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Changes to Article IX of the GAA and Other Bills of Interest to State Agencies

FPP F.008

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Changes to Article IX of the General Appropriations Act —
House Bill 1, 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023

Part 2. Provisions Relating to the Position Classification Plan

Section 2.01 – Position Classification Plan. Detailed Listing of Classified Positions for the 2023-2024 Biennium [+]

This section contains the numerical listing of all classified positions by class number, position title, salary schedule (A, B or C) and salary group number. The listing includes classified titles that have been added and/or have title changes for the biennium. The State Auditor’s office (SAO) has provided agencies with a conversion manual for these changes. The job classifications are designated to the appropriate pay group in the proper salary schedule (A, B or C).

Section 2.01 – Schedule A, B & C Classification Salary Schedules [+]

This section adds separate schedules for appropriation year (AY) 2024 and AY 2025 to account for the salary increase authorized under Section 17.16 (Appropriation for a Salary Increase for General State Employees).

Part 3. Salary Administration and Employment Provisions

Section 3.04 – Scheduled Exempt Positions [+]

Paragraph (c) adds the chief administrative officer of a state agency to the list of entities that may request to set the rate of compensation provided for an agency's respective exempt position(s).

Section 3.14 – Council of Government Salary Schedules (New) [+]

This section sets the state salary schedules for classified positions for a council of government.

Section 3.15 – Direction to the State Auditor’s Office (New) [+]

This section directs the SAO to assign appropriate Schedule C salary classifications for new park police positions.

Part 5. Travel Regulations

Section 5.01 – Travel Definitions [+]

The section removes council of governments and a further clarification of a “state agency” from the definitions.

Part 6. General Limitations on Expenditures

Section 6.08 – Benefits Paid Proportional by Method of Finance [+]

Paragraph (l) is new. If the Comptroller determines employee benefit amounts are disproportionally paid from General Revenue Fund (GR) appropriations, on notification to the SAO, the Comptroller will reimburse GR appropriations of the agency or institution from other methods of finance of the agency or institution.

Part 7. Reporting Requirements

Section 7.02 – Annual Reports and Inventories [+]

Paragraph (a) adds “institutions” to the entities that will not expend appropriated funds after November 20 following the close of the fiscal year (FY) unless an annual financial report (AFR) has been filed.

Section 7.04 – Contract Notification: Amounts Greater Than $50,000 [+]

Paragraph (b) adds that a “contract” does not include a contract paid for exclusively using federal grant monies if all parties to the contract and the terms of the contract have been determined by the federal government.

Paragraphs (g) and (h) are new. These paragraphs add clarifying language for the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) to follow for contracts that are found in violation of this section.

Section 7.06 – Internal Assessments on Utilization of Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) [+]

This section clarifies when HUB reporting from each agency and institution is due.

Section 7.10 – Border Security [+]

Paragraph (a) provides a new informational listing of the estimated amounts appropriated for border security for several agencies. Paragraph (b) changes the definition of what is considered a “border security activity.” Paragraphs (c) and (d) provide additional reporting requirements for expended amounts and performance indicator results for border security.

Section 7.11 – Notification of Certain Purchases or Contract Awards, Amendments and Extensions [+]

Paragraph (e) adds that except for a contract paid for exclusively using federal grant monies if all parties to the contract and the terms of the contract have been determined by the federal government, a state agency or institution of higher education receiving an appropriation under the GAA will provide notice of a contract pursuant to this section.

Section 7.13 – Reporting: Texas Opioid Settlement Receipts (New) [+]

This section adds reporting requirements for the Comptroller to follow when it receives funds from opioid-related litigation and for other state agencies/institutions to follow that receive funds from the opioid abatement account or trust fund.

Section 7.14 – Reports on Interagency Contracts (New) [+]

This language comes from the 87th GAA, Article IX, Section 17.12.

Section 7.15 – World Health Organization (New) [+]

This section requires a state agency or institution of higher education to report on any activities in collaboration with, directed by or financed by the World Health Organization to the Health and Human Services Commission by the end of each fiscal year.

Part 8. Other Appropriation Authority

Section 8.03 – Surplus Property [+]

Paragraph (b) is new. This language comes from the 87th GAA, Article IX, Section 8.16.

Part 9. Information Resources Provisions

Section 9.001 – Definitions (New) [+]

This section consolidates definitions applicable to the rest of the section.

Section 9.02 – Quality Assurance Review of Major Information Resources Projects [+]

Paragraph (b) changes the language from “equal to or greater than $10 million” to “exceeds $10 million.”

Section 9.04 – Texas.gov Project: Occupational Licenses (Formerly section 9.05)

Section 9.05 – Texas.gov Project: Cost Recovery Fees (Formerly section 9.06)

Section 9.06 – Prioritization of Cybersecurity and Legacy System Projects (Formerly section 9.08)

Section 9.07 – Surplus Information Technology Hardware (Formerly section 9.09)

Section 9.08 – Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System Deployments (Formerly section 9.10)

Section 9.09 – Assignment of Contract Responsibility (Formerly section 9.12)

Section 9.10 – Report on Monitoring Assessments by State Auditor (Formerly section 9.13)

Part 10. Health-Related Provisions

Section 10.04 – Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan and Coordinated Expenditures [+]

This section details changes to the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council and the Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan.

