requirements in
  the employee's state of residence or principal employment.
         Sec. 112.006.  TRANSACTION TAXES AND FEES. An out-of-state
  business entity whose transaction of business in this state is
  limited to the performance of disaster- or emergency-related work
  during a disaster response period or an out-of-state employee whose
  only employment in this state is for the performance of disaster- or
  emergency-related work during a disaster response period is subject
  to a transaction tax or fee, including a motor fuels tax, sales or
  use tax, hotel occupancy tax, and the tax imposed on the rental of a
  motor vehicle, that is imposed in this state, unless the entity or
  employee is otherwise exempt from the tax or fee.
         Sec. 112.007.  NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES. (a) If requested
  by the secretary of state, an out-of-state business entity shall
  provide to the secretary of state a statement that the entity came
  to this state for the purpose of performing disaster- or
  emergency-related work during a disaster response period and that
  includes:
               (1)  the entity's name;
               (2)  the entity's jurisdiction of formation;
               (3)  the address of the principal office of the entity;
               (4)  the entity's federal tax identification number;
               (5)  the date that the entity entered the state; and
               (6)  contact information for the entity.
         (b)  If requested by the secretary of state, an in-state
  business entity shall provide to the secretary of state, along with
  the in-state business entity's contact information, the
  information listed in Subsection (a) for any affiliate of the
  in-state business entity that entered the state as an out-of-state
  business entity.
         (c)  The secretary of state shall keep records of and make
  available to the public any statements or information provided to
  the secretary of state under this section.
         Sec. 112.008.  OBLIGATIONS OF OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESS
  ENTITIES AND EMPLOYEES AFTER DISASTER RESPONSE PERIOD. An
  out-of-state business entity or out-of-state employee who remains
  in this state after a disaster response period is not entitled to
  any exemptions from obligations provided by this chapter.
         Sec. 112.009.  REGULATIONS. The secretary of state shall
  adopt regulations, including developing any necessary forms or
  processes, to implement this chapter.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  Subchapter B, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is
  amended by adding Section 151.0241 to read as follows:
         Sec. 151.0241.  PERSONS PERFORMING DISASTER- OR
  EMERGENCY-RELATED WORK.  (a)  In this section, "disaster- or
  emergency-related work," "disaster response period," and
  "out-of-state business entity" have the meanings assigned by
  Section 112.003, Business & Commerce Code.
         (b)  An out-of-state business entity is not engaged in
  business in this state for purposes of Sections 151.107 and 151.403
  or any other provision of this chapter applicable to a person
  engaged in business in this state if the entity's physical presence
  in this state is solely from the entity's performance of disaster-
  or emergency-related work during a disaster response period.
         (b)  Section 151.0241, Tax Code, as added by this section,
  does not affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of
  this Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not
  been enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
  collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
  the liability for those taxes.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2015.
 
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