Refunding Deposits (APS 013)

Overview

Applicable to

State agencies and institutions of higher education

Policy

Generally, state agencies and institutions of higher education must refund erroneous collections if a refund claim is made within four years of when the amount was due or collected by the state.

Legal citations

Government Code, Section 403.077, allows the refunding of erroneous collections and is applicable to all agencies and institutions of higher education.

Senate Bill 1, General Appropriations Act (GAA), Article IX, Section 8.04, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, allows money to be refunded, as provided by law. It states:

(a) Any money deposited into the State Treasury subject to refund as provided by law shall be refunded from the fund into which the money was deposited, transferred or otherwise credited, and so much as is necessary for said refunds is hereby appropriated.

(b) Unless another law, or section of this Act, provides a period within which a particular refund claim must be made, funds appropriated by this Act may not be used to pay a refund claim made under this section after four years from the latest date on which the amount collected or received by the state was due, if the amount was required to be paid on or before a particular date. If the amount was not required to be paid on or before a particular date, a refund claim may not be made after four years from the date the amount was collected or received. A person who fails to make a refund claim within the period provided by law, or this provision, may not receive payment of a refund under this section.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), as a specific limitation to the amount of refunds paid from funds appropriated by this Act during the 2022–23 biennium, the Comptroller may not approve claims or issue warrants for refunds in excess of the amount of revenue estimated to be available from the tax, fee or other revenue source during the biennium according to the Comptroller’s Biennial Revenue Estimate used for certification of this act. Any claim or portion of a claim that is in excess of this limitation shall be presented to the next Legislature for a specific appropriation for payment to be made. The limit provided by this subsection does not apply to any taxes or fees paid under protest.

(d) Where the Biennial Revenue Estimate referenced in Subsection (c) provides that no revenues are estimated to be available from a tax, fee, or other revenue source, and where a special fund or dedicated account has been abolished or the law creating the special fund or dedicated account (as those terms are defined by Section 403.001, Government Code) has been repealed or has expired, any balances which may have been transferred or credited to the General Revenue Fund because of such abolishment, repeal or expiration are appropriated from that fund to pay refunds that are otherwise payable under this section.

Legend

This icon indicates information applicable to the Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS).