Bill Text: TX HJR169 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the dedication of certain sales and use tax revenue to a special fund established in the state treasury to pay for water infrastructure in this state.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-3)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-11 - Referred to Finance [HJR169 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HJR169-Engrossed.html
| 88R20613 JAM-F | ||
| By: Clardy, Rogers, King of Uvalde, Price, | H.J.R. No. 169 | |
| Burrows, et al. | ||
|
|
||
| proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the dedication | ||
| of certain sales and use tax revenue to a special fund established | ||
| in the state treasury to pay for water infrastructure in this state. | ||
| BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by | ||
| adding Section 49-d-16 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 49-d-16. (a) The Texas Water Fund is created as a | ||
| special fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue | ||
| fund. Money in the Texas Water Fund is administered by the Texas | ||
| Water Development Board or that board's successor in function and | ||
| may be used only as provided by general law by the Texas Water | ||
| Development Board or that board's successor in function. | ||
| (b) The administrator of the Texas Water Fund may establish | ||
| separate accounts in the fund as necessary to administer the fund or | ||
| authorized projects. | ||
| (c) The legislature by general law may authorize the | ||
| administrator of the Texas Water Fund to issue bonds and enter into | ||
| related credit agreements that are payable only from all revenues | ||
| available to the Texas Water Fund. | ||
| (d) The administrator of the Texas Water Fund shall provide | ||
| written notice to the Legislative Budget Board or that board's | ||
| successor in function before issuing a revenue bond pursuant to | ||
| this section or entering into a related credit agreement that is | ||
| payable from revenue deposited to the credit of the fund and shall | ||
| provide a copy of the proposed bond or agreement to the Legislative | ||
| Budget Board or that board's successor in function for | ||
| approval. The proposed bond or agreement shall be considered to be | ||
| approved unless the Legislative Budget Board or that board's | ||
| successor in function issues a written disapproval not later than | ||
| the 21st day after the date on which the staff of that board | ||
| receives the submission. | ||
| (e) The Texas Water Fund consists of: | ||
| (1) money transferred or deposited to the fund as | ||
| provided by Section 7-c, Article VIII, of this constitution; | ||
| (2) appropriations made to the fund by the | ||
| legislature; | ||
| (3) gifts and grants, including grants from the | ||
| federal government and other organizations, made to the fund; | ||
| (4) all interest, dividends, and other income of the | ||
| fund; | ||
| (5) the proceeds from the sale of bonds, including | ||
| revenue bonds issued under this section by the administrator of the | ||
| Texas Water Fund for the purpose of providing money for the fund; | ||
| and | ||
| (6) repayments of loans made from the fund. | ||
| (f) Money from the Texas Water Fund may be used as provided | ||
| by general law for the purpose of: | ||
| (1) making grants or loans for water infrastructure | ||
| projects; and | ||
| (2) disbursing money to another fund or account | ||
| administered by the Texas Water Development Board or that board's | ||
| successor in function. | ||
| (g) The legislature by general law shall provide for the | ||
| manner in which the assets of the Texas Water Fund may be used, | ||
| subject to the limitations provided by this section. The | ||
| legislature by general law may provide for costs of the Texas Water | ||
| Fund to be paid from that fund. | ||
| (h) In each fiscal year in which amounts become due under | ||
| the revenue bonds or agreements authorized by this section, the | ||
| administrator of the Texas Water Fund shall set aside from revenue | ||
| deposited to the credit of the Texas Water Fund in that fiscal year | ||
| an amount that is sufficient to pay: | ||
| (1) the principal of and interest on the bonds that | ||
| mature or become due during the fiscal year; and | ||
| (2) any cost related to the bonds, including payments | ||
| under related credit agreements that become due during that fiscal | ||
| year. | ||
| (i) Any obligations authorized by general law to be issued | ||
| by the administrator of the Texas Water Fund pursuant to this | ||
| section are special obligations payable solely from amounts in the | ||
| Texas Water Fund. Obligations issued by the Texas Water | ||
| Development Board or that board's successor in function pursuant to | ||
| this section may not be a constitutional state debt payable from the | ||
| general revenue of the state. | ||
| (j) Any dedication or appropriation of revenue to the credit | ||
| of the Texas Water Fund may not be modified so as to impair any | ||
| outstanding bonds secured by a pledge of that revenue unless | ||
| provisions have been made for a full discharge of those bonds. | ||
| (k) Money in the Texas Water Fund is dedicated by this | ||
| constitution for purposes of Section 22, Article VIII, of this | ||
| constitution. | ||
| (l) This section is intended only to establish a basic | ||
| framework for and not to be a comprehensive treatment of the Texas | ||
| Water Fund. The legislature by law may implement and effectuate the | ||
| design and objects of this section, and may delegate duties, | ||
| responsibilities, functions, and authority to the Texas Water | ||
| Development Board or that board's successor in function as the | ||
| legislature considers necessary. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 7-c, Article VIII, Texas Constitution, | ||
| is amended by adding Subsections (b-1) and (d-1) to read as follows: | ||
| (b-1) Subject to Subsection (d-1) of this section, | ||
| beginning with the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2023, | ||
| in each state fiscal year, the comptroller of public accounts shall | ||
| deposit to the credit of the Texas Water Fund $250 million of the | ||
| net revenue derived from the imposition of the state sales and use | ||
| tax on the sale, storage, use, or other consumption in this state of | ||
| taxable items under Chapter 151, Tax Code, or its successor, that | ||
| exceeds the amount of $30.5 billion of that revenue coming into the | ||
| treasury. | ||
| (d-1) The legislature by adoption of a resolution approved | ||
| by a record vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the | ||
| legislature may direct the comptroller of public accounts to reduce | ||
| the amount of money deposited to the credit of the Texas Water Fund | ||
| under Subsection (b-1) of this section. The comptroller may be | ||
| directed to make that reduction only: | ||
| (1) in the state fiscal year in which the resolution is | ||
| adopted, or in either of the following two state fiscal years; and | ||
| (2) by an amount or percentage that does not result in | ||
| a reduction of more than 50 percent of the amount that would | ||
| otherwise be deposited to the fund in the affected state fiscal year | ||
| under Subsection (b-1) of this section. | ||
| SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be | ||
| submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023. | ||
| The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the | ||
| proposition: "The constitutional amendment providing for the | ||
| dedication of certain sales and use tax revenue to a special fund | ||
| established in the state treasury to pay for water infrastructure | ||
| in this state." | ||
