83R27187 BEF-D
	By: Schwertner	S.B. No. 1214
	(Darby)
	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1214:  No.

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain economic development programs administered by
	the Department of Agriculture.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 12.027, Agriculture Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read
	as follows:
	(b)  In administering the program, the department shall:
	(1)  promote economic growth in rural areas;
	(2)  identify potential opportunities for business in
	rural areas and assist rural communities in maximizing those
	opportunities;
	(3)  work with rural communities to identify economic
	development needs and direct those communities to persons who can
	address and assist in meeting those needs;
	(4)  encourage communication between organizations,
	industries, and regions to improve economic and community
	development services to rural areas;
	(5)  coordinate meetings with public and private
	entities to distribute information beneficial to rural areas;
	(6)  enter into a memorandum of agreement to work
	cooperatively with the Texas [Department of] Economic Development
	and Tourism Office, the Texas A&M AgriLife [Agricultural] Extension
	Service, and other entities the department deems appropriate to
	further program objectives; and
	(7)  perform any other functions necessary to carry out
	the program.
	(d)  The department by rule may charge a membership fee to a
	[each] participant in the program.
	(g)  In addition to the department's authority under
	Subsection (a), the department may request, accept, and use any
	gift, grant, loan, donation, aid, appropriation, guaranty,
	allocation, subsidy, or contribution of any item of value to
	further an economic development program in this state.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
	adding Section 12.0272 to read as follows:
	Sec. 12.0272.  TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND. (a)  The
	Texas economic development fund is a fund in the state treasury.
	The fund consists of:
	(1)  all interest, income, revenue, and other assets
	associated with economic development programs established using
	money allocated and paid to the department under the August 15,
	2011, allocation agreement between the department and the United
	States Department of the Treasury, as amended, to implement the
	State Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C.
	Section 5701 et seq.);
	(2)  all money, deposits, distributions, dividends,
	earnings, gain, income, interest, proceeds, profits, program
	income, rents, returns of capital, returns on investments,
	royalties, revenue, or yields received or realized by the
	department as a result of an investment made by or on behalf of the
	department pursuant to the August 15, 2011, allocation agreement
	between the department and the United States Department of the
	Treasury, as amended;
	(3)  gifts, loans, donations, aid, appropriations,
	guaranties, allocations, subsidies, grants, or contributions
	received under Section 12.027(g);
	(4)  interest and income earned on the investment of
	money in the fund; and
	(5)  other money required by law to be deposited in the
	fund.
	(b)  Money in the Texas economic development fund may be
	appropriated only to the department for the purpose of
	administering, establishing, implementing, or maintaining an
	economic development program under this section and is dedicated to
	and may be used only for the administration, establishment,
	implementation, or maintenance of one or more of the department's
	economic development programs.
	(c)  The Texas economic development fund is exempt from
	Section 403.095, Government Code.
	SECTION 3.  Subsections (d) and (g), Section 12.040,
	Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(d)  To be eligible to be a Texas certified retirement
	community, a community shall:
	(1)  through a board or panel that serves as the
	community's official program sponsor:
	(A)  complete a retiree desirability assessment,
	as developed by the department, to include facts regarding crime
	statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, housing
	availability, and other appropriate factors, including criteria
	listed in Subsection (e); and
	(B)  work to gain the support of churches, clubs,
	businesses, media, and other entities, as necessary for the success
	of the program in the community;
	(2)  identify emergency medical services and a hospital
	within a 75-mile radius of the community; and
	(3)  submit to the department:
	(A)  a [an application] fee in an amount equal to
	the greater of:
	(i)  $5,000; or
	(ii)  $0.25 multiplied by the population of
	the community, as determined by the most recent census;
	(B)  a marketing plan detailing the mission as
	applied to the community, the target market, the competition, an
	analysis of the community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
	and dangers, and the strategies the community will employ to attain
	the goals of the program; and
	(C)  a long-term plan outlining the steps the
	community will undertake to maintain its desirability as a
	destination for retirees, including an outline of plans to correct
	any facility and service deficiencies identified in the retiree
	desirability assessment required by Subdivision (1)(A).
	(g)  If the department finds that a community successfully
	meets the requirements of a Texas certified retirement community,
	not later than the 90th day after the application is submitted and
	approved, the department shall provide [the following] assistance
	to the community as determined by department rule[:
	[(1)     assistance in the training of local staff and
	volunteers;
	[(2)     ongoing oversight and guidance in marketing, plus
	updates on retirement trends;
	[(3)     inclusion in the state's national advertising and
	public relations campaigns and travel show promotions, including a
	prominent feature on the department's Internet website, to be
	coordinated with the Internet websites of other agencies, as
	appropriate;
	[(4)     eligibility for state financial assistance for
	brochures, support material, and advertising; and
	[(5)     an evaluation and progress assessment on
	maintaining and improving the community's desirability as a home
	for retirees].
	SECTION 4.  Subsection (a), Section 44.007, Agriculture
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The board shall establish an interest rate reduction
	program to foster the:
	(1)  creation and expansion of enterprises based on
	agriculture in this state; or
	(2)  development or expansion of businesses in rural
	areas of this state.
