Bill Text: TX HB2977 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub

---

Bill Title: Relating to issues affecting counties and certain other governmental entities; authorizing fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-05-27 - Placed on intent calendar [HB2977 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB2977-Comm_Sub.html

---

By: Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 2977
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
May 12, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
Intergovernmental Relations; May 26, 2015, reported adversely,
with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4,
Nays 2; May 26, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2977 By: Lucio

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to issues affecting counties and certain other
governmental entities; authorizing fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 1, Family Code, is amended
by adding Section 1.109 to read as follows:
Sec. 1.109. CERTAIN MARRIAGE LICENSES AND DECLARATIONS OF
INFORMAL MARRIAGE PROHIBITED. (a) This state or a political
subdivision of this state may not use any funds to issue, enforce,
or recognize a marriage license or declaration of informal marriage
for a union other than a union between one man and one woman.
(b) An employee or official of this state or a political
subdivision of this state may not issue, enforce, or recognize a
marriage license or declaration of informal marriage for a union
other than a union between one man and one woman.
(c) This state or a political subdivision of this state may
not use any funds to enforce an order requiring the issuance,
enforcement, or recognition of a marriage license or declaration of
informal marriage for a union other than a union between one man and
one woman.
SECTION 2. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter H,
Chapter 51, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 51.712 to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.712. ADDITIONAL FILING FEE FOR CIVIL CASES IN
KAUFMAN COUNTY. (a) This section applies only to district courts,
statutory probate courts, county courts at law, and justice courts
in Kaufman County.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section and in
addition to all other fees authorized or required by other law, the
clerk of a court shall collect a filing fee of not more than $15 in
each civil case filed in the court to be used for the construction,
renovation, or improvement of the facilities that house the Kaufman
courts collecting the fee.
(c) Court fees due under this section shall be collected in
the same manner as other fees, fines, or costs are collected in the
case.
(d) The clerk shall send the fees collected under this
section to the county treasurer or to any other official who
discharges the duties commonly assigned to the county treasurer at
least as frequently as monthly. The treasurer or other official
shall deposit the fees in a special account in the county treasury
dedicated to the construction, renovation, or improvement of the
facilities that house the courts collecting the fee.
(e) This section applies only to fees for a 12-month period
beginning July 1, if the commissioners court:
(1) adopts a resolution authorizing a fee of not more
than $15; and
(2) files the resolution with the county treasurer or
with any other official who discharges the duties commonly assigned
to the county treasurer not later than June 1 immediately preceding
the first 12-month period during which the fees are to be collected.
(f) A resolution adopted under Subsection (e) continues
from year to year until July 1, 2030, allowing the county to collect
fees under the terms of this section until the resolution is
rescinded.
(g) The commissioners court may rescind a resolution
adopted under Subsection (e) by adopting a resolution rescinding
the resolution and submitting the rescission resolution to the
county treasurer or to any other official who discharges the duties
commonly assigned to the county treasurer not later than June 1
preceding the beginning of the first day of the county fiscal year.
The commissioners court may adopt an additional resolution in the
manner provided by Subsection (e) after rescinding a previous
resolution under that subsection.
(h) A fee established under a particular resolution is
abolished on the earlier of:
(1) the date a resolution adopted under Subsection (e)
is rescinded as provided by Subsection (g); or
(2) July 1, 2030.
SECTION 3. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter D,
Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section
101.061193 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.061193. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COURT FEES FOR COURT
FACILITIES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a district court in
Kaufman County shall collect an additional filing fee of not more
than $15 under Section 51.712, Government Code, in civil cases to
fund the construction, renovation, or improvement of court
facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 4. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter E,
Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section
101.081196 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.081196. ADDITIONAL STATUTORY COUNTY COURT FEES FOR
COURT FACILITIES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a statutory county
court in Kaufman County shall collect an additional filing fee of
not more than $15 under Section 51.712, Government Code, in civil
cases to fund the construction, renovation, or improvement of court
facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 5. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter F,
Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section
101.101191 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.101191. ADDITIONAL STATUTORY PROBATE COURT FEES
FOR COURT FACILITIES: GOVERNMENT CODE. The clerk of a statutory
probate court in Kaufman County shall collect an additional filing
fee of not more than $15 under Section 51.712, Government Code, in
civil cases to fund the construction, renovation, or improvement of
court facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 6. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter H,
Chapter 101, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 101.143
to read as follows:
Sec. 101.143. ADDITIONAL JUSTICE COURT FEE FOR COURT
FACILITIES COLLECTED BY CLERK. The clerk of a justice court in
Kaufman County shall collect an additional filing fee of not more
than $15 under Section 51.712, Government Code, in civil cases to
fund the construction, renovation, or improvement of court
facilities, if authorized by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 7. Section 1502.056, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For a municipality in a county that contains an
international border and borders the Gulf of Mexico, the first lien
against the revenue of a municipally owned utility system that
secures the payment of public securities issued or obligations
incurred under this chapter also applies to funding, as a necessary
operations expense, for a bill payment assistance program for the
utility system's customers who:
(1) have been determined by the municipality to be
low-income customers;
(2) are military veterans who have significantly
decreased abilities to regulate their bodies' core temperatures
because of severe burns received in combat; or
(3) are elderly and low-income customers as determined
by the municipality.
SECTION 8. Section 194.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A county clerk may not file, and the vital statistics
unit may not enter into the vital statistics system, a document copy
described by Subsection (a) or (b) that is associated with a union
other than a union between one man and one woman. If the vital
statistics unit determines that the document copy is associated
with a union other than a union between one man and one woman, the
vital statistics unit shall provide the document copy to the
attorney general.
SECTION 9. Section 285.101, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) This subchapter applies only to a hospital, hospital
district, or authority created and operated under Article IX, Texas
Constitution, under a special law, or under this title [that is
located in:
[(1) a county with a population of 35,000 or less;
[(2) those portions of extended municipalities that
the federal census bureau has determined to be rural; or
[(3) an area that is not delineated as an urbanized
area by the federal census bureau].
(b-1) A facility or service under Subsection (b) may be
located or offered, as applicable, in any location that the
governing body of the hospital, hospital district, or authority
considers to be in the best interest of the hospital, hospital
district, or authority, subject to any limitation imposed by:
(1) a rule of the Department of State Health Services;
or
(2) an order of the commissioners court of a county in
which any part of the facility will be located or the service will
be offered, if the county in which any part of the facility will be
located or the service will be offered does not have a public
hospital, hospital district, or hospital authority.
SECTION 10. Section 288.001(4), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(4) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services
[licensed under Chapter 241].
SECTION 11. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 291 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 291. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN
CERTAIN COUNTIES BORDERING ARKANSAS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 291.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services.
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this
chapter.
(3) "Program" means the county health care provider
participation program authorized by this chapter.
Sec. 291.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county that:
(1) is not served by a hospital district or a public
hospital;
(2) is located on the state border with Arkansas; and
(3) has a population of more than 90,000.
