HBA-TBM, CCH H.B. 2071 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2071
By: Junell
Appropriations
7/25/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Prior to the 77th Legislature, the statewide cost allocation program
(program) was managed by the governor's office and identified the costs of
general government services provided by state agencies to other state
agencies.  Under the program agencies were billed for these costs and
required to recover them from either fees or federal programs.  The state
had no formal methodology for tracking the recovery of allocated statewide
costs.  House Bill 2071 sets forth a methodology by which statewide costs
are allocated.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the comptroller of public accounts in
SECTION 2 (Section 2106.006, Government Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2071 amends the Government Code to provide that the statewide
cost allocation plan for support services must allocate to each state
agency an appropriate portion of the total costs of statewide support
services, including the costs of providing statewide support services to
each state agency, and develop and prescribe a billing procedure that
ensures each state agency is billed for all costs allocated to the agency
for which the agency is not obligated to pay another state agency under
other law.  The bill requires a state agency to send the comptroller for
deposit to the credit of the general revenue fund the amount of federal
money received by the agency for federally reimbursable indirect costs to
the extent that the indirect costs are statewide allocated costs for which
the agency is billed, the amount the agency has received in fees that
should be accounted for as payment for the cost of providing statewide
support services to the agency to the extent the agency is billed for those
amounts, and any remaining amounts still necessary to pay the amount
billed.   If the amount bill is not completely paid, the comptroller is
required to transfer the appropriate amount charged against items of
appropriation in connection with which the remaining unpaid statewide
allocated costs were incurred to the general revenue fund.  The bill
authorizes the legislature to provide in the General Appropriations Act
that payment of the amount billed is waived to the extent payment would be
made from a state agency's general revenue appropriation.  The bill
requires a state agency to send the comptroller information the comptroller
requires to transfer the amounts. The bill requires the comptroller to
adopt rules necessary to prescribe the timing and method of transfers and
the manner in which a state agency shall send to the comptroller
information the comptroller requires to transfer the amounts.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.