HBA-SEP H.B. 925 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 925 By: Kitchen Economic Development 2/16/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Access to telecommunications tools and the Internet are necessary to compete in an economy becoming increasingly reliant on information technology. However, there is a growing gap in access to these technologies between rural and urban areas. Currently, rural residents have less Internet access, and find it more costly to obtain than in urban areas. According to the United States Department of Commerce, less than one in thirty low-income households in rural areas have Internet access at home. The Texas Legislature implemented the Development Corporation Act of 1979 as a mechanism for cities to expand economic development in their areas. In E-Texas: Smaller, Smarter, Faster Government, the comptroller recommends altering the definition of a project in the Development Corporation Act of 1979 to include telecommunications infrastructure necessary to provide broadband or similar access to the Internet. House Bill 925 expands the definition of "project" such that an industrial development corporation may promote the development and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 925 amends the Development Corporation Act of 1979 to expand the definition of "project" such that an industrial development corporation may promote the development and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.