Sec. 291.003. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM; PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) A county health care
provider participation program authorizes a county to collect a
mandatory payment from each institutional health care provider
located in the county to be deposited in a local provider
participation fund established by the county. Money in the fund may
be used by the county to fund certain intergovernmental transfers
and indigent care programs as provided by this chapter.
(b) The commissioners court may adopt an order authorizing a
county to participate in the program, subject to the limitations
provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT
Sec. 291.051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY
PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an institutional
health care provider in the county only in the manner provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 291.052. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. The commissioners
court of a county may not authorize the county to collect a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter without an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commissioners
court.
Sec. 291.053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. After the
commissioners court has voted to require a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter, the commissioners court may adopt
rules relating to the administration of the mandatory payment.
Sec. 291.054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING; INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter shall require each institutional health care provider to
submit to the county a copy of any financial and utilization data
required by and reported to the Department of State Health Services
under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
to implement those sections.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may inspect the
records of an institutional health care provider to the extent
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Subsection
(a).
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 291.101. HEARING. (a) Each year, the commissioners
court of a county that collects a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any
mandatory payments that the commissioners court intends to require
during the year and how the revenue derived from those payments is
to be spent.
(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court of
the county shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county.
(c) A representative of a paying hospital is entitled to
appear at the time and place designated in the public notice and to
be heard regarding any matter related to the mandatory payments
authorized under this chapter.
Sec. 291.102. DEPOSITORY. (a) The commissioners court of
each county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter by resolution shall designate one or more banks located in
the county as the depository for mandatory payments received by the
county. A bank designated as a depository serves for two years or
until a successor is designated.
(b) All income received by a county under this chapter,
including the revenue from mandatory payments remaining after
discounts and fees for assessing and collecting the payments are
deducted, shall be deposited with the county depository in the
county's local provider participation fund and may be withdrawn
only as provided by this chapter.
(c) All funds under this chapter shall be secured in the
manner provided for securing county funds.
Sec. 291.103. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND;
AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. (a) Each county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a
local provider participation fund.
(b) The local provider participation fund of a county
consists of:
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments;
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal
matching payment; and
(3) the earnings of the fund.
(c) Money deposited to the local provider participation
fund may be used only to:
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county
to the state to provide:
(A) the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment
programs; or
(B) payments to Medicaid managed care
organizations that are dedicated for payment to hospitals;
(2) subsidize indigent programs;
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county
solely for activities under this chapter;
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected
in error from a paying hospital; and
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share
of money received by the county from the Health and Human Services
Commission that is not used to fund the nonfederal share of Medicaid
supplemental payment program payments.
(d) Money in the local provider participation fund may not
be commingled with other county funds.
(e) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by
Subsection (c)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS
Sec. 291.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter may require an annual mandatory
payment to be assessed on the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the county. The
commissioners court may provide for the mandatory payment to be
assessed quarterly. In the first year in which the mandatory
payment is required, the mandatory payment is assessed on the net
patient revenue of an institutional health care provider as
determined by the data reported to the Department of State Health
Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year
ending in 2013 or, if the institutional health care provider did not
report any data under those sections in that fiscal year, as
determined by the institutional health care provider's Medicare
cost report submitted for the 2013 fiscal year or for the closest
subsequent fiscal year for which the provider submitted the
Medicare cost report. The county shall update the amount of the
mandatory payment on an annual basis.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory
payment required of each paying hospital may not exceed an amount
that, when added to the amount of the mandatory payments required
from all other paying hospitals in the county, equals an amount of
revenue that exceeds six percent of the aggregate net patient
revenue of all paying hospitals in the county.
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter, to fund an intergovernmental
transfer described by Section 291.103(c)(1), and to pay for
indigent programs, except that the amount of revenue from mandatory
payments used for administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter in a year may not exceed the lesser of
four percent of the total revenue generated from the mandatory
payment or $20,000.
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient.
Sec. 291.152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY
PAYMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter. The county tax assessor-collector shall charge
and deduct from mandatory payments collected for the county a fee
for collecting the mandatory payment in an amount determined by the
commissioners court of the county, not to exceed the county tax
assessor-collector's usual and customary charges.
(b) If determined by the commissioners court to be
appropriate, the commissioners court may contract for the
assessment and collection of mandatory payments in the manner
provided by Title 1, Tax Code, for the assessment and collection of
ad valorem taxes.
(c) Revenue from a fee charged by a county tax
assessor-collector for collecting the mandatory payment shall be
deposited in the county general fund and, if appropriate, shall be
reported as fees of the county tax assessor-collector.
Sec. 291.153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS.
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad
valorem taxes.
Sec. 291.154. PURPOSE; CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR
PROCEDURE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to generate revenue
by collecting from institutional health care providers a mandatory
payment to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program.
(b) To the extent any provision or procedure under this
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
SECTION 12. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 293 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 293. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN
CERTAIN COUNTIES IN THE TEXAS-LOUISIANA BORDER REGION
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 293.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services.
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this
chapter.
(3) "Program" means the county health care provider
participation program authorized by this chapter.
Sec. 293.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county that:
(1) is not served by a hospital district;
(2) is located in the Texas-Louisiana border region,
as that region is defined by Section 2056.002, Government Code; and
(3) has a population of more than 100,000 but less than
200,000.
Sec. 293.003. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM; PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) A county health care
provider participation program authorizes a county to collect a
mandatory payment from each institutional health care provider
located in the county to be deposited in a local provider
participation fund established by the county. Money in the fund may
be used by the county to fund certain intergovernmental transfers
and indigent care programs as provided by this chapter.
(b) The commissioners court may adopt an order authorizing a
county to participate in the program, subject to the limitations
provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT
Sec. 293.051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY
PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an institutional
health care provider in the county only in the manner provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 293.052. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. The commissioners
court of a county may not authorize the county to collect a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter without an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commissioners
court.
Sec. 293.053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. After the
commissioners court has voted to require a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter, the commissioners court may adopt
rules relating to the administration of the mandatory payment.
Sec. 293.054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING; INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter shall require each institutional health care provider to
submit to the county a copy of any financial and utilization data
required by and reported to the Department of State Health Services
under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
to implement those sections.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may inspect the
records of an institutional health care provider to the extent
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Subsection
(a).
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 293.101. HEARING. (a) Each year, the commissioners
court of a county that collects a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any
mandatory payments that the commissioners court intends to require
during the year and how the revenue derived from those payments is
to be spent.
(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court of
the county shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county.
(c) A representative of a paying hospital is entitled to
appear at the time and place designated in the public notice and to
be heard regarding any matter related to the mandatory payments
authorized under this chapter.
Sec. 293.102. DEPOSITORY. (a) The commissioners court of
each county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter by resolution shall designate one or more banks located in
the county as the depository for mandatory payments received by the
county. A bank designated as a depository serves for two years or
until a successor is designated.
(b) All income received by a county under this chapter,
including the revenue from mandatory payments remaining after
discounts and fees for assessing and collecting the payments are
deducted, shall be deposited with the county depository in the
county's local provider participation fund and may be withdrawn
only as provided by this chapter.