	SECTION 5.  Section 58.022, Agriculture Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 58.022.  POWERS OF AUTHORITY. The authority has all
	powers necessary to accomplish the purposes and programs of the
	authority, including the power:
	(1)  to adopt and enforce bylaws, rules, and procedures
	and perform all functions necessary for the board to carry out this
	chapter;
	(2)  to sue and be sued, complain, and defend, in its
	own name;
	(3)  to adopt and use an official seal and alter it when
	considered advisable;
	(4)  to acquire, hold, invest, use, pledge, and dispose
	of its revenues, income, receipts, funds, and money from every
	source and to select one or more depositories, inside or outside the
	state, subject to this chapter, any resolution, bylaws, or in any
	indenture pursuant to which the funds are held;
	(5)  to establish, charge, and collect fees, charges,
	and penalties in connection with the programs, services, and
	activities provided by the authority in accordance with this
	chapter;
	(6)  to issue its bonds, to provide for and secure the
	payment of the bonds, and provide for the rights of the owners of
	the bonds, in the manner and to the extent permitted by this
	chapter, and to purchase, hold, cancel, or resell or otherwise
	dispose of its bonds, subject to any restrictions in any resolution
	authorizing the issuance of its bonds;
	(7)  to procure insurance and pay premiums on insurance
	of any type, in amounts, and from insurers as the board considers
	necessary and advisable to accomplish any of its purposes;
	(8)  to make, enter into, and enforce contracts,
	agreements, including management agreements, for the management of
	any of the authority's property, leases, indentures, mortgages,
	deeds of trust, security agreements, pledge agreements, credit
	agreements, and other instruments with any person, including any
	lender and any federal, state, or local governmental agency, and to
	take other actions as may accomplish any of its purposes;
	(9)  to own, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire, accept,
	or hold real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest in
	property in performing its duties and exercising its powers under
	this chapter, by purchase, exchange, gift, assignment, transfer,
	foreclosure, mortgage, sale, lease, or otherwise and to hold,
	manage, operate, or improve real, personal, or mixed property,
	wherever situated;
	(10)  to sell, lease, encumber, mortgage, exchange,
	donate, convey, or otherwise dispose of any or all of its properties
	or any interest in its properties, deed of trust or mortgage lien
	interest owned by it or under its control, custody, or in its
	possession, and release or relinquish any right, title, claim,
	lien, interest, easement, or demand however acquired, including any
	equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it, and to
	do any of the foregoing by public or private sale, with or without
	public bidding, notwithstanding any other law; and to lease or rent
	any improvements, lands, or facilities from any person to effect
	the purposes of this chapter;
	(11)  to request, accept, and use gifts, loans,
	donations, aid, appropriations, guaranties, allocations,
	subsidies, grants, or contributions of any item of value for the
	furtherance of any of its purposes;
	(12)  to make secured or unsecured loans for the
	purpose of providing temporary or permanent financing or
	refinancing for eligible agricultural businesses for the purposes
	authorized by this chapter, including the refunding of outstanding
	obligations, mortgages, or advances issued for those purposes, and
	charge and collect interest on those loans for such loan payments
	and on such terms and conditions as the board may consider advisable
	and not in conflict with this chapter;
	(13)  to secure the payment by the state or the
	authority on guarantees and to pay claims from money in the
	authority's funds pursuant to the loan guarantee and insurance
	programs implemented by the authority;
	(14)  to purchase or acquire, sell, discount, assign,
	negotiate, and otherwise dispose of notes, debentures, bonds, or
	other evidences of indebtedness of eligible agricultural
	businesses, whether unsecured or secured, as the board may
	determine, or portions or portfolios of or participations in those
	evidences of indebtedness, and sell and guarantee securities,
	whether taxable or tax exempt under federal law in primary and
	secondary markets in furtherance of any of the authority's
	purposes; and
	(15)  to exercise all powers given to a corporation
	under Chapter 22, Business Organizations Code [the Texas Non-Profit
	Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil
	Statutes)], to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter.
	SECTION 6.  Subsection (a), Section 58.053, Agriculture
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  An eligible applicant's documentation shall include the
	following for the board's review:
	(1)  the plan, as submitted to the lender, for the
	applicant's proposed farm or ranch operation or
	agriculture-related business to be financed that includes a budget
	for the proposed operation;
	(2)  a completed application for a loan from a
	commercial lender on which an eligible applicant has indicated how
	the loan proceeds will be used to implement the applicant's plan;
	and
	(3)  the signed statement of a loan officer of the
	commercial lender that a loan guarantee is requested [required] for
	approval of the loan application.
	SECTION 7.  The heading to Section 502.404, Transportation
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 502.404.  VOLUNTARY ASSESSMENT FOR TEXAS AGRICULTURAL
	FINANCE AUTHORITY [YOUNG FARMER LOAN GUARANTEES].
	SECTION 8.  Subsection (f), Section 12.040, Agriculture
	Code, is repealed.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.