HBA-TYH S.B. 583 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 583 By: Ellis State Affairs 4/27/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a state agency may issue a contract to a provider of goods and services without confirming with the comptroller if a prospective contractor owes any debt or taxes to the state. In an effort to make agencies more accountable for their debts and to decrease overall the debt owed to the state, the attorney general and the comptroller suggested that vendors owing money to the state must have their debts subtracted from the warrants they receive from state contracts. S.B. 583 prohibits a state agency from issuing a contract unless the proposed contractor agrees to certain provisions regarding the contractor's debt or delinquent taxes owed to the state. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the comptroller in SECTION 1 (Section 403.055, Government Code) of the bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 403.055, Government Code, by adding Subsection (h), to provide that a state agency, prior to signing a contract under which the state agency will pay a person for providing goods or services of any kind, to verify whether the comptroller is currently prohibited from issuing a warrant to a person under this section. Prohibits a state agency from signing a contract if the comptroller is prohibited from issuing a warrant, unless the person agrees to a contract clause under which any payments owed to the person under the contract will be applied towards the debt or delinquent taxes until the person's taxes are paid in full. Authorizes the comptroller to adopt rules to administer this subsection. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3.Emergency clause.