(c) All funds under this chapter shall be secured in the
manner provided for securing county funds.
Sec. 293.103. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND;
AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. (a) Each county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a
local provider participation fund.
(b) The local provider participation fund of a county
consists of:
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments;
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal
matching payment; and
(3) the earnings of the fund.
(c) Money deposited to the local provider participation
fund may be used only to:
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county
to the state to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment
programs;
(2) subsidize indigent programs;
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county
solely for activities under this chapter;
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected
in error from a paying hospital; and
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share
of money received by the county from the Health and Human Services
Commission that is not used to fund the nonfederal share of Medicaid
supplemental payment program payments.
(d) Money in the local provider participation fund may not
be commingled with other county funds.
(e) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by
Subsection (c)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS
Sec. 293.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter may require an annual mandatory
payment to be assessed on the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the county. The
commissioners court may provide for the mandatory payment to be
assessed quarterly. In the first year in which the mandatory
payment is required, the mandatory payment is assessed on the net
patient revenue of an institutional health care provider as
determined by the data reported to the Department of State Health
Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year
ending in 2013 or, if the institutional health care provider did not
report any data under those sections in that fiscal year, as
determined by the institutional health care provider's cost report
submitted for the 2013 fiscal year or for the closest subsequent
fiscal year for which the provider submitted the cost report. The
county shall update the amount of the mandatory payment on an annual
basis.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory
payment required of each paying hospital may not exceed an amount
that, when added to the amount of the mandatory payments required
from all other paying hospitals in the county, equals an amount of
revenue that exceeds six percent of the aggregate net patient
revenue of all paying hospitals in the county.
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter, to fund the nonfederal share of a
Medicaid supplemental payment program, and to pay for indigent
programs, except that the amount of revenue from mandatory payments
used for administrative expenses of the county for activities under
this chapter in a year may not exceed the lesser of four percent of
the total revenue generated from the mandatory payment or $20,000.
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient.
Sec. 293.152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY
PAYMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter. The county tax assessor-collector shall charge
and deduct from mandatory payments collected for the county a fee
for collecting the mandatory payment in an amount determined by the
commissioners court of the county, not to exceed the county tax
assessor-collector's usual and customary charges.
(b) If determined by the commissioners court to be
appropriate, the commissioners court may contract for the
assessment and collection of mandatory payments in the manner
provided by Title 1, Tax Code, for the assessment and collection of
ad valorem taxes.
(c) Revenue from a fee charged by a county tax
assessor-collector for collecting the mandatory payment shall be
deposited in the county general fund and, if appropriate, shall be
reported as fees of the county tax assessor-collector.
Sec. 293.153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS.
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad
valorem taxes.
Sec. 293.154. PURPOSE; CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR
PROCEDURE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to generate revenue
by collecting from institutional health care providers a mandatory
payment to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program.
(b) To the extent any provision or procedure under this
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
SECTION 13. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 294 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 294. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN
CERTAIN COUNTIES CONTAINING A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 294.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital licensed under Chapter 241.
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this
chapter.
(3) "Program" means the county health care provider
participation program authorized by this chapter.
Sec. 294.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county that:
(1) is not served by a hospital district or a public
hospital;
(2) contains a private institution of higher education
with a student enrollment of more than 12,000; and
(3) has a population of less than 250,000.
Sec. 294.003. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM; PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) A county health care
provider participation program authorizes a county to collect a
mandatory payment from each institutional health care provider
located in the county to be deposited in a local provider
participation fund established by the county. Money in the fund may
be used by the county to fund certain intergovernmental transfers
and indigent care programs as provided by this chapter.
(b) The commissioners court may adopt an order authorizing a
county to participate in the program, subject to the limitations
provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT
Sec. 294.051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY
PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an institutional
health care provider in the county only in the manner provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 294.052. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. The commissioners
court of a county may not authorize the county to collect a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter without an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commissioners
court.
Sec. 294.053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. After the
commissioners court has voted to require a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter, the commissioners court may adopt
rules relating to the administration of the mandatory payment.
Sec. 294.054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING; INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter shall require each institutional health care provider to
submit to the county a copy of any financial and utilization data
required by and reported to the Department of State Health Services
under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
to implement those sections.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may inspect the
records of an institutional health care provider to the extent
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Subsection
(a).
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 294.101. HEARING. (a) Each year, the commissioners
court of a county that collects a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any
mandatory payments that the commissioners court intends to require
during the year and how the revenue derived from those payments is
to be spent.
(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court of
the county shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county.
(c) A representative of a paying hospital is entitled to
appear at the time and place designated in the public notice and to
be heard regarding any matter related to the mandatory payments
authorized under this chapter.
Sec. 294.102. DEPOSITORY. (a) The commissioners court of
each county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter by resolution shall designate one or more banks located in
the county as the depository for mandatory payments received by the
county. A bank designated as a depository serves for two years or
until a successor is designated.
(b) All income received by a county under this chapter,
including the revenue from mandatory payments remaining after
discounts and fees for assessing and collecting the payments are
deducted, shall be deposited with the county depository in the
county's local provider participation fund and may be withdrawn
only as provided by this chapter.
(c) All funds under this chapter shall be secured in the
manner provided for securing county funds.
Sec. 294.103. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND;
AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. (a) Each county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a
local provider participation fund.
(b) The local provider participation fund of a county
consists of:
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments;
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal
matching payment; and
(3) the earnings of the fund.
(c) Money deposited to the local provider participation
fund may be used only to:
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county
to the state to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment
programs;
(2) subsidize indigent programs;
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county
solely for activities under this chapter;
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected
in error from a paying hospital; and
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share
of money received by the county from the Health and Human Services
Commission that is not used to fund the nonfederal share of Medicaid
supplemental payment program payments.
(d) Money in the local provider participation fund may not
be commingled with other county funds.
(e) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by
Subsection (c)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS
Sec. 294.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter may require an annual mandatory
payment to be assessed quarterly on the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the county. In the
first year in which the mandatory payment is required, the
mandatory payment is assessed on the net patient revenue of an
institutional health care provider as determined by the data
reported to the Department of State Health Services under Sections
311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year ending in 2014. The county
shall update the amount of the mandatory payment on an annual basis.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory
payment required of each paying hospital may not exceed an amount
that, when added to the amount of the mandatory payments required
from all other paying hospitals in the county, equals an amount of
revenue that exceeds six percent of the aggregate net patient
revenue of all paying hospitals in the county.
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter, to fund the nonfederal share of a
Medicaid supplemental payment program, and to pay for indigent
programs, except that the amount of revenue from mandatory payments
used for administrative expenses of the county for activities under
this chapter in a year may not exceed the lesser of four percent of
the total revenue generated from the mandatory payment or $20,000.
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient.
Sec. 294.152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY
PAYMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter. The county tax assessor-collector shall charge
and deduct from mandatory payments collected for the county a fee
for collecting the mandatory payment in an amount determined by the
commissioners court of the county, not to exceed the county tax
assessor-collector's usual and customary charges.
