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House Bill 7 |
House Author: Darby et al. |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Williams |
House Bill 7 amends the Government Code to require the Legislative Budget Board, in consultation with the comptroller of public accounts, to develop and implement a process to review legislative dedications of revenue and the appropriation and accumulation of dedicated revenue and available dedicated revenue; to develop and implement tools to evaluate the use of available dedicated revenue for state government financing and budgeting; and to develop specific and detailed recommendations on reasonable legislative actions to reduce state government's reliance on available dedicated revenue for budget certification purposes.
With the exception of interest or earnings on revenue deposited in special depository banks designated by the governing board of each state institution of higher education, on an account that accrues interest or other earnings on deposits of state or federal money the diversion of which is specifically excluded by federal law, on the lifetime license endowment account, and on the game, fish, and water safety account, the bill makes available for any general governmental purpose all interest or other earnings that accrue on all revenue held in an account in the general revenue fund any part of which is available for budget certification and requires the comptroller to deposit the interest and earnings to the credit of the general revenue fund.
The bill amends the Health and Safety Code to reduce the solid waste disposal fees charged by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and to extend the fee exemption for certain composted material to include compost or mulch products other than those used in the operation of a composting and mulch production facility or disposed of in a landfill.
The bill increases from one-half to two-thirds the share of TCEQ revenue from solid waste disposal and transportation fees to be dedicated to TCEQ programs, including site remediation programs, program support activities, and other activities that will enhance the state's solid waste management program; proportionally reduces the share of that revenue to be dedicated to local and regional solid waste projects and the update and maintenance of applicable regional plans; and requires TCEQ to issue a biennial report to the legislature detailing how the money was spent.
The bill adds a temporary authorization, effective until September 30, 2014, to use money in the hazardous and solid waste remediation fee account attributable to fees imposed on the sale of batteries for environmental remediation at the site of a closed battery recycling facility within a municipality's boundaries if the municipality submits to TCEQ a voluntary compliance plan for the site and is paying or has paid for part of the costs of that remediation.
The bill expands the purposes for which money in the 9-1-1 services fee fund may be appropriated to the Commission on State Emergency Communications and, under certain conditions, authorizes appropriations from the fund to assist volunteer fire departments under the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The bill authorizes money collected from the 9-1-1 emergency services fee imposed on wireless telecommunications connections to be used for those purposes for which money in the 9-1-1 services fee fund may be appropriated to the commission.
The bill authorizes appropriations from the designated trauma facility and emergency medical services account to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for graduate-level medical education or nursing education programs, as well as for other approved purposes.
The bill amends the Insurance Code to change the amount of the comptroller's assessment against all applicable insurers for rural fire protection from a combined total of $30 million for each 12-month period to amounts for each state fiscal year necessary, as determined by the commissioner of insurance, to collect, in total, the lesser of the total appropriation from the volunteer fire department assistance fund account in the general revenue fund in the General Appropriations Act for that state fiscal year and $30 million.
The bill amends the Natural Resources Code to expand the authorized uses of money in the oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund; to require the Railroad Commission of Texas to adopt all necessary rules relating to activities regarding the use of alternative fuels that are or have the potential to be effective in improving the state's air quality, energy security, or economy; and to require the railroad commission to use the fund to pay for such activities, including certain specified direct and indirect costs. The bill requires money from fees collected by the railroad commission for issuing a letter of determination stating the total depth of surface casing required for an oil or gas well to be deposited in the fund and removes a provision relating to an authorized use of money collected from a fee for an expedited letter of determination.
The bill amends the Tax Code to require the comptroller to transfer to appropriate Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) accounts, in addition to amounts appropriated to TPWD from the proceeds from the collection of sales and use tax imposed on the sale, storage, or use of sporting goods, amounts from those proceeds sufficient to fund the state contributions for employee benefits of TPWD employees whose salaries or wages are paid from TPWD accounts receiving the transfers.
The bill amends the Transportation Code to require the comptroller, not later than September 30, 2013, to eliminate all dedicated accounts established for specialty license plates and to set aside the balances of those accounts so that the balances may be appropriated only for the purposes intended as provided by the dedications. The bill requires the portion of a fee for the issuance of specialty license plates that is designated for deposit to a dedicated account, on and after September 1, 2013, to be paid instead to the credit of an account in a trust fund created by the comptroller outside the general revenue fund. The bill requires the comptroller to administer the trust fund and accounts and authorizes the comptroller to allocate each account's corpus and earnings only in accordance with the dedication of revenue deposited to the account.
The bill amends the Utilities Code to set provisions relating to the system benefit fund to expire on September 1, 2016. The bill adds temporary provisions, set to expire that same date, to require the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to set the nonbypassable system benefit fund fee at zero cents per megawatt hour for the period beginning September 1, 2013, and ending September 1, 2016, and sets out the purposes for which money in the fund may be appropriated during that interval.
The bill amends the Water Code to add temporary provisions, set to expire September 1, 2021, to require TCEQ to prepare and submit to the legislature before November 1 of each year an annual report on the status of corrective actions for underground and aboveground storage tank sites reported to TCEQ as having had a release needing corrective action and sets out specific content requirements for those reports.
Effective September 1, 2015, the bill repeals an Education Code requirement for each institution of higher education to set aside a portion of the tuition collected from each student enrolled in a doctoral degree program other than a law or health professional degree program to be used for the doctoral incentive loan repayment program.
The bill repeals Natural Resources Code provisions relating to alternative fuels research and education, abolishes the alternative fuels research and education fund, and provides for the transfer and deposit of related money and claims, as applicable.
The bill appropriates $500 million from the system benefit fund, in addition to other appropriations made from the fund by the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, to the PUC for purposes of eliminating the fund balance as described by the bill for the period beginning June 14, 2013, and ending August 31, 2014.
Except as otherwise provided, the bill takes effect June 14, 2013.