HBA-DMD H.B. 1341 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1341
By: Gallego
State, Federal, & International Relations
7/30/1999
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Out of the 254 counties in Texas, 225 still have historic county
courthouses, all of which have as a group been named to the National Trust
for Historic Places' list of the 11 Most Endangered Places in the United
States. These courthouses are in need of repair due to outdated electric
wiring, roof leaks, and inadequate climate control. Some have become
unusable. 

H.B. 1341 requires the Texas Historical Commission (commission) to
establish a historic courthouse preservation program (program) to award
loans and grants for restoring or preserving historic courthouses.  This
bill authorizes the commission to establish requirements for awarding a
loan or grant to a county and establishes a historic courthouse
preservation fund account as a separate account in the general revenue
fund.  This bill also prohibits a grant for a historic courthouse project
from exceeding four million dollars or two percent of the program's
biennial appropriation, whichever is greater. H.B. 1341 requires the
commission to adopt rules to administer the program, regarding preservation
standards, maximum loan amounts, elements of a master plan, application
consideration, and project oversight procedures. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Historical Commission in
SECTION 2 (Sections 442.0081, 442.0082, and 442.0083, Government Code) of
this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 442.001, Government Code, as follows:

Sec. 442.001.  New Title:  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "historic courthouse" and
"historic courthouse project."  Redesignates Subdivisions (1)-(6) to
paragraphs (A)-(F), respectively.  
SECTION 2.  Amends Chapter 442, Government Code, by adding Sections
442.0081, 442.0082, and 442.0083, as follows: 

Sec. 442.0081.  HISTORIC COURTHOUSE PRESERVATION PROGRAM; GRANTS AND LOANS.
(a)  Requires the Texas Historical Commission (commission) to administer a
historic courthouse  preservation program.  

(b) Authorizes a county that owns a historic courthouse to apply to the
commission for a grant or loan for a historic courthouse project.
Specifies provisions for the application.  

(c) Authorizes the commission to grant or loan money to a county that owns
a historic courthouse, for the purpose of preserving or restoring the
courthouse, provided that the county's application meets the standards of
the historic courthouse preservation program. Requires the commission, when
considering whether to grant the county's application, to consider the
preferences and factors listed in this section as well as any other factors
that the commission is authorized to provide by rule. 

(d)  Specifies the conditions which the commission is required to give
preference to when  considering whether to grant an application.  
(e) Specifies the provisions the commission is required to consider when
considering whether to grant an application.  

(f) Requires the commission to adopt rules regarding the way in which it
will consider the following factors when analyzing a county's contribution
to project costs under Subsection (d): 

(1)  the period during which past expenditures can be considered;
(2)  the amount of past expenditures that can be considered; and
(3)  the amount and type of in-kind contributions that can be considered. 

(g)  Requires the commission to appoint a Texas Courthouse Preservation
Program Advisory Committee (committee). Requires the committee to assist
the commission on matters relating to the historic courthouse preservation
program. Authorizes the commission to reimburse a committee member's travel
expenses and provide a per diem for other expenses from funds that are
appropriated to the commission, but not from the funds in the historic
courthouse preservation fund account (account) created by this chapter.
Provides that Chapter 2110 (State Agency Advisory Committees), Government
Code,  applies to the committee, and specifies the composition of the
committee. 

(h) Requires the commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the
historic courthouse preservation program.  

Sec. 442.0082.  HISTORIC COURTHOUSE PROJECT; REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  Provides
that before incurring any expenses payable from funds received from the
commission under the historic courthouse preservation program, a county
must have a master preservation plan for its historic courthouse project.
Requires the commission, by rule, to prescribe the elements of a master
preservation plan.  

(b)  Provides that a county that receives money under the historic
courthouse preservation program must use recognized preservation standards
for work on a historic courthouse project. Requires the commission, by
rule, to establish standards regarding the quality of the work performed on
a historic courthouse project.  

(c)  Authorizes a county that receives money under the historic courthouse
preservation program for a historic courthouse project to use the money
only for eligible preservation and restoration expenses that the
commission, by rule, is required to prescribe.  Specifies the costs which
eligible expenses are authorized to include. 

(d)  Subjects a county's expenditure of money received under this chapter
for a historic courthouse project to an audit by the state auditor in
accordance with Chapter 321 (State Auditor), Government Code.  

(e)  Requires the commission, by rule, to provide for oversight procedures
on a project, to provide for reasonable inspections by the commission as
well as periodic reports by a county on a project's progress.  

Sec. 442.0083.  FUNDING FOR HISTORIC COURTHOUSE PRESERVATION PROGRAM;
HISTORIC COURTHOUSE PRESERVATION FUND ACCOUNT.  (a) Establishes that the
account is a separate account in the general revenue fund consisting of
transfers made to the account, payments on loans made under the historic
courthouse preservation program, grants and donations made for the purposes
of the historic courthouse preservation program, and income earned on
investments of money in the account. Requires that appropriations to the
commission for the historic courthouse preservation program be deposited to
the credit of the account. Requires income earned on money in the account
to be deposited to the credit of the account, notwithstanding Section
404.071 (Disposition of Interest on Investments), Government Code.  

 (b)  Authorizes the commission to use money in the account to provide a
grant or loan to a county that owns a historic courthouse for a historic
courthouse project, with an exception.  Authorizes the grant or loan to be
in the amount and according to the terms that the commission, by rule, is
required to determine.  

(c) Authorizes the commission to use money in the historic courthouse
preservation fund account to provide a loan under the historic courthouse
preservation program only to the extent that the legislature provides in
the General Appropriations Act that money appropriated to the commission
for the program may be used to make loans. 

(d)  Authorizes the commission, as a condition for providing the money
under this section, to require creation of a conservation easement in the
property, as provided by Chapter 183 (Conservation Easements), Natural
Resources Code, in favor of the state and to require creation of other
appropriate covenants in favor of the state.  Authorizes the commission to
take any necessary action to enforce repayment of a loan or any other
agreements made under this section and Sections 442.0081 and 442.0082.  

(e)  Prohibits a grant for a historic courthouse project from exceeding $4
million or two percent of the amount appropriated for implementing the
historic courthouse preservation program during the state fiscal biennium,
whichever is greater.  

(f)  Prohibits biennial appropriations to the commission for administering
the historic courthouse preservation program during a state fiscal
biennium, including providing oversight for historic courthouse projects,
from exceeding one percent of the amount appropriated for implementing the
historic courthouse preservation program during the state fiscal biennium. 

(g)  Authorizes the commission, by rule, to set a limit on the loan amount
for a historic courthouse project which may be expressed as a dollar amount
or as a percentage of the total amount appropriated for implementing the
historic courthouse preservation program during the state fiscal biennium.  

(g)  Authorizes the commission to accept a gift, grant, or other donation
for the historic courthouse preservation program or a specific historic
courthouse project.  

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 442.008, Government Code, by amending the
section heading, as follows: 

Sec. 442.008. New heading: COUNTY COURTHOUSES. 

SECTION 4.Effective date: September 1, 1999.  
Requires the commission to adopt rules required by Sections 442.0081,
442.0082, and 442.0083, Government Code, as added by this Act, no later
than November 1, 1999.  

SECTION 5.  Provides that this Act takes effect only if a specific
appropriation for the implementation of this Act is provided in H.B. No. 1
(General Appropriations Act), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999. Provides that if no specific appropriation is provided in
H.B. No. 1, the General Appropriations Act, this Act has no effect.  

SECTION 6.Emergency clause.