(b) If determined by the commissioners court to be
appropriate, the commissioners court may contract for the
assessment and collection of mandatory payments in the manner
provided by Title 1, Tax Code, for the assessment and collection of
ad valorem taxes.
(c) Revenue from a fee charged by a county tax
assessor-collector for collecting the mandatory payment shall be
deposited in the county general fund and, if appropriate, shall be
reported as fees of the county tax assessor-collector.
Sec. 294.153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS.
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad
valorem taxes.
Sec. 294.154. PURPOSE; CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR
PROCEDURE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to generate revenue
by collecting from institutional health care providers a mandatory
payment to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program.
(b) To the extent any provision or procedure under this
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
SECTION 14. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 296 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 296. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 296.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital that provides inpatient hospital services.
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this
chapter.
(3) "Program" means the county health care provider
participation program authorized by this chapter.
Sec. 296.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county that:
(1) is not served by a hospital district or a public
hospital; and
(2) has a population of less than 200,000 and contains
two municipalities both with populations of 75,000 or more.
Sec. 296.003. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM; PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) A county health care
provider participation program authorizes a county to collect a
mandatory payment from each institutional health care provider
located in the county to be deposited in a local provider
participation fund established by the county. Money in the fund may
be used by the county to fund certain intergovernmental transfers
and indigent care programs as provided by this chapter.
(b) The commissioners court may adopt an order authorizing a
county to participate in the program, subject to the limitations
provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT
Sec. 296.051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY
PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an institutional
health care provider in the county only in the manner provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 296.052. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. The commissioners
court of a county may not authorize the county to collect a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter without an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commissioners
court.
Sec. 296.053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. After the
commissioners court has voted to require a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter, the commissioners court may adopt
rules relating to the administration of the mandatory payment.
Sec. 296.054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING; INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter shall require each institutional health care provider to
submit to the county a copy of any financial and utilization data
required by and reported to the Department of State Health Services
under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
to implement those sections.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may inspect the
records of an institutional health care provider to the extent
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Subsection
(a).
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 296.101. HEARING. (a) Each year, the commissioners
court of a county that collects a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any
mandatory payments that the commissioners court intends to require
during the year and how the revenue derived from those payments is
to be spent.
(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court of
the county shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county.
(c) A representative of a paying hospital is entitled to
appear at the time and place designated in the public notice and to
be heard regarding any matter related to the mandatory payments
authorized under this chapter.
Sec. 296.102. DEPOSITORY. (a) The commissioners court of
each county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter by resolution shall designate one or more banks located in
the county as the depository for mandatory payments received by the
county. A bank designated as a depository serves for two years or
until a successor is designated.
(b) All income received by a county under this chapter,
including the revenue from mandatory payments remaining after
discounts and fees for assessing and collecting the payments are
deducted, shall be deposited with the county depository in the
county's local provider participation fund and may be withdrawn
only as provided by this chapter.
(c) All funds under this chapter shall be secured in the
manner provided for securing county funds.
Sec. 296.103. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND;
AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. (a) Each county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a
local provider participation fund.
(b) The local provider participation fund of a county
consists of:
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments;
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal
matching payment; and
(3) the earnings of the fund.
(c) Money deposited to the local provider participation
fund may be used only to:
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county
to the state to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment
programs;
(2) subsidize indigent programs;
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county
solely for activities under this chapter;
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected
in error from a paying hospital; and
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share
of money received by the county from the Health and Human Services
Commission that is not used to fund the nonfederal share of Medicaid
supplemental payment program payments.
(d) Money in the local provider participation fund may not
be commingled with other county funds.
(e) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by
Subsection (c)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS
Sec. 296.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter may require an annual mandatory
payment to be assessed on the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the county. The
commissioners court may provide for the mandatory payment to be
assessed quarterly. In the first year in which the mandatory
payment is required, the mandatory payment is assessed on the net
patient revenue of an institutional health care provider as
determined by the data reported to the Department of State Health
Services under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year
ending in 2013 or, if the institutional health care provider did not
report any data under those sections in that fiscal year, as
determined by the institutional health care provider's Medicare
cost report submitted for the 2013 fiscal year or for the closest
subsequent fiscal year for which the provider submitted the
Medicare cost report. The county shall update the amount of the
mandatory payment on an annual basis.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory
payment required of each paying hospital may not exceed an amount
that, when added to the amount of the mandatory payments required
from all other paying hospitals in the county, equals an amount of
revenue that exceeds six percent of the aggregate net patient
revenue of all paying hospitals in the county.
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter, to fund an intergovernmental
transfer described by Section 296.103(c)(1), and to pay for
indigent programs, except that the amount of revenue from mandatory
payments used for administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter in a year may not exceed the lesser of
four percent of the total revenue generated from the mandatory
payment or $20,000.
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient.
Sec. 296.152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY
PAYMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter. The county tax assessor-collector shall charge
and deduct from mandatory payments collected for the county a fee
for collecting the mandatory payment in an amount determined by the
commissioners court of the county, not to exceed the county tax
assessor-collector's usual and customary charges.
(b) If determined by the commissioners court to be
appropriate, the commissioners court may contract for the
assessment and collection of mandatory payments in the manner
provided by Title 1, Tax Code, for the assessment and collection of
ad valorem taxes.
(c) Revenue from a fee charged by a county tax
assessor-collector for collecting the mandatory payment shall be
deposited in the county general fund and, if appropriate, shall be
reported as fees of the county tax assessor-collector.
Sec. 296.153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS.
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad
valorem taxes.
Sec. 296.154. PURPOSE; CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR
PROCEDURE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to generate revenue
by collecting from institutional health care providers a mandatory
payment to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program.
(b) To the extent any provision or procedure under this
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
SECTION 15. Subtitle D, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 297 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 297. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION PROGRAM IN
CERTAIN COUNTIES CONTAINING A MILITARY BASE
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 297.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Institutional health care provider" means a
nonpublic hospital licensed under Chapter 241.
(2) "Paying hospital" means an institutional health
care provider required to make a mandatory payment under this
chapter.
(3) "Program" means the county health care provider
participation program authorized by this chapter.
Sec. 297.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county:
(1) that is not served by a hospital district or a
public hospital;
(2) on which a military base with more than 30,000
military personnel is partially located; and
(3) that has a population of more than 300,000.
Sec. 297.003. COUNTY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATION
PROGRAM; PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) A county health care
provider participation program authorizes a county to collect a
mandatory payment from each institutional health care provider
located in the county to be deposited in a local provider
participation fund established by the county. Money in the fund may
be used by the county to fund certain intergovernmental transfers
and indigent care programs as provided by this chapter.
(b) The commissioners court may adopt an order authorizing a
county to participate in the program, subject to the limitations
provided by this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONERS COURT
Sec. 297.051. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE MANDATORY
PAYMENT. The commissioners court of a county may require a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter by an institutional
health care provider in the county only in the manner provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 297.052. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. The commissioners
court of a county may not authorize the county to collect a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter without an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commissioners
court.
Sec. 297.053. RULES AND PROCEDURES. After the
commissioners court has voted to require a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter, the commissioners court may adopt
rules relating to the administration of the mandatory payment.
Sec. 297.054. INSTITUTIONAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
REPORTING; INSPECTION OF RECORDS. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter shall require each institutional health care provider to
submit to the county a copy of any financial and utilization data
required by and reported to the Department of State Health Services
under Sections 311.032 and 311.033 and any rules adopted by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
to implement those sections.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may inspect the
records of an institutional health care provider to the extent
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of Subsection
(a).
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 297.101. HEARING. (a) Each year, the commissioners
court of a county that collects a mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter shall hold a public hearing on the amounts of any
mandatory payments that the commissioners court intends to require
during the year and how the revenue derived from those payments is
to be spent.
(b) Not later than the 10th day before the date of the
hearing required under Subsection (a), the commissioners court of
the county shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county.
(c) A representative of a paying hospital is entitled to
appear at the time and place designated in the public notice and to
be heard regarding any matter related to the mandatory payments
authorized under this chapter.
Sec. 297.102. DEPOSITORY. (a) The commissioners court of
each county that collects a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter by resolution shall designate one or more banks located in
the county as the depository for mandatory payments received by the
county. A bank designated as a depository serves for two years or
until a successor is designated.
(b) All income received by a county under this chapter,
including the revenue from mandatory payments remaining after
discounts and fees for assessing and collecting the payments are
deducted, shall be deposited with the county depository in the
county's local provider participation fund and may be withdrawn
only as provided by this chapter.
(c) All funds under this chapter shall be secured in the
manner provided for securing county funds.
Sec. 297.103. LOCAL PROVIDER PARTICIPATION FUND;
AUTHORIZED USES OF MONEY. (a) Each county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall create a
local provider participation fund.
(b) The local provider participation fund of a county
consists of:
(1) all revenue received by the county attributable to
mandatory payments authorized under this chapter, including any
penalties and interest attributable to delinquent payments;
(2) money received from the Health and Human Services
Commission as a refund of an intergovernmental transfer from the
county to the state for the purpose of providing the nonfederal
share of Medicaid supplemental payment program payments, provided
that the intergovernmental transfer does not receive a federal
matching payment; and
(3) the earnings of the fund.
(c) Money deposited to the local provider participation
fund may be used only to:
(1) fund intergovernmental transfers from the county
to the state to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program authorized under the state Medicaid
plan, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement
Program waiver issued under Section 1115 of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1315), or a successor waiver
program authorizing similar Medicaid supplemental payment
programs;
(2) subsidize indigent programs;
(3) pay the administrative expenses of the county
solely for activities under this chapter;
(4) refund a portion of a mandatory payment collected
in error from a paying hospital; and
(5) refund to paying hospitals the proportionate share
of money received by the county from the Health and Human Services
Commission that is not used to fund the nonfederal share of Medicaid
supplemental payment program payments.
(d) Money in the local provider participation fund may not
be commingled with other county funds.
(e) An intergovernmental transfer of funds described by
Subsection (c)(1) and any funds received by the county as a result
of an intergovernmental transfer described by that subsection may
not be used by the county or any other entity to expand Medicaid
eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Pub. L. No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
SUBCHAPTER D. MANDATORY PAYMENTS
Sec. 297.151. MANDATORY PAYMENTS BASED ON PAYING HOSPITAL
NET PATIENT REVENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory payment
authorized under this chapter may require an annual mandatory
payment to be assessed quarterly on the net patient revenue of each
institutional health care provider located in the county. In the
first year in which the mandatory payment is required, the
mandatory payment is assessed on the net patient revenue of an
institutional health care provider as determined by the data
reported to the Department of State Health Services under Sections
311.032 and 311.033 in the fiscal year ending in 2013. The county
may update the amount of the mandatory payment on an annual basis
based on data reported to the Department of State Health Services in
a more recent fiscal year.
(b) The amount of a mandatory payment authorized under this
chapter must be uniformly proportionate with the amount of net
patient revenue generated by each paying hospital in the county. A
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter may not hold
harmless any institutional health care provider, as required under
42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(w).
(c) The commissioners court of a county that collects a
mandatory payment authorized under this chapter shall set the
amount of the mandatory payment. The amount of the mandatory
payment required of each paying hospital may not exceed an amount
that, when added to the amount of the mandatory payments required
from all other paying hospitals in the county, equals an amount of
revenue that exceeds six percent of the aggregate net patient
revenue of all paying hospitals in the county.
(d) Subject to the maximum amount prescribed by Subsection
(c), the commissioners court of a county that collects a mandatory
payment authorized under this chapter shall set the mandatory
payments in amounts that in the aggregate will generate sufficient
revenue to cover the administrative expenses of the county for
activities under this chapter, to fund the nonfederal share of a
Medicaid supplemental payment program, and to pay for indigent
programs, except that the amount of revenue from mandatory payments
used for administrative expenses of the county for activities under
this chapter in a year may not exceed the lesser of four percent of
the total revenue generated from the mandatory payment or $20,000.
(e) A paying hospital may not add a mandatory payment
required under this section as a surcharge to a patient.
Sec. 297.152. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF MANDATORY
PAYMENTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the county tax
assessor-collector shall collect the mandatory payment authorized
under this chapter. The county tax assessor-collector shall charge
and deduct from mandatory payments collected for the county a fee
for collecting the mandatory payment in an amount determined by the
commissioners court of the county, not to exceed the county tax
assessor-collector's usual and customary charges.
(b) If determined by the commissioners court to be
appropriate, the commissioners court may contract for the
assessment and collection of mandatory payments in the manner
provided by Title 1, Tax Code, for the assessment and collection of
ad valorem taxes.
(c) Revenue from a fee charged by a county tax
assessor-collector for collecting the mandatory payment shall be
deposited in the county general fund and, if appropriate, shall be
reported as fees of the county tax assessor-collector.
Sec. 297.153. INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND DISCOUNTS.
Interest, penalties, and discounts on mandatory payments required
under this chapter are governed by the law applicable to county ad
valorem taxes.
Sec. 297.154. PURPOSE; CORRECTION OF INVALID PROVISION OR
PROCEDURE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to generate revenue
by collecting from institutional health care providers a mandatory
payment to be used to provide the nonfederal share of a Medicaid
supplemental payment program.
(b) To the extent any provision or procedure under this
chapter causes a mandatory payment authorized under this chapter to
be ineligible for federal matching funds, the county may provide by
rule for an alternative provision or procedure that conforms to the
requirements of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
SECTION 16. Sections 775.0355(b) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section applies only to a district located [wholly
in a county]:
(1) wholly or partly in a county with a population of
more than three million;
(2) wholly in a county with a population of more than
200,000 that borders Lake Palestine; or
(3) wholly in a county with a population of less than
200,000 that borders another state and the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway.
