Bill Text: TX HB2658 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to establishing the State of Texas Wealth Fund; making an appropriation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-24 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2658 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB2658-Comm_Sub.html

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85R20968 JJT-D
By: Howard H.B. No. 2658
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2658:
By: Howard C.S.H.B. No. 2658

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing the State of Texas Wealth Fund; making an
appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 403.1085 to read as follows:
Sec. 403.1085. STATE OF TEXAS WEALTH FUND. (a) In this
section, "fund" means the State of Texas Wealth Fund.
(b) The State of Texas Wealth Fund is created as a special
fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund to be
administered by the comptroller. The fund consists of all money
transferred or credited to the fund at the direction of the
legislature or by other law and any gifts, grants, or donations made
to this state for a purpose of the fund.
(c) The comptroller shall invest the assets of the fund and
any accounts established in the fund taking into account the
purposes for which the fund is established. In managing the fund
assets, through procedures and subject to restrictions that the
comptroller considers appropriate but notwithstanding the
limitations specified by Section 404.024, the comptroller 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, and other circumstances of the fund then
prevailing, taking into consideration the investment of all the
fund assets rather than a single investment.
(d) All interest and other earnings on the fund's principal
and accumulated earnings are credited to the fund.
(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (g), money in
the fund may be appropriated only:
(1) to pay costs of deferred maintenance of state
infrastructure, including costs of repair, rehabilitation, or
reconstruction of state infrastructure;
(2) to make payments of the principal of or interest on
general obligation bonds of this state or payments under related
credit agreements to the extent the payments will help to retire the
indebtedness before the end of the term of the indebtedness;
(3) to pay the costs of a new capital project for this
state or a new phase of a capital project for this state in lieu of
financing the project costs with bonds or other long-term
obligations of this state; and
(4) to fund pension liabilities.
(f) An appropriation described by Subsection (e)(3) may not
be made unless staff of the Legislative Budget Board first:
(1) finds that the direct payment of the costs of the
new capital project or new phase of a capital project will achieve
significant cost savings compared to using long-term obligations of
this state to finance the costs; and
(2) in writing, communicates that finding to the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
and the standing committees of each house of the legislature with
primary jurisdiction over appropriations.
(g) The legislature may not appropriate money from the fund
in an amount that would reduce the unappropriated and unobligated
principal balance of the fund to an amount of less than $2 billion.
(h) The fund is exempt from the application of Section
403.095.
SECTION 2. Section 404.071(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Interest received from investments of money in funds and
accounts in the charge of the comptroller shall be allocated on a
monthly basis as follows:
(1) the pro rata portion of the interest received due
to each constitutional fund shall be credited to that fund;
(2) the pro rata portion of the interest received due
to the game, fish, and water safety fund shall be credited to that
fund;
(2-a) the pro rata portion of the interest received
due to the investment of the State of Texas Wealth Fund shall be
credited to that fund; and
(3) the remainder of the interest received shall be
credited to the general revenue fund.
SECTION 3. (a) The amount of $2 billion is appropriated
from the economic stabilization fund to the comptroller for the
purpose of transferring that amount immediately to the credit of
the State of Texas Wealth Fund in the state treasury.
(b) This section takes effect only if this Act is approved
by a vote of two-thirds of the members present in each house of the
legislature, as provided by Section 49-g(m), Article III, Texas
Constitution.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.