Bill Text: TX HB1793 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to eligibility requirements to receive a grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - Filed [HB1793 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB1793-Introduced.html
  89R1370 MLH-D
 
  By: Tepper H.B. No. 1793
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to eligibility requirements to receive a grant from the
  Texas Enterprise Fund.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 481.078(f-1), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (f-1)  A grant agreement must contain a provision:
               (1)  requiring the creation of a minimum number of jobs
  in this state in accordance with Section 481.0785; [and]
               (2)  specifying the date by which the recipient intends
  to create those jobs; and
               (3)  requiring the recipient to make a minimum
  investment in the purposes for which the grant is intended in
  accordance with Section 481.0785.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 481, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 481.0785 to read as follows:
         Sec. 481.0785.  REQUIRED JOBS AND INVESTMENT. (a)  In
  addition to the eligibility requirements under Section 481.078, to
  be eligible to enter into a grant agreement under that section, an
  entity must agree to:
               (1)  if the grant awarded is to be used in a county with
  a population of at least 750,000:
                     (A)  create at least 75 jobs by the end of the
  first year after the creation of the grant agreement and
  demonstrate an average of at least that number of jobs during each
  following year until the date the grant agreement expires; and
                     (B)  make an investment in the purpose for which
  the grant is awarded in an amount of at least $200 million by the end
  of the first year after the creation of the grant agreement;
               (2)  if the grant awarded is to be used in a county with
  a population of at least 250,000 but less than 750,000:
                     (A)  create at least 50 jobs by the end of the
  first year after the creation of the grant agreement and
  demonstrate an average of at least that number of jobs during each
  following year until the date the grant agreement expires; and
                     (B)  make an investment in the purpose for which
  the grant is awarded in an amount of at least $100 million by the end
  of the first year after the creation of the grant agreement;
               (3)  if the grant awarded is to be used in a county with
  a population of at least 100,000 but less than 250,000:
                     (A)  create at least 35 jobs by the end of the
  first year after the creation of the grant agreement and
  demonstrate an average of at least that number of jobs during each
  following year until the date the grant agreement expires; and
                     (B)  make an investment in the purpose for which
  the grant is awarded in an amount of at least $50 million by the end
  of the first year after the creation of the grant agreement; or
               (4)  if the grant awarded is to be used in a county with
  a population of less than 100,000:
                     (A)  create at least 10 jobs by the end of the
  first year after the creation of the grant agreement and
  demonstrate an average of at least that number of jobs during each
  following year until the date the grant agreement expires; and
                     (B)  make an investment in the purpose for which
  the grant is awarded in an amount of at least $20 million by the end
  of the first year after the creation of the grant agreement.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a), each job created in
  connection with a grant agreement:
               (1)  must be a new permanent full-time job in this
  state, other than a construction job, that requires a total of at
  least 1,600 hours of work a year in connection with the purpose for
  which the grant is awarded;
               (2)  must be:
                     (A)  maintained in the usual course and scope of
  the grant recipient's business, which may be performed by an
  individual who is a trainee under the Texans Work program
  established under Chapter 308, Labor Code; or
                     (B)  performed by:
                           (i)  an independent contractor, as that term
  is defined by Section 406.121, Labor Code; and
                           (ii)  the independent contractor's employees
  at the site of the project; and
               (3)  may not be transferred by the grant recipient from
  an existing facility or location in this state or otherwise created
  to replace an existing job, unless the grant recipient fills the
  vacancy caused by the transfer.
         (c)  For purposes of Subsection (a), a grant recipient may
  demonstrate that the recipient has met the applicable minimum
  investment requirement by any reasonable means that demonstrate
  that investment made in the purposes for which the grant is awarded
  is equal to or greater than the minimum investment requirement
  applicable to that purpose.
         (d)  If grant money awarded is used in more than one county,
  the jobs and investment requirements applicable to the grant
  recipient under this section are determined using the jobs and
  investment requirements applicable to the county with the smallest
  population in which any part of the purposes for which the grant is
  awarded is located.
         (e)  The governor may adopt rules necessary to interpret and
  administer this section, including rules regarding:
               (1)  the manner for determining:
                     (A)  which jobs and investment requirements
  prescribed by Subsection (a) apply to the purposes for which a grant
  is awarded; and
                     (B)  the circumstances under which a trainee under
  the Texans Work program established under Chapter 308, Labor Code,
  may be considered a full-time employee for purposes of this
  section; and
               (2)  the method by which a grant recipient must
  demonstrate an average of at least the number of required jobs for
  purposes of satisfying the jobs requirement prescribed by
  Subsection (a).
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a grant agreement entered into on or after the effective date of
  this Act.  A grant agreement entered into before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the grant
  agreement was entered into, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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