(c) A person is disqualified from serving as an emergency
services commissioner if that person:
(1) is related within the third degree of affinity or
consanguinity to:
(A) a person providing professional services to
the district;
(B) a commissioner of the same district; or
(C) a person who is an employee or volunteer of an
emergency services organization providing emergency services to
the district unless the emergency services are provided under a
mutual aid agreement under Chapter 418, Government Code;
(2) is an employee of a commissioner of the same
district, attorney, or other person providing professional
services to the district;
(3) is serving as an attorney, consultant, or
architect or in some other professional capacity for the district
or an emergency services organization providing emergency services
to the district; or
(4) fails to maintain the qualifications required by
law to serve as a commissioner.
SECTION 17. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 775.0821,
Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a district to which Section
775.082 applies that:
(1) did not have any outstanding bonds secured by ad
valorem taxes or any outstanding liabilities secured by ad valorem
taxes having a term of more than one year during the previous fiscal
year;
(2) did not receive more than a total of $250,000 in
gross receipts from operations, loans, taxes, or contributions
during the previous fiscal year; and
(3) did not have a total of more than $250,000 in cash
and temporary investments during the previous fiscal year.
(e) A district that files compiled financial statements in
accordance with Subsection (b) and that maintains an Internet
website shall have posted on the district's website the compiled
financial statements for the most recent three years.
SECTION 18. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 1001.201,
Health and Safety Code, as added by Chapter 1306 (H.B. 3793), Acts
of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (4) and (5) to read as follows:
(4) "School district employee" means a principal,
assistant principal, educator, teacher's aide, counselor, nurse,
or school bus driver employed by a school district.
(5) "School resource officer" has the meaning assigned
by Section 1701.601, Occupations Code.
SECTION 19. Effective September 1, 2015, Sections
1001.203(a) and (c), Health and Safety Code, as added by Chapter
1306 (H.B. 3793), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session,
2013, are amended to read as follows:
(a) To the extent funds are appropriated to the department
for that purpose, the department shall make grants to local mental
health authorities to provide an approved mental health first aid
training program, administered by mental health first aid trainers,
at no cost to school district employees and school resource
officers [educators].
(c) Subject to the limit provided by Subsection (b), out of
the funds appropriated to the department for making grants under
this section, the department shall grant $100 to a local mental
health authority for each school district employee or school
resource officer [educator] who successfully completes a mental
health first aid training program provided by the authority under
this section.
SECTION 20. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 1001.205,
Health and Safety Code, as added by Chapter 1306 (H.B. 3793), Acts
of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 1001.205. REPORTS. (a) Not later than August 31
[July 1] of each year, a local mental health authority shall provide
to the department the number of:
(1) employees and contractors of the authority who
were trained as mental health first aid trainers under Section
1001.202 during the preceding calendar year;
(2) educators, school district employees other than
educators, and school resource officers who completed a mental
health first aid training program offered by the authority under
Section 1001.203 during the preceding calendar year; and
(3) individuals who are not school district employees
or school resource officers [educators] who completed a mental
health first aid training program offered by the authority during
the preceding calendar year.
(b) Not later than September 30 [August 1] of each year, the
department shall compile the information submitted by local mental
health authorities as required by Subsection (a) and submit a
report to the legislature containing the number of:
(1) authority employees and contractors trained as
mental health first aid trainers during the preceding calendar
year;
(2) educators, school district employees other than
educators, and school resource officers who completed a mental
health first aid training program provided by an authority during
the preceding calendar year; and
(3) individuals who are not school district employees
or school resource officers [educators] who completed a mental
health first aid training program provided by an authority during
the preceding calendar year.
SECTION 21. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter B,
Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section
32.0264 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.0264. SUSPENSION, TERMINATION, AND AUTOMATIC
REINSTATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS CONFINED IN COUNTY
JAILS. (a) In this section, "county jail" means a facility
operated by or for a county for the confinement of persons accused
or convicted of an offense.
(b) If an individual is confined in a county jail because
the individual has been charged with but not convicted of an
offense, the commission shall suspend the individual's eligibility
for medical assistance during the period the individual is confined
in the county jail.
(c) If an individual is confined in a county jail because
the individual has been convicted of an offense, the commission
shall, as appropriate:
(1) terminate the individual's eligibility for medical
assistance; or
(2) suspend the individual's eligibility during the
period the individual is confined in the county jail.
(d) Not later than 48 hours after the commission is notified
of the release from a county jail of an individual whose eligibility
for medical assistance has been suspended under this section, the
commission shall reinstate the individual's eligibility, provided
the individual's eligibility certification period has not elapsed.
Following the reinstatement, the individual remains eligible until
the expiration of the period for which the individual was certified
as eligible.
SECTION 22. Section 118.018, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) If a state agency determines that a marriage license fee
was collected for a marriage license that is associated with a union
other than a union between one man and one woman, the county clerk
shall remit $30 to the comptroller. The comptroller shall deposit
funds remitted under this subsection into the general revenue fund.
SECTION 23. Section 118.019, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 118.019. DECLARATION OF INFORMAL MARRIAGE. (a) The
fee for "Declaration of Informal Marriage" under Section 118.011 is
for all services rendered in connection with the execution of a
declaration of informal marriage under Section 2.402 [1.92], Family
Code. The fee shall be collected at the time the service is
rendered.
(b) If a state agency determines that a declaration of
informal marriage fee was collected for a declaration of informal
marriage that is associated with a union other than a union between
one man and one woman, the county clerk shall remit $12.50 to the
comptroller. The comptroller shall deposit funds remitted under
this subsection into the general revenue fund.
SECTION 24. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 263.152,
Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read
as follows:
(c) Disposal under Subsection (a)(3) may be accomplished
through a recycling program under which the property is collected,
separated, or processed and returned to use in the form of raw
materials in the production of new products.
SECTION 25. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter C,
Chapter 351, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section
351.046 to read as follows:
Sec. 351.046. NOTICE TO CERTAIN GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES. (a)
The sheriff of a county may notify the Health and Human Services
Commission:
(1) on the confinement in the county jail of an
individual who is receiving medical assistance benefits under
Chapter 32, Human Resources Code; and
(2) on the conviction of a prisoner who, immediately
before the prisoner's confinement in the county jail, was receiving
medical assistance benefits.
(b) If the sheriff of a county chooses to provide the
notices described by Subsection (a), the sheriff shall provide the
notices electronically or by other appropriate means as soon as
possible and not later than the 30th day after the date of the
individual's confinement or prisoner's conviction, as applicable.
(c) The sheriff of a county may notify:
(1) the United States Social Security Administration
of the release or discharge of a prisoner who, immediately before
the prisoner's confinement in the county jail, was receiving:
(A) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits
under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.; or
(B) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; and
(2) the Health and Human Services Commission of the
release or discharge of a prisoner who, immediately before the
prisoner's confinement in the county jail, was receiving medical
assistance benefits.
