Bill Text: TX HB785 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to restrictions on the use of state funds to benefit private entities that outsource jobs to foreign countries.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-14 - Left pending in committee [HB785 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB785-Introduced.html

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82R2911 VOO-F
By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 785

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to restrictions on the use of state funds to benefit
private entities that outsource jobs to foreign countries.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle F, Title 10, Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 2267 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2267. RESTRICTING STATE INVESTMENT IN AND PROVISION OF TAX
BENEFITS TO ENTITIES THAT OUTSOURCE JOBS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 2267.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "domestic"
means created or organized in the United States or under the laws of
the United States or any state.
[Sections 2267.002-2267.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. RESTRICTIONS ON INVESTMENTS
Sec. 2267.051. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This
subchapter applies in connection with the management or investment
of state funds managed or invested:
(1) under the Texas Constitution or other law,
including Chapters 404 and 2256; and
(2) by or for:
(A) a public retirement system as defined by
Section 802.001 that provides service retirement, disability
retirement, or death benefits for officers or employees of the
state;
(B) an institution of higher education as defined
by Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(C) another entity that is part of state
government and that manages or invests state funds or for which
state funds are managed or invested.
(b) This subchapter applies in connection with the
management or investment of state funds without regard to whether
the funds are held in the state treasury.
(c) This subchapter does not apply to the extent that an
investment standard prescribed by the Texas Constitution prohibits
the legislature from restricting the investment discretion of an
entity responsible for the management or investment of a fund.
Sec. 2267.052. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN INVESTMENTS. A state
governmental entity may not invest state funds in or purchase
obligations of a domestic private entity that, at any time during
the previous two years, created employment suitable for performance
in the United States in a country other than the United States and,
as a result, eliminated or failed to create similar employment in
the United States.
[Sections 2267.053-2267.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. RESTRICTIONS ON ELIGIBILITY FOR TAX AND FEE BENEFITS
Sec. 2267.101. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "state
agency" means a department, board, commission, or other agency in
the executive branch of state government. The term does not include
an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
Education Code.
Sec. 2267.102. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This
subchapter does not apply to a credit, exemption, or discount for
which the Texas Constitution specifically prescribes the
eligibility requirements.
Sec. 2267.103. INELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN ENTITIES FOR TAX
AND FEE BENEFITS. Notwithstanding other law, a domestic private
entity is not eligible for a credit, exemption, or discount in
relation to a tax or fee imposed by the state if the entity, at any
time during the previous two years, created employment suitable for
performance in the United States in a country other than the United
States and, as a result, eliminated or failed to create similar
employment in the United States.
Sec. 2267.104. DENIAL OF BENEFITS. (a) A state agency
responsible for the issuance of a credit, exemption, or discount in
relation to a tax or fee imposed by the state shall adopt rules in
accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, relating to the manner
in which:
(1) the agency will determine whether to deny the
benefit under Section 2267.103 or 2267.105; and
(2) a person may ask the agency to reconsider the
denial.
(b) The rules adopted by a state agency shall require that
as soon as practicable after making the decision to deny a credit,
exemption, or discount to a domestic private entity that is
ineligible for the benefit under Section 2267.103 or 2267.105 but
is otherwise eligible for the benefit, the state agency shall
provide the domestic private entity with notice of and the factual
basis for the denial and a description of the procedures available
to request a reconsideration and to contest the factual or legal
basis for the denial.
Sec. 2267.105. REPORTING. (a) In addition to the standard
imposed by Section 2267.103, a domestic private entity that applies
for a credit, exemption, or discount in relation to a tax or fee
imposed by the state is not eligible for the credit, exemption, or
discount unless, during the six-month period before applying for
the credit, exemption, or discount, the entity reports to the Texas
Workforce Commission on the number of jobs the entity created in
this state and the number of jobs suitable for performance in the
United States that the entity created in a country other than the
United States during the 12-month period before the date of the
report.
(b) Not later than December 31 of each year, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall, based on information obtained from the
reports under Subsection (a), report to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives:
(1) the domestic private entities that are not
eligible for state investment under Section 2267.052; and
(2) the domestic private entities that are not
eligible for a credit, exemption, or discount under Section
2267.103.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2267, Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to:
(1) an investment made by a state governmental entity
on or after September 1, 2012; and
(2) a credit, exemption, or discount provided or
denied on or after September 1, 2012, in relation to a tax or fee
imposed by the state.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.