Part 11. Provisions Related to Real Property

Section 11.03 – Statewide Capital Planning [+]

Paragraph (d) further defines what qualifies as a “major information resources project,” including changing the qualifying threshold to projects estimated to exceed $5 million.

Section 11.05 – State Agency Emergency Leases [+]

Paragraph (h) states that the “health and human services agency” referenced in the section includes the Health and Human Services Commission and the agencies named under Government Code, Section 531.001.

Section 11.06 – Efficient Use of State Property to House State Facilities (Formerly section 11.07)

Part 12. Provisions Related to Property

Section 12.01 – Aircraft [+]

Paragraph (g) is new. It defines “aircraft” to have a meaning consistent with the rules adopted by the Comptroller.

Section 12.06 – Agency’s Participation in Master Lease Purchase Program (New) [+]

This section requires that all agencies participate in the Master Lease Purchase Program (MLPP) to the extent that the MLPP would be the most cost-effective type of financing when using a lease purchase method to acquire capital assets.

Part 13. Federal Funds

Section 13.01 – Federal Funds/Block Grants [+]

This section removes the language that specifically excluded from appropriation funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (public law 117-2) for the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund except for funds appropriated through Section 603, Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund of the same act, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, and any federal funds made available under the American Jobs Act or similar federal legislation enacted after the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, adjourned.

Section 13.03 – Reports to Comptroller [+]

This section changes the language from “greater than or equal to $1 billion” to “greater than $1 billion.”

Part 14. Agency Discretionary Transfer Provisions

Section 14.01 – Appropriation Transfers [+]

Paragraph (a) adds “in deference to Section 14.04” (Disaster Related Transfer Authority) to when an appropriation contained in this act may be transferred from one appropriation item to another.

Section 14.03 – Transfers – Capital Budget [+]

Paragraph (c) adds “transfers made under Section 14.04” to situations that the restrictions in this section do not apply to.

Paragraph (d) changes the definition of a “capital budget” to expenditures for assets with a biennial project cost or unit cost over $500,000. Three new categories are included: data center/shared technology services; the Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS) statewide enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; and cybersecurity projects.

Paragraph (h) adds “in deference to Section 14.04” to the list of ways an agency may transfer capital budget items.

Paragraphs (h) and (l) add “shared technology services” to the definition of services provided by the Department of Information Resources (DIR) in accordance with Government Code, Chapter 2054.

Section 14.04 – Disaster Related Transfer Authority [+]

Paragraphs (b) and (c) add “capital budget items” as an appropriation category state agencies may transfer between.

Part 17. Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 17.12 – Real-Time Captioning of Open Meetings (Formerly section 17.13)

Section 17.13 – Information Listing of Program Funding (Formerly section 17.14)

Section 17.14 – Contact Tracing (Formerly section 17.16)

Section 17.16 – Appropriation for a Salary Increase for General State Employees (New) [+]

This section provides an appropriation and guidance for a salary increase for state agency employees in AY 2024 and AY 2025. See Appropriations for the Salary Increase Allocation for Certain State Positions (FPP A.009).

Deleted Sections

The sections listed below, referenced by section number as listed in Article IX, Senate Bill 1, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, appear to be deleted from Article IX, House Bill 1, 88th Legislature, Regular Session.

Page Section Title and Description SB 1, 87th Legislature, Regular Session

IX-45

Section 8.16

Deaccessioned Items.

This section is now part of Section 8.03 (Surplus Property).

IX-48

Section 9.04

Information Technology Replacement.

This section required the DIR to coordinate the bulk purchase of any additional IT commodity items that may produce cost savings from bulk purchases.

IX-49

Section 9.07

Server Consolidation Status Update.

This section required agencies participating in the Data Center Services program to report semiannually to the LBB and DIR on the status of their server consolidation for servers managed through the Data Center Services program.

IX-50

Section 9.11

Staff Telecommunications Survey and Analysis.

This section required each state agency to survey its employees about telecommunications preferences.

IX-61

Section 11.06

Prepayment of Annual Lease Costs.

This section allowed the Texas Facilities Commission to enter into an agreement with a landlord on behalf of a state agency for prepayment of the annual lease costs in exchange for an early payment discount.

IX-67

Section 13.11

Reporting of Federal Homeland Security Funding.

This section required all state agencies and institutions to include an estimated amount of federal homeland security funding in their operating budget reports to the LBB.

IX-78

Section 16.05

Incidents Report: State Supported Living Centers and State Hospitals.

This section required the attorney general to report to the LBB all claims made and all incidents involving an injury to a resident of a state supported living center or a client of a state hospital that might result in a settlement or judgment over $100,000.

IX-85

Section 17.12

Reports on Interagency Contracts.

This section is now Section 7.14 (Reports on Interagency Contracts).

IX-85

Section 17.17

Reporting: Texas Opioid Settlement Receipts

This section is now incorporated into section 7.13 (Reporting: Texas Opioid Settlement Receipts).

Note: As in the past, some of the provisions of Article IX have been renumbered. The LBB staff recommendations provide drafter’s notes that could assist in finding those items that were moved but had no substantive changes.