(d) If the sheriff of a county chooses to provide the
notices described by Subsection (c), the sheriff shall provide the
notices electronically or by other appropriate means not later than
48 hours after the prisoner's release or discharge from custody.
(e) If the sheriff of a county chooses to provide the
notices described by Subsection (c), at the time of the prisoner's
release or discharge, the sheriff shall provide the prisoner with a
written copy of each applicable notice and a phone number at which
the prisoner may contact the Health and Human Services Commission
regarding confirmation of or assistance relating to reinstatement
of the individual's eligibility for medical assistance benefits, if
applicable.
(f) The Health and Human Services Commission shall
establish a means by which the sheriff of a county, or an employee
of the county or sheriff, may determine whether an individual
confined in the county jail is or was, as appropriate, receiving
medical assistance benefits under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
for purposes of this section.
(g) The county or sheriff, or an employee of the county or
sheriff, is not liable in a civil action for damages resulting from
a failure to comply with this section.
SECTION 26. Section 501.106(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) For a corporation to which this section applies, in this
subtitle, "project" includes the land, buildings, facilities,
infrastructure, and improvements that:
(1) the corporation's board of directors finds are
required or suitable for the development or promotion of new or
expanded business enterprises through transportation facilities
including airports, hangars, railports, rail switching facilities,
maintenance and repair facilities, cargo facilities, marine ports,
inland ports, mass commuting facilities, parking facilities, and
related infrastructure located on or adjacent to an airport or
railport facility [expansion of airport facilities]; or
(2) are undertaken by the corporation if the
municipality that authorized the creation of the corporation has,
at the time the corporation approves the project as provided by this
subtitle:
(A) a population of less than 50,000; or
(B) an average rate of unemployment that is
greater than the state average rate of unemployment during the most
recent 12-month period for which data is available that precedes
the date the project is approved.
SECTION 27. Section 501.160(d), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A corporation has all the powers necessary to own and
operate a project as a business if:
(1) the project is a military installation or military
facility that has been closed or realigned, including a military
installation or facility closed or realigned under the Defense Base
Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. Section 2687 note),
as amended; or
(2) the project is authorized under Section 501.106.
SECTION 28. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 52.025,
Natural Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 52.025. DISPOSITION OF LEASE PAYMENTS. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), the [The] comptroller shall credit the
permanent school fund with amounts received from unsurveyed school
land and with two-thirds of the amount received from other areas and
shall credit the General Revenue Fund with the remaining one-third
of the payments for the other areas.
(b) To the extent permissible under the Texas Constitution,
the comptroller shall remit to a county the amount received from
land owned in fee simple by the county. Money remitted to a county
under this section shall be deposited to the credit of the county
road and bridge fund of the county and may be used by the county only
for road maintenance purposes.
SECTION 29. Subchapter E, Chapter 1054, Special District
Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 1054.2025 to read as
follows:
Sec. 1054.2025. GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND ELECTION. (a) The
district may issue general obligation bonds only if the bonds are
authorized by a majority of the district voters voting at an
election held for that purpose.
(b) The order calling the election shall provide for clerks
as in county elections and must specify:
(1) the date of the election;
(2) the location of the polling places;
(3) the presiding and alternate election judges for
each polling place;
(4) the amount of the bonds to be authorized;
(5) the maximum interest rate of the bonds; and
(6) the maximum maturity of the bonds.
(c) Notice of a bond election shall be given as provided by
Section 1251.003, Government Code.
SECTION 30. Effective January 1, 2016, Section 11.1825, Tax
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (s) and (v) and adding
Subsection (z) to read as follows:
(s) Unless otherwise provided by the governing body of a
taxing unit any part of which is located in a county with a
population of at least 1.8 million under Subsection (x) or as
provided by Subsection (z), for property described by Subsection
(f)(1), the amount of the exemption under this section from
taxation is 50 percent of the appraised value of the property.
(v) Except as provided by Subsection (z), notwithstanding
[Notwithstanding] any other provision of this section, an
organization may not receive an exemption from taxation of property
described by Subsection (f)(1) by a taxing unit any part of which is
located in a county with a population of at least 1.8 million unless
the exemption is approved by the governing body of the taxing unit
in the manner provided by law for official action.
(z) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
owner of real property described by Subsection (f)(1) or (2) is
entitled to an exemption under this section from taxation of 100
percent of the appraised value of the property regardless of
whether the owner meets the requirements of Subsection (b) or of
Subsections (c) and (d) if:
(1) the owner is exempt from federal income taxation
under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being
listed as an exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that code and
the owner otherwise qualifies for an exemption for the property
under this section;
(2) the property was previously owned by a local
government corporation created by a municipality under Chapter 431,
Transportation Code, or Chapter 394, Local Government Code, or a
predecessor statute for purposes that include promoting,
developing, encouraging, and maintaining affordable housing in a
tax increment financing reinvestment zone created by the
municipality under Chapter 311; and
(3) the property is located in a county with a
population of at least four million.
SECTION 31. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter A,
Chapter 311, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section
311.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 311.009. COUNTY REQUEST FOR CLOSING OF ALLEY IN
CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to a
municipality with a population of more than 10,000 but less than
25,000 that has land area of less than four square miles and is
located wholly within a county that has a population of more than
2.3 million and a total area of less than 1,000 square miles.
(b) If not otherwise restricted by a county, a municipality
that receives a request for the abandonment of an alley located in
any portion of the county shall, not later than the 30th day after
the date the request was submitted, issue a final decision to grant
or deny the request.
(c) A request for which a final decision is not issued in the
period described by Subsection (b) is considered to be granted.
(d) A decision of the municipality under Subsection (b) may
be appealed to a district or county court.
SECTION 32. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter A,
Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section
623.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 623.004. ADMINISTRATION AND OVERSIGHT OF OVERWEIGHT
CORRIDORS. (a) In this section, "overweight corridor" means a
designated section of a state highway for which an optional
procedure is authorized under this chapter for the issuance of
permits:
(1) by entities other than the Texas Department of
Transportation or the department; and
(2) for the movement of oversize or overweight
vehicles.
(b) The Texas Department of Transportation shall, after
receiving input from local officials:
(1) set minimum requirements for determining the
feasibility, viability, and economic impact of additional
overweight corridors that take into consideration traffic volume,
safety concerns, ability to recover costs, and the role of
overweight corridors within a statewide plan for freight mobility;
(2) use the requirements set under Subdivision (1) to
periodically develop recommendations for additional overweight
corridors that would benefit the state;
(3) include any recommendations developed under
Subdivision (2) in the plan described by Section 201.6011; and
(4) create a pavement management plan for each
operational overweight corridor.
(c) The Texas Department of Transportation, in consultation
with interested parties, shall:
(1) establish performance measures for each
operational overweight corridor; and
(2) include in the plan described by Section 201.6011
the results of an evaluation using the performance measures
disaggregated by overweight corridor.
(d) An entity issuing overweight corridor permits under
this chapter shall:
(1) report information necessary for an evaluation
using performance measures established under Subsection (c) to the
Texas Department of Transportation; and
(2) in setting a fee for the permit, consider the
pavement management plan created under Subsection (b)(4) for the
overweight corridor.
