Bill Text: TX HB9 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the development and funding of broadband and telecommunications services.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - See remarks for effective date [HB9 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB9-Enrolled.html
| H.B. No. 9 | ||
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| relating to the development and funding of broadband and | ||
| telecommunications services. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subchapter T to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND | ||
| Sec. 403.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment | ||
| Program" means the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment | ||
| Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act | ||
| (Pub. L. No. 117-58). | ||
| (2) "Fund" means the broadband infrastructure fund | ||
| established under Section 49-d-16, Article III, Texas | ||
| Constitution. | ||
| (3) "Next generation 9-1-1 service fund" means the | ||
| fund established under Section 771.0713, Health and Safety Code. | ||
| Sec. 403.602. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PUBLIC PURPOSE. The | ||
| legislature finds that: | ||
| (1) the creation of the fund will meet an imperative | ||
| public need and serve the economic, educational, and health care | ||
| needs of this state; and | ||
| (2) the use of the fund is in furtherance of the public | ||
| purpose of expanding and ensuring access to reliable, high-speed | ||
| broadband and telecommunications connectivity. | ||
| Sec. 403.603. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND. (a) The | ||
| broadband infrastructure fund is a special fund in the state | ||
| treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund consists of: | ||
| (1) money transferred or deposited to the credit of | ||
| the fund by the constitution, general law, or the General | ||
| Appropriations Act; | ||
| (2) revenue that the legislature by general law | ||
| dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund; | ||
| (3) investment earnings and interest earned on money | ||
| in the fund; and | ||
| (4) gifts, grants, and donations to the fund. | ||
| (b) The fund shall be administered by the comptroller who | ||
| may use money from the fund for any purpose authorized by Subsection | ||
| (c). | ||
| (c) The fund may be used only for: | ||
| (1) a purpose described by Chapter 490I; | ||
| (2) providing funding for 9-1-1 and next generation | ||
| 9-1-1 services under Chapter 771, Health and Safety Code; | ||
| (3) supporting the deployment of next generation 9-1-1 | ||
| service, including its costs of equipment, operations, and | ||
| administration, as provided by Section 771.0713, Health and Safety | ||
| Code; | ||
| (4) supporting the Texas Broadband Pole Replacement | ||
| Program established under Section 403.503, as added by Chapter 659 | ||
| (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021; | ||
| (5) providing matching funds for federal money | ||
| provided for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program; | ||
| (6) expanding access to broadband service in | ||
| economically distressed communities to support increased | ||
| connectivity needs in those areas; and | ||
| (7) administering and enforcing this subchapter. | ||
| (d) For the purposes of Subsection (c)(5), the comptroller: | ||
| (1) shall consider an applicant's potential | ||
| contribution toward matching the funds for federal money provided | ||
| for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program; and | ||
| (2) may only provide state matching funds if a state | ||
| contribution is necessary for the economic feasibility of a | ||
| proposed project. | ||
| Sec. 403.604. MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a) In | ||
| this section, "trust company" means the Texas Treasury Safekeeping | ||
| Trust Company. | ||
| (b) The trust company shall hold and invest the fund, and | ||
| any accounts established in the fund, for the comptroller, taking | ||
| into account the purposes for which money in the fund may be used. | ||
| The fund may be invested with the state treasury pool and may be | ||
| pooled with other state assets for purposes of investment. | ||
| (c) The overall objective for the investment of the fund is | ||
| to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the needs of the fund while | ||
| striving to preserve the purchasing power of the fund over a full | ||
| economic cycle. | ||
| (d) In managing the assets of the fund, the trust company | ||
| may acquire, exchange, sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind | ||
| of investment that a prudent investor, exercising reasonable care, | ||
| skill, and caution, would acquire or retain in light of the | ||
| purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other | ||
| circumstances of the fund then prevailing, taking into | ||
| consideration the investment of all the assets of the fund rather | ||
| than a single investment. | ||
| (e) The trust company shall recover the costs incurred in | ||
| managing and investing the fund only from the fund. | ||
| (f) The trust company annually shall provide a written | ||
| report to the comptroller with respect to the investments of the | ||
| fund. | ||
| (g) The trust company shall adopt a written investment | ||
| policy that is appropriate for the fund. The trust company shall | ||
| present the investment policy to the investment advisory board | ||
| established under Section 404.028. The investment advisory board | ||
| shall submit to the trust company recommendations regarding the | ||
| policy. | ||
| (h) The comptroller annually shall provide to the trust | ||
| company a forecast of the cash flows into and out of the fund. The | ||
| comptroller shall provide updates to the forecasts as appropriate | ||
| to ensure that the trust company is able to achieve the fund's | ||
| objective specified by Subsection (c). | ||
| (i) The trust company shall disburse money from the fund as | ||
| directed by the comptroller. | ||
| Sec. 403.605. RULEMAKING. The comptroller may adopt rules | ||
| as necessary to administer this subchapter. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 403.502, Government Code, as added by | ||
| Chapter 659 (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular | ||
| Session, 2021, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (b-1) In addition to the money transferred under Subsection | ||
| (b), the comptroller may transfer to the credit of the pole | ||
| replacement fund an available amount from the broadband | ||
| infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16, Article | ||
| III, Texas Constitution. | ||
| SECTION 3. (a) The comptroller of public accounts shall | ||
| make a one-time transfer in the amount of $155,200,000 from the | ||
| broadband infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16, | ||
| Article III, Texas Constitution, to the next generation 9-1-1 | ||
| service fund established under Section 771.0713, Health and Safety | ||
| Code. | ||
| (b) The comptroller of public accounts shall make a one-time | ||
| transfer in the amount of $75 million from the broadband | ||
| infrastructure fund established under Section 49-d-16, Article | ||
| III, Texas Constitution, to the broadband pole replacement fund | ||
| established under Section 403.502, Government Code, as added by | ||
| Chapter 659 (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular | ||
| Session, 2021. | ||
| (c) Notwithstanding Section 5, Chapter 10 (S.B. 8), Acts of | ||
| the 87th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2021, the comptroller of | ||
| public accounts may not use funds appropriated under that section | ||
| to support the Texas Broadband Pole Replacement Program established | ||
| under Section 403.503, Government Code, as added by Chapter 659 | ||
| (H.B. 1505), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, | ||
| after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| (d) The comptroller of public accounts shall transfer the | ||
| amounts described by Subsections (a) and (b) of this section not | ||
| later than September 15, 2024. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024, if the | ||
| constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th Legislature, Regular | ||
| Session, 2023, creating the broadband infrastructure fund to expand | ||
| high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of | ||
| connectivity projects in the state takes effect. If that amendment | ||
| is not approved by the voters, this Act has no effect. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.B. No. 9 was passed by the House on April 27, | ||
| 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 8, 1 present, not | ||
| voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to | ||
| H.B. No. 9 on May 23, 2023, and requested the appointment of a | ||
| conference committee to consider the differences between the two | ||
| houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report | ||
| on H.B. No. 9 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 134, | ||
| Nays 8, 2 present, not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.B. No. 9 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
| amendments, on May 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays | ||
| 1; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference | ||
| committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and | ||
| that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. | ||
| 9 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