(e) The department may:
(1) issue overweight corridor permits on behalf of an
entity authorized to issue the permits under this chapter; and
(2) establish and charge a fee for issuing a permit
under Subdivision (1) in an amount sufficient to recover the actual
cost of issuance.
(f) A fee collected under Subsection (e)(2) shall be sent to
the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the Texas Department of
Motor Vehicles fund and may be appropriated only to the department
for the administration of this section.
SECTION 33. Subchapter E, Chapter 13, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 13.1461 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.1461. CORRECTIONAL FACILITY COMPLIANCE WITH
CONSERVATION MEASURES. A retail public utility may require the
operator of a correctional facility, as defined by Section
1.07(14), Penal Code, that receives retail water or sewer utility
service from the retail public utility to comply with uniform water
conservation measures adopted or implemented by the retail public
utility. This section does not authorize a retail public utility to
require a correctional facility to:
(1) alter or remove facilities installed on or before
September 1, 2015; or
(2) install devices that the correctional facility
determines may disrupt the operation of the correctional facility.
SECTION 34. Effective September 1, 2015, Subchapter G,
Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended by adding Section 13.2541 to read
as follows:
Sec. 13.2541. REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE FOR CERTAIN MAJOR
VIOLATORS. (a) Utility commission staff shall file a petition to
revoke an investor-owned water utility's certificate of public
convenience and necessity if the staff has reason to believe:
(1) the utility has committed repeated or continuous
major violations of one or more commission rules related to safe
drinking water for at least six years before the petition is filed;
(2) none of the owners of the utility have borrowed
money from a federally insured lending institution to use to remedy
a violation of one or more commission rules related to safe drinking
water;
(3) the utility serves more than 1,000 connections but
is made up of less than five public water systems;
(4) the utility does not serve customers who are
located in a municipality; and
(5) the utility is located in a county with a
population of more than four million.
(b) If, after notice and hearing, the utility commission
finds that the facts alleged in the petition are true, the utility
commission may revoke the investor-owned water utility's
certificate on or before the 90th day after the date the petition is
filed.
(c) At the time the utility commission revokes the
certificate it shall appoint a temporary manager and temporarily
transfer the certificate to the temporary manager. On accepting
the transfer, the temporary manager has all the powers necessary to
operate and manage the utility until the utility commission
certifies another retail public utility.
(d) Not more than 12 months after the date the utility
commission appoints a temporary manager under Subsection (c), the
utility commission shall offer at auction any property that the
utility commission determines is rendered useless or valueless to
the decertified investor-owned water utility as a result of the
decertification.
(e) Any person, including public and private water
utilities and the temporary manager appointed under Subsection (c),
may apply for approval to bid on the decertified utility's assets
and property. The utility commission shall review each application
and approve applicants that it determines have the financial,
managerial, and technical ability to provide safe, adequate, and
continuous water service to the decertified utility's customers.
Only approved applicants may bid in the auction. The utility
commission shall request proposals from all approved bidders.
(f) Before the auction, the utility commission and the
temporary manager shall:
(1) make the books and records of the decertified
utility available to all approved bidders; and
(2) provide an opportunity for all approved bidders to
inspect the decertified utility's assets and property.
(g) Each bid must:
(1) estimate the rates the bidder would charge for
service during the first five years following the date of the sale;
and
(2) agree that the bidder, if the bidder purchases the
assets and property, will consider making improvements to remedy
and prevent damages from previous violations of commission rules
related to safe drinking water before the third anniversary of the
purchase date.
(h) The utility commission shall select the bidder that has
the best plan to remedy previous violations of commission rules, as
determined by the utility commission, and, on completion of the
sale to the selected bidder and payment to the decertified utility,
transfer the certificate of public convenience and necessity from
the temporary manager to the selected bidder.
(i) This section expires December 31, 2019.
SECTION 35. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 60.039(a),
Water Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission may lease the surface of land for not
more than 50 [30] years by the entry of an order on the minutes of
the commission and the execution of a lease in the manner provided
by the original order. The lease may not be extended beyond the
50-year [30-year] period by renewal, extension, or otherwise,
except that the commission may extend a lease beyond a 50-year
period for residential property located in a district in which at
least 50 percent of the property is residential property.
SECTION 36. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 60.040,
Water Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 60.040. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE FOR SALES AND LEASES IN
EXCESS OF 50 [30] YEARS. Before making a sale or lease of land for
more than 50 [30] years, the commission shall publish a notice in
the manner provided in Section 60.035 [of this subchapter].
SECTION 37. Effective September 1, 2015, Section 60.041,
Water Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 60.041. SECURITY FOR BIDS ON LAND TO BE SOLD OR LEASED
FOR MORE THAN 50 [30] YEARS. Each bid submitted on land to be sold
or leased for more than 50 [30] years shall be accompanied by a
certified check, cashier's check, or bidder's bond with a
responsible corporate surety authorized to do business in Texas.
The check or bond shall be in an amount equal to the bid for the land
or for the first rental payment under the lease and shall guarantee
that the bidder will perform the terms of the [his] bid if it is
accepted by the commission.
SECTION 38. Effective September 1, 2015, the heading to
Section 60.042, Water Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 60.042. AWARD AND EXECUTION OF DEED OR LEASE IN EXCESS
OF 50 [30] YEARS.
SECTION 39. Effective September 1, 2015, the following
sections of the Health and Safety Code are repealed:
(1) Section 262.034;
(2) Section 285.101(d); and
(3) Section 288.0032.
SECTION 40. Except as otherwise provided by this section,
Section 194.001(c), Health and Safety Code, and Sections 118.018(d)
and 118.019(b), Local Government Code, as added by this Act, apply
only to a marriage license issued or declaration of informal
marriage recorded on or after the effective date of this Act. If
this Act takes effect before June 1, 2015, Section 194.001(c),
Health and Safety Code, and Sections 118.018(d) and 118.019(b),
Local Government Code, as added by this Act, do not apply to a
marriage license issued or declaration of informal marriage
recorded before that date.
SECTION 41. Sections 32.0264(a)-(c), Human Resources Code,
and Section 351.046(a), Local Government Code, as added by this
Act, apply to an individual whose period of confinement in a county
jail begins on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless
of the date the individual was determined eligible for medical
assistance under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 42. Section 32.0264(d), Human Resources Code, and
Section 351.046(c), Local Government Code, as added by this Act,
apply to the release or discharge of a prisoner from a county jail
that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless
of the date the prisoner was initially confined in the county jail.
SECTION 43. Section 1054.2025, Special District Local Laws
Code, as added by this Act, applies only to general obligation bonds
issued by the Lynn County Hospital District on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 44. Section 11.1825, Tax Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year
beginning on or after January 1, 2016.
SECTION 45. Sections 60.039, 60.040, 60.041, and 60.042,
Water Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a lease entered
into on or after September 1, 2015. A lease entered into before
September 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
lease was entered into, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 46. If before implementing any provision of this
Act a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 47. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, 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.